Nel prepared to leave his bride at the altar

South Africa's fast bowler Andre Nel is torn between the crease and the altar, after carelessly arranging to get married in the middle of next week's fourth and final Test against West Indies.

Nel had not expected to feature in the series when he set the date, but he picked up five wickets in an innings for the first time in his career at Cape Town last week, and is now an automatic selection for the Centurion Test - if available, of course.

Given that he is contracted to the United Cricket Board, it is unlikely that he will be permitted to miss the match. The UCB have allowed players such as Shaun Pollock and Gary Kirsten to take time off to be present at the birth of their children, but Nel is due to marry his girlfriend Deanne Weitz in Johannesburg on the second afternoon of the match, and the venue is only an hour's drive from the ground.

"I've discussed it with him," said South Africa's coach Eric Simons, "and hopefully he can put [the ceremony] back by a few hours." South Africa are reluctant to enter the match without Nel, who has taken 17 wickets at a cost of just 20 runs each in the series.

"In a certain way I had probably given up on playing Test cricket again," said Nel, who reinvented himself at Northamptonshire last season, where he gained an extra yard of pace and helped the county to a double promotion. "But now that I've been given this lifeline I want to grab it and hang on."