Nel to return home

André Nel's tour of Sri Lanka is over after he failed to recover from the back strain that kept him out of action in the two-Test series. Nel will be returning home on Thursday, and be replaced in the squad for the five-match one-day series by Charl Langeveldt, a left-arm swing bowler.

"André was supposed to complete a second fitness test today (Wednesday) but he could only bowl three overs and it was glaringly obvious that he wasn't right," said Moabi Litheko, the team spokesman.

Langeveldt is currently on tour with the South Africa A team in Zimbabwe, and faces a convoluted journey to Colombo via Johannesburg and Dubai.

"Charl is currently in the middle of a four-day game in Zimbabwe which finishes on Friday so he'll have to withdraw from that," said Litheko. "He's not likely to arrive before the first match on Friday."