Remodelled Hendricks in line for Test debut

The most difficult job in cricket, according to Graeme Smith, is opening the batting in South Africa. He would know, having done it at the highest level for a decade against green mambas with pace and bounce. And that's only referring to the pitches. So why did Reeza Hendricks, a middle-order batsman whose provincial career started when he was 16, decide to take on a task that tough?

"I was doing pretty well batting at No. 5 or 6 but that season at the Eagles, we had a problem with the opening position because we hadn't really found someone to put there. One day, Corrie van Zyl, who was our coach at the time, came and asked me if I would give it a try and I said yes. In my first match, I scored 151 so it seemed like a good idea to stay there," Hendricks told ESPNcricinfo.

And that's not even the whole story. His unbeaten 151 in March 2009 came in the second innings and helped Eagles (the franchise which is now renamed Knights) set Cobras a match-winning target of 355. Hendricks, who was just 19 at the time, seemed to have both the guts and the gall required to fit the role. "The most important thing is to be disciplined and learn to leave well," he said. "And to be selective about the shots you play."

Hendricks has spent the last six seasons working on that across all formats, and has earned higher honours including selection to the South African A side and the South African T20 side and now, the South African Test squad, a call-up which came as a surprise even to to him. "I knew that there were opportunities up for grabs and I was working towards it but I had a bit of doubt in mind over whether I would get picked this time," Hendricks said. Understandably so. He did not have a standout first-class campaign last season for Knights, with 540 runs at 31.76.

South Africa seemed to be sizing up Stiaan van Zyl, a regular No. 3, for the opening berth. He was asked to move into the position for Cape Cobras in last summer's first-class competition where he did reasonably well. In five matches, he scored 341 runs at 42.62 including a century and two fifties. He also opened for South Africa A against the England Lions earlier this year, scoring 65 and 39 in the first unofficial Test and 1 in the second game.

That may not have been good enough to convince the selectors van Zyl is ready for the step up, as Andrew Hudson, the former convener suggested.: "Stiaan is not an opener. To play out of position is not easy, especially at the top of the innings."

Hendricks is proof that it can be done and Hudson hinted he is likely to be given a debut at the top. But it seems van Zyl will have to compete with Temba Bavuma for AB de Villiers' No. 5.

The net result of all that will be an increased responsibility on Dean Elgar, who has only played 15 Tests, finds himself as the senior opener.

Russell Domingo singled out Elgar as the player to watch when he addressed reporters in Bangladesh on Friday: "Dean is a good gutsy player for us. He has been part of our Test side for about a year-and-a-half now. He is still young in terms of experience but I think he is going to be a very good opening batsman for us. He is a guy who has got runs domestically and for South Africa A and he is always up for a challenge so I am expecting Dean Elgar to put in some big performances for us in this series."

Elgar will also provide familiarity for Hendricks, with whom he opened the batting in franchise cricket until Elgar moved to Titans last season and Domingo will hope the pair can repeat their domestic success at international level.

"We have quite a good relationship and complement each other well. The left-right combination also helps," Hendricks said. "What makes us a good pair is that we have different scoring options and different shots. People say I'm the more aggressive one but I know I will have to adapt my game to the conditions."

Those adjustments are part of what Smith said made the job so challenging but, if Hendricks gets it right, he will discover it is rewarding as well.