South Africa announce World Twenty20 squad

There are few surprises in South Africa's provisional 30-man squad for the ICC World Twenty20 in June this summer. The bulk of the squad includes those that featured in the inaugural edition at home in 2007, as well as rising stars like Roelof van der Merwe and Wayne Parnell and players to have excelled in the domestic Standard Bank Pro20.

The final squad of 15 to 16 players will be announced before the tournament begins on June 5. The IPL assumes significance because it ends on May 24, leaving little time for a camp before the players leave for England.

van der Merwe top-scored with 48 and took the wicket of David Hussey with his left-arm spin to set up South Africa's 17-run win in a Twenty20 international recently and bagged the Man-of-the-Match award. Parnell, the left-arm fast bowler, was fast-tracked to the national team during the one-day portion of the tour of Australia this season. He took four wickets in just his second ODI at Centurion over the weekend and was named Man of the Match.

The likes of Yusuf Abdulla, CJD de Villiers and Robin Peterson have performed well on the domestic circuit. de Villiers was the second highest wicket-taker in the domestic Pro20 with 14 at 14.64, and Abdulla had 10 at 17.10. Abdulla has played 26 Twenty20 matches, and his economy rate of 5.83 ranks among the best in the world. He made an impressive Twenty20 debut against Australia last week and was subsequently drafted into the IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab based on his success in the Twenty20 format and his experience of conditions in Durban.

Peterson and Alviro Petersen - both of whom have represented South Africa - featured at the top of the run tally in the domestic Pro20. However, the top scorer in the tournament, Morne van Wyk, has been overlooked.

There are five other international hopefuls - Henry Davids, Friedel de Wet, Arno Jacobs, Heino Kuhn and Daryn Smit. Graeme Smith will lead the side with Johan Botha as his deputy.

South Africa squad:
Graeme Smith (capt), Yusuf Abdulla, Hashim Amla, Gulam Bodi, Loots Bosman, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher (wk), Henry Davids, AB de Villiers, CJ de Villiers, Friedel de Wet, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Arno Jacobs, Jacques Kallis, Heino Kuhn, Johann Louw, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Peterson, Robin Peterson, Ashwell Prince, Daryn Smit, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Roelof van der Merwe, Vaughn van Jaarsveld.