The South African cricket board announced Malibongwe Maketa as the interim head coach for the team's upcoming three-match Test tour of Australia on Wednesday.
Maketa, who is currently the South Africa A coach and National Academy Lead, will take charge of the Test squad from December until early January as they prepare to face Australia in their penultimate series of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC).
South Africa finds itself placed second on the table behind Australia following two series wins, one loss and one draw in the second cycle of the WTC.
The 42-year-old steps into the role after being part of South Africa's most recent Test tour of England, where he worked as a consultant during the four-day warm-up match against England Lions and the triumphant first Test at Lord's in August. He also served as assistant head coach to the Proteas from 2017-2019.
Commenting on Maketa's appointment, Director of Cricket Enoch Nkwe said, "We are pleased to name Malibongwe as our interim coach to lead the Proteas in Australia. He is a familiar face to the environment and has worked in the same space previously when he served as an assistant coach."
"Mali knows most of the players well and they know him too, with such a short time between now and the tour, we as Cricket South Africa felt we needed someone who could step in immediately and lead us through what is an important series for the Proteas."
"We would like to wish him well on his appointment. He has our full support, and we have no doubt he will do South Africans proud in this series."
Welcoming Maketa to the Proteas setup, CSA Chief Executive Officer, Pholetsi Moseki said, "Malibongwe has earned respect and acclaim as a coach and a leader. This interim appointment is in recognition of his ability to ingratiate himself into any system and assure continuity. As no stranger to the Proteas setup, I am confident that he will acquit himself well and hit the ground running."
South Africa will tour Australia for a three-match test series. The first test will take place at the Gabba in Brisbane from December 17-21.
The second match will be played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26-30. Sydney Cricket ground will host the final test match of the tour from January 4-8, 2023.
( With inputs from ANI )
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