Jonty Rhodes joins team for ODIs

Jonty Rhodes, South Africa's most capped one-day player, joined the squad in Bulawayo on Thursday for three limited-overs internationals against Zimbabwe.

Rhodes, who has retired from Test cricket, will bring the experience of his 200 one-day appearances to South Africa when they take on the hosts in Bulawayo on Sunday, and in Harare next Saturday and Sunday.

"I'm happy to be here and to be part of the set up," Rhodes told reporters. "I do miss it, but it's a decision of life and it continues."

Rhodes played down the importance of his arrival in Zimbabwe.

"When you bat in the middle order in our side, you don't get a chance to bat for long," he said.

"So I'm not coming here putting pressure on myself to score a hundred or be like Jacques Kallis and bat forever - old 'Barney Barnacle', they couldn't remove him from the crease.

"I'm just here to hopefully add a bit of something to the side, not that they're lacking anything."

Rhodes will go into the series straight from the off season, although he has played in two practice matches for Natal and scored 62 off 82 balls with five fours and a six for his province in a pre-season friendly against Free State on Wednesday.

"In Natal, we're practising three or four days a week," Rhodes said. "It was good to have two middle practices because the rest of the batters have had lots of time at the crease, so I've had to come here at a very big disadvantage. But I'm looking forward to it."

South Africa have added Rhodes, off spinner Justin Ontong and fast bowler Charl Langeveldt to their squad for the one-day series.

The visitors won the two-match Test series 1-0 after beating Zimbabwe by nine wickets in the first match in Harare last Tuesday and drawing the second in Bulawayo on Tuesday.

Kallis was named man-of-the-series for his unbeaten scores of 157, 42 and 189 - an aggregate of 388 runs without being out. In all, he batted for 1028 minutes, a world record for time spent at the crease between dismissals.

Mail Cricket Editor