Cullinan surprised by Test call-up

Daryll Cullinan described his recall to the South African Test side as "a lovely bonus" after being selected on his 35th birthday for the team who will take on Australia in the second Test in Cape Town later this week.

"It's a nice little surprise -- a lovely bonus at this stage of my career -- and I'm looking forward to it," said Cullinan on Monday.

"I'm happy with my form and have been playing fairly nicely, but a lot will depend on the pitch and how it plays."

Cullinan was recalled to the side after South Africa lost their fourth Test in less than three months to the Australians in Johannesburg last week. He also scored a half century for South Africa 'A' against the tourists in Port Elizabeth on Friday.

The stylish right-hander has played 70 Tests for South Africa, scoring 4554 runs at an average of 44.21, including 14 centuries, but he was widely believed to have played his last against the West Indies in Jamaica last year.

However, he averages just 12.75 against Australia and has always struggled to deal confidently with the leg-spin of Shane Warne.

"There are a lot of people who will probably think that my track record won't make a difference when you look at my record against Australia. I think there will be mixed reaction to my selection, but right now at the age of 35 that doesn't bother me," Cullinan said.

The one statistic that argues in Cullinan's favour is his record at Cape Town's Newlands ground, the venue for the second Test, where he has scored 882 runs at 67.8 including four centuries and four fifties.

Despite his delight at being selected once more for the national side, Cullinan said it was unlikely that he would play for South Africa beyond the third Test in Durban.

"I don't know where I will be after this. I may only play one Test, I may play both, but it probably will be a one-off return. But you never know, this has been a volatile season. I'll just look at this game and no further," he said.

Mail Cricket Editor