Cape Town – Temba Bavuma and Heinrich Klaasen will undergo fitness tests ahead of the third and deciding T20 against Australia at Newlands on Wednesday to determine their availability.

Both batsmen missed the first two matches of the series – Bavuma with a hamstring strain and Klaasen with a hip injury – but are understood to have been recovering well. 

Bavuma solidified his position at the top of the order alongside Quinton de Kock with scores 43, 31 and 49 in the T20 series against England while Klaasen smashed 66 (33) in the third T20 against the same opposition. 

“They’re going to be doing fitness tests this afternoon, so we’ll have to wait and see what the outcome is. Hopefully it’s positive,” Proteas assistant coach Enoch Nkwe said at a sweltering Newlands on Tuesday.

In Bavuma’s absence the Proteas tried Rassie van der Dussen (6 off 10) and Reeza Hendricks (14 off 17) opening alongside skipper De Kock for the first and second T20s, respectively, and Nkwe acknowledged that missing Bavuma was not ideal given his current form. 

“We’ve missed him, but we have a big enough squad with good enough players that are flexible to bat in different positions,” said Nkwe.

“We have looked at it as an opportunity to see which other players can adapt. We know that we’ve got a World Cup coming, so we need to try different combinations.

“In saying that, Temba has been playing well so hopefully he will be back in the mix as soon as possible.

“If he’s not available, we will just look at what is going to be best for these conditions here in Cape Town.”

The series is tied at 1-1 and play on Wednesday starts at 18:00.