Date-stamped : 25 Feb97 - 14:14 24 February 1997 Captain`s job for Eksteen in Soweto Guy Hawthorne The Transvaal Invitation XI to take on the Australians at the Soweto Oval tomorrow is an interesting mix of established names and promising players from the townships. But the most interesting part of the selection is in the captain- cy, where left-arm spinner Clive Eksteen has been given the nod in what could be regarded as a pointer to the future. "We decided to try to get a nice blend in the side," said David van der Knaap, the convener of the Transvaal selectors. "We want- ed to give a few of the local players from the Soweto area the opportunity to play against a side regarded as one of the best in the world. "The fact that Ken Rutherford (Transvaal`s regular captain) is not leading the side is because we didn`t want any imports in the team. "Also, we have included Adam Bacher to give him another chance against an international side." Included in the Transvaal lineup are Parktown Boys High pupil Solly Ndima (batsman), Geoffrey Toyana (batsman), Johnson Mafa (bowler) and Goolam Bodi, a left-arm wrist spinner in the mould of Paul Adams. About 2 500 people are expected to attend the limited-overs match, which starts at 10am. "The ground and the pitch are in great condition," said Imtiaz Patel, chairman of the organising committee. "The Transitional Metropolitan Council has given us great support and we are look- ing forward to what is a very important day. "Having a side like Australia playing a match in Soweto is brilliant in promot- ing the game in the area. It creates such awareness among the locals." TEAMS Transvaal Invitation XI: Adam Bacher, Husseim Manack, Neil McKen- zie, Geoffrey Toyana, Nic Pothas, Andrew Hall, Solly Ndima, Clive Eksteen (capt), Goolam Bodi, Johnson Mafa, Wayne Kidwell. 12th man Piet Lephoi. Australia (from): Mark Taylor (capt), Ian Healy, Michael Bevan, Andrew Bichel, Greg Blewett, Matthew Elliott, Source :: The Star Contributed by Tony.Hassett (hassett@cricinfo.com)