Redbacks wait on Tait

South Australia will cross their fingers Shaun Tait is passed fit for their opening Pura Cup match of the summer against Victoria on Sunday. The condition of Tait, who has struggled to recover from elbow surgery during the winter, has forced the Redbacks to name a 13-man squad for the home game, but they intend to give him every opportunity to play.

The selectors started the season with a shock by dropping the wicketkeeper-batsman Shane Deitz, who was the state's most valuable player last summer after scoring 665 Pura Cup runs at 41.56. A SACA spokeswoman denied Deitz was cut as a disciplinary measure and Graham Manou has been handed the gloves.

While Tait's health is a concern, Mark Cosgrove has made a strong comeback after an ankle operation, which coincided with a ban for repeated messy behaviour while at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane. Cosgrove, the strong left-handed batsman, has an important role to play as Darren Lehmann is missing with a hamstring tear. Nathan Adcock has succeeded Lehmann as captain and has the job of ensuring regular output from South Australia's order, which has struggled over the past couple of seasons.

South Australia squad Matthew Elliott, Jason Borgas, Daniel Harris, Mark Cosgrove, Nathan Adcock (capt), Cameron Borgas, Graham Manou (wk), Ryan Harris, Jason Gillespie, Mark Cleary, Cullen Bailey, Dan Cullen, Shaun Tait.

Victoria squad Nick Jewell, Michael Klinger, David Hussey, Robert Quiney, Aiden Blizzard, Cameron White (capt), Andrew McDonald, Matthew Wade (wk), Gerard Denton, Bryce McGain, Peter Siddle, Allan Wise, Dirk Nannes.