Mfuneko Ngam is standing on the same threshold as Paul Adams was five seasons ago. That was the memorable summer when Adams walked into the South African A on the back of one first-class appearance and into the Test side two matches later.

Ngam is slightly more experienced, having played two four-day matches for Eastern Province last season, one for a UCB Invitation XI and four on the South African A tour of the West Indies.

But there is little doubt that his addition to the South African squad for the rest of the one-day series against New Zealand, albeit as a non-playing reserve, is a pointer to bigger things to come.

Ngam will not join the South African squad until after this weekend's SuperSport Series game between Eastern Province and Western Province at St George's Park. That match will give him the chance to get in an early claim for the position of third seamer in the Test side behind Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock.

It is the only vacancy in the five-day side at the moment now that Nicky Boje has tied down the spinning berth for the foreseeable future, as has Boeta Dippenaar as Gary Kirsten's partner at the top of the order.

Ngam is not the only man in contention but he is the most likely. Nantie Hayward and Charl Willoughby will both be putting in their challenges in the same match at St George's Park while Charl Langeveldt, who plays for Boland against Free State at Paarl, cannot be ruled out of the picture either.

David Terbrugge, who plays for the Strikers against North West, has become something of a forgotten man and there are also a couple of contenders in the one-day side in Roger Telemachus and Makhaya Ntini. Ngam, however, remains the one bowler to have cracked 150km/h this summer - and that is without getting into the full cruise mode of four-day cricket. Programme for matches starting on Friday (home teams first):

Boland v Free State Eastern Province v Western Province North West v Strikers Easterns v KwaZulu-Natal

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