AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn have been named in a 14-man South African squad to play Zimbabwe in the first ever four-day day-night Test later this month, marking their return to the longest format after long, injury-enforced breaks.

De Villiers, 33, played the last of his 106 Tests against England in Centurion in January 2016, after which he took a break from Test cricket with an eye on the 2019 World Cup in England. He has since reaffirmed his commitment to the longer format, and this game against Zimbabwe in Port Elizabeth will allow him to ease back into the fold ahead of the three-Test series against India starting in Cape Town on January 5, says an ICC press release.

Steyn, 34 and with 417 Test wickets to his name, has been recovering from a shoulder injury sustained while playing against Australia in Perth some 13 months back. They both, along with Vernon Philander, will seek to use the Zimbabwe Test as time out in the middle for the stiffer challenges ahead. Philander missed South Africa’s series against Bangladesh at home after picking up an injury during the tour of England in the summer.

‘It is a very exciting moment not just for South Africa but for world cricket to have Dale and AB, two icons of the game, back in the multi-day format,’ said Linda Zondi, the Cricket South Africa (CSA) national selection panel convener. ‘After Zimbabwe, we have two very tough home Test series coming up against India, the No. 1-ranked side in the world, and Australia, who have just regained the Ashes in their current series against England.

‘AB and Dale bring loads of experience to the side, apart from being two of the South African all-time greats. It is also good to have Vernon back and it is very encouraging that our four premium fast bowlers – Steyn, Philander, Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel – are all back in the selection mix.’

De Villiers and Chris Morris, the pace-bowling allrounder, have both been withdrawn from the SA Invitation XI that will play the Zimbabwean in a three-day tour match in Boland Park, starting on Wednesday.

‘AB de Villiers is struggling with lower back stiffness and has been withdrawn from the three-day warm-up match as a precaution,’ said Dr Mohammed Moosajee, the South African team manager. ‘He is, however, available for selection for the Test match against Zimbabwe.’

South African Test squad to play Zimbabwe: Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wk), Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Andile Phehlukwayo, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn.

SA Invitation XI squad: Dominic Hendricks (capt), Temba Bavuma, Tladi Bokako, Michael Cohen, Isaac Dikgale, Leus du Plooy, Dayyaan Galiem, Zubayr Hamza, Kagiso Rapulana, Kelly Smuts, Dale Steyn, Ricardo Vasconcelos, Shaun von Berg, Lizaad Williams.