The thorny issue of whether to keep faith with veteran fast bowler Makhaya Ntini continues to overshadow South Africa's preparations for the third Test against England at Newlands.
Graeme Smith's team can ill afford the added distraction of a subject which the captain acknowledges is 'sensitive' in his country, and has refused to go away thanks to Ntini's poor form.
Figures of 2-233 in the two Tests so far in the series have undoubtedly contributed to South Africa going 1-0 down with two to play.
The 32-year-old was retained for last week's match at Durban - which ended in an unexpected innings defeat for the hosts - at the expense of Friedel de Wet, who marked his debut in the first Test with a spell which put South Africa within one wicket of victory.
It is a mixture of sentiment, though, for a 'national treasure' cricketer - who played his 100th Test at Centurion - and South Africa's divisive social history which would make dropping Ntini so controversial.
In a country where racial equality was unachievable for generations, Ntini was the first black South African Test cricketer - and his continued success over the past decade has made him a proud symbol of the 'rainbow nation'.
South Africa will not announce until Sunday which personnel changes it has made after its Durban disappointment.
But Smith admitted: "Obviously it is a sensitive issue in South Africa - that's being honest."
Whichever call is made, it will not be Smith's - because he is not on the selection panel.
He trusts, though, that cricketing reasons will prevail.
"We want to make the right decision, so we can win a Test match over the next five days," he spelled out.
"Makhaya is an icon, through the country, not only the most iconic player of colour that we have but also one of our most iconic cricketers in terms of performance over the last decade.
"When senior players are at the point where there are a lot of questions being asked about them it's always a terrible, tough time for any leadership group to manage."
"We've really tried to support Makhaya and give him as much as we can behind the scenes."
"He's been working hard at his game. Let's hope there's confidence left in him for the future."
South Africa coach Mickey Arthur sensed Ntini was on the way back, despite going wicketless, at Kingsmead - suggesting he may be retained after all at the ground where he made his debut almost 12 years ago.
Smith appeared less convinced of that.
"It's always tough when a guy hasn't taken a wicket in a game to say you've seen improvements," he said.
"Makhaya will fall into the same place as everyone else. We want to pick the best team for tomorrow."
"Mickey is meeting with the selection panel this afternoon. We'll have the team by tonight and announce it tomorrow morning."
"As far as I know, the selection process is that Mickey will have the final call."
"I'll have an input. But since I've been captain, I can't remember having a vote in the selection. I'm not passing the buck ... it's always been that way."
Whoever plays for South Africa, the stakes are high - at a venue where it has won 14 of its last 18 Tests, but at a time when it will rarely have needed to win any more urgently.
"We've had many, many important Test matches. But obviously being one down in the series so far, this is a crucial one," added Smith.
"We're ready for tomorrow. We were outplayed in Durban but we've been honest about that, had a look in the mirror - and guys have trained and prepared well."
Should South Africa fall short again, it is not inconceivable that questions may be asked about Smith's future as captain - despite the fact it is less than a month since his team was inched off the top of the world rankings by India.
If he is under the microscope, though, it is nothing new to him.
"As international sportsmen, whatever code you play, pressure doesn't go away whether you are playing your first game, are captain, or whether you've played 101 games," he said.
"You find ways to cope and deal with that and enjoy what you are good at."
"There will be times when the game is on the line, but let's hope we can manage those breaking points better than England."
"I can't say I'm feeling any extra pressure."