It’s an opportunity for both South Africa and West Indies to find form and test out combinations
The likes of Kemar Roach will be a vital cog in the pace attack for West Indies
Big picture
Hello strangers.
West Indies and South Africa meet so seldomly that they may wonder if the other still plays international cricket and they are about to find out they do, and quite similarly. While their encounters of old were largely dominated by a South Africa side on the up against a West Indian outfit on the decline – and their last one in the Caribbean was in 2010, at the same time as South Africa was hosting the football World Cup – those roles have just about reversed. That means this series has all the ingredients to be among the most closely competed contests going around.
Both are teams in transition albeit from different directions. South Africa enter this series from as low a spot on the ICC rankings as they have ever been at No. 7, and West Indies, from a position of progress. They sit at No.6. From their mid-table places, they both maintain they are eyeing the top spot and this is step one. It’s actually not.
The battle lines are expected to be drawn by the bowling attacks, with both teams acknowledging that as their strongest suits. While they don’t have the reputations of the pace packs of the past, they have the chance to make bigger names for themselves in favourable conditions against batting line-ups that are prone to losing wickets in clusters. As such, building partnerships will be key and the series could hinge on which side can produce a match-winning one.
Ultimately, and unpopular as this may be, the Test series will be a curtain-raiser for the five-match T20I rubber that follows and will form part of both sides’ build-up to the T20 World Cup in October.
Form guide
(last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies DDWWL
South Africa LLWWL
In the spotlight
At the other end of the spectrum is Dean Elgar , whose leadership journey is only just beginning. Elgar has been in charge of South Africa once before when Faf du Plessis was on paternity leave and at the time suggested long-term captaincy was not in his future. Four years have passed since then and Elgar has changed his mind. In the lead-up to this series, his team-mates spoke about how much he wants the job and how it’s unlikely to change him as a rough-around-the-edges and fun-loving personality. What they will really hope is that it also doesn’t change him as a run-scorer. Elgar has been the most consistent of South Africa’s batters in the last three years albeit he wants to contribute more readily. Without du Plessis, he is also the most capped member of the squad and the expectation will be on him to make his experience count.
Team news
West Indies (probable): 1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Shai Hope, 4 Kyle Mayers, 5 Jermaine Blackwood, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Joshua da Silva, (wk) 8 Alzarri Joseph, 9 Rahkeem Cornwall, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Jayden Seales.
South Africa (possible): 1 Dean Elgar (capt), 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Temba Bavuma/Kyle Verreynne, 5 Keegan Peterson, 6 Quinton de Kock (wk), 7 Wiaan Mulder, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Lungi Ngidi.
Pitch and conditions
Before leaving South Africa, new captain Elgar said he had anecdotal evidence that conditions would be slow and low but the visitors quickly revised that opinion on arrival. Bowling coach Charl Langeveldt noted that not only had he never been to the Caribbean when it rains but also that the combination of humidity, the Dukes ball and recent conditions favouring quicks convinced him that there may be much more in it for his pace pack than was initially thought. That’s good news for those of us who want to see a battle of the bowlers but not so good for batters on either side, whose confidence is low. The weather is set to stay warm throughout the match with some rain predicted for Monday.
Stats and trivia
- South Africa have never lost a Test series in the West Indies. They were defeated in a one-off match on their return to the international game in 1992 but have won three series in West Indies, and four at home, since.
- Jermaine Blackwood and Roston Chase need 55 and 131 runs respectively to reach 2000 Test runs
Quotes
“At a time before the West Indies series, England had intra-squad matches and used those to gauge their selections as well. We live in different times. Opportunity is not the same. We have to create measures and opportunities to get to where we want to get and try to do it as best as possible.”
CWI chief selector Roger Harper on picking players based on intra-squad matches for the first Test
“We are aware of the failures we have had in the past. The one thing that we can control is our preparation. That’s a key foundation to try and give you success in this format. We have prepared very well and with preparation there is no guarantee of the outcome. We are very aware of what’s happened in the past and we are trying to rectify that bearing in mind that we’ve lost quite a few experienced batters in the past. It’s now time for guys to put their hands up. The opportunities are there for guys now.”
South Africa’s captain Dean Elgar hopes to make the team’s training count on match day
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s South Africa correspondent
Source: ESPN Crickinfo