South Africa and West Indies Face Off Again in T20I
South Africa and West Indies will again appear in the field against each other after a short duration of two months. Two months earlier, both teams were heartbroken as they lost the World Cup. The West Indies were knocked out by South Africa in a nail biting match and five days later South Africa lost the final match against India which was expected to be an easy win. Ready or not, both teams will again show up with all enthusiasm and energy to fight against each other.
So the T20Is West Indies and South Africa will play in Tarouba on Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday might feel less like cricket matches than stitches being ripped out of still raw wounds. As much as the show must and will go on, it would take a hard heart indeed not to feel empathy for all involved.
Of all 30 players in the squads, just two are untouched by anything senior international cricket can do for or to them. Both are South African: Jason Smith and Kwena Maphaka are the only uncapped players in the series.
Smith, a seam-bowling allrounder, has scored six centuries and taken 106 wickets in his 82 first-class matches. But he will want to do something about his T20 strike rate of 123.37. Without trying to be mean to him, there is more excitement about Maphaka, the player of the tournament at this year’s under-19 World Cup, in which he took 21 wickets at an average of 9.71.
Schedule of match:
- Date: August 23, 25 and 27, 2024
- Time: 3 pm Local Time (9 pm SAST, 12.30 am IST)
- Venue: Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba, Trinidad
Pitch and conditions: Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba, Trinidad
The last international played at this ground was the men’s T20 World Cup semifinal on June 26, when South Africa dismissed Afghanistan for 56. The ICC has rated that pitch “unsatisfactory”. In the 48 men’s T20s played here overall, runs have flowed at 7.38 to the over – faster than at six of the 15 grounds used for this format in West Indies. There’s a chance of morning showers on Friday and Sunday and in the afternoon on Tuesday.
Teams:
West Indies: Andre Russell, Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph have been rested. Fabian Allen, who was not part of the T20 World Cup, is been taken back.
Possible XI: Shai Hope, Johnson Charles, Nicholas Pooran, Roston Chase, Rovman Powell (C), Sherfane Rutherford, Fabian Allen, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Obed McCoy
South Africa: Several players from the World Cup final, including Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen and Tabraiz Shamsi are not in the squad. But Kwena Maphaka, billed as South Africa’s next star fast bowler, and Jason Smith – both uncapped – are. Rassie van der Dussen returns after missing the T20 World Cup.
Possible XI: Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram (C), Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Bjorn Fortuin, Ottneil Baartman, Nandre Burger, Lun
