The South African cricketing summer ends tonight with the final ODI between the hosts and the West Indies. SuperSport Park is expected to be packed as locals take up the final chance to see their side off before they fly off to Australia and New Zealand to try and win the Cricket World Cup.
Centurion’s day nighter is the also the final chance for teams to tinker with their line-ups ahead of the warm-up games. West Indies probably won’t tinker after their dramatic win in game four, but South Africa have already hinted at some changes. Therefore it should be an exciting finale.
The Last Time These Two Met
The West Indies enjoyed an unlikely first win of the series in Port Elizabeth. The win was brought about by a fantastic chase of 263 that for the most part looked unlikely. Andre Russell (64*) and Darren Sammy (51) combined to wrestle the initiative away from a South African side who themselves had fallen behind early and needed a rescue effort of their own. Their rescue was led by David Miller who made a tremendous 130. His knock didn’t really deserve to be on the losing side, but neither did Russell’s. Although the win doesn’t affect the series it will add some respectability to the series scoreline.
The Teams
South Africa (likely): 1 Hashim Amla (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 Rilee Rossouw, 5 JP Duminy, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 David Miller, 8 Wayne Parnell, 9 Kyle Abbott 10 Vernon Philander, 11 Aaron Phangiso
The glorious sight of Quentin de Kock at the top of the order will put smiles on a lot of South African fans’ faces as they build towards the Cricket World Cup. He’ll open with Amla, with Rossouw dropping down to 4 to fill the void left by AB de Villiers’ rest. Dale Steyn is still resting too, meaning another chance for Abbott, while Phangiso may get another chance instead of Imran Tahir.
West Indies (likely): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Dwayne Smith, 3 Leon Johnson, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Jonathan Carter, 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Andre Russell, 9 Jason Holder (capt), 10 Carlos Brathwaite , 11 Sheldon Cottrell
Injury concerns for Lendl Simmons and Sulieman Benn could mean the West Indies field the same side that won game 4 at Port Elizabeth.
The Key Players
Quinton de Kock – The 22-year-old enters the series for the first time after a long ankle enforced injury layoff, and will come under immediate scrutiny from opposition bowlers and the South African selectors. When fit de Kock is definitely a part of the best team on account of his batting prowess and his keeping that eases the burden on de Villiers. However, he doesn’t have much time to prove he’s fit and in form. Especially given how well Russouw and van Wyk have done in his absence.
Darren Sammy – Andre Russell got most of the plaudits for guiding his side to a first victory in the series the last time the teams played, but Sammy deserves some too. The former captain was instrumental in the chase – without his contribution it would have been too much for Russell to do. He’s a true professional that has rolled with a number of WICB punches over the years, and we love the fact he still gives his all every time. We’re expecting another explosive performance from Sammy.
The Odds*
South Africa – $1.34
West Indies – $3.25
*Courtesy of BetEasy.
The Prediction
No de Villiers, no Steyn. Ama returning, de Kock returning. The personnel changes tend to balance themselves out a bit, and Amla never really fails. Even still, take a punt on West Indies again. Worth it at that money and Gayle is due.
