While the West Indies sweat over the fitness of their captain Jason Holder, South Africa’s players will turn their attention away from the delights of the pristine sandy beaches of Barbados to the grassy surrounds of the Kensington Oval.
Tomorrow’s final round-robin match between the Proteas and the West Indies is now officially a winner-takes-all encounter. The mental examination in what amounts to a knockout match for both teams was something AB de Villiers remarked earlier in the week he didn’t mind and in fact welcomed.
It will certainly be an intriguing test for the South African players, who have faced just six balls since touching down in Barbados late last week. The time since has been spent taking in the delights of one of the world’s prime holiday destinations, but a very serious matter awaits the players tomorrow.
The West Indies lost a close match to the Australians on Tuesday with a stunning late burst from Glenn Maxwell - who made an unbeaten 46 off 26 balls with five fours and two sixes - and coupled with the loss, there is now also grave concern over the fitness of their captain.
Holder bowled just two overs and had to leave the field with a “strained” left hamstring. “Hopefully, I’ll be ready for the game on Friday, (I’m) still not sure at the moment,” he said.
West Indies coach Phil Simmons said despite the disappointment of Tuesday night’s defeat, there were positives to for the West Indies to build on ahead of tomorrow’s crunch clash. Marlon Samuels, who made a century and Dinesh Ramdin (91) shared a stand of 192 for the fourth wicket after the West Indies had been reduced to 31/3.
And then, despite Holder’s absence, the West Indies were able to drag the Australians to the penultimate over before ultimately succumbing to Maxwell’s onslaught.
“For us to be in a competition with No 1 and No 3 in the world, and still be in the competition and looking to be in the final in the last game, it’s what we spoke about at the start of the tournament,” said Simmons.
The West Indies have already beaten South Africa in this competition, though that win came on a sluggish surface in Guyana, which the South Africans had great difficulty coming to terms with.
On a better batting surface in St Kitts, the Proteas produced their best performance of the competition and with conditions at the Kensington Oval being likened to the Wanderers by the South Africans, they will fancy their chances at the venerable venue. South Africa has won three and lost three ODIs in Barbados. The last time they played the West Indies there was in 2007 when Boeta Dippenaar scored a century and Charl Langeveldt took a hat-trick in the final over as South Africa won by one run.
They would be happy to do without that kind of drama tomorrow, but they’d take a win anyway they can get it as it would ensure a spot in Sunday’s final. - The Star