Cape Town - Proteas captain AB de Villiers has won the toss and decided to bat first in their opening Tri-Nation one-day international against the West Indies in Guyana on Friday.
De Villiers said at the toss that the slow nature of the Guyana pitch makes it ideal to employ two spinners, which sees Imran Tahir and Aaron Phangiso crack the final XI. The skipper stated that left-handed batsman JP Duminy would provide a third spinning option.
IPL star Chris Morris won the race for the all-rounder’s berth ahead of Wayne Parnell, who had excelled for the Cape Cobras in the last South African domestic season.
With Faf du Plessis still out injured, Rilee Rossouw will bat at No 3, with Farhaan Berhardien slotted in at No 6.
The West Indies also picked two specialist spinners in Sunil Narine and Sulieman Benn, but are missing heavyweights such as Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy due to their ongoing contract issues with the West Indies board.
Teams For Guyana
West Indies: Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Denesh Ramdin, Kieron Pollard, Carlos Brathwaite, Jason Holder (captain), Jerome Taylor, Sunil Narine, Sulieman Benn.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla, Rilee Rossouw, AB de Villiers (captain), JP Duminy, Farhaan Behardien, Chris Morris, Kyle Abbott, Kagiso Rabada, Aaron Phangiso, Imran Tahir.