Johannesburg - South Africa, West Indies and Australia will all be testing their mental fortitude in the final week of the triangular series, with a spot for the final very much still up for grabs for all three sides.
The rains which ended South Africa’s match against the Australians after just one over at the Kensington Oval on Sunday night has left a host of scenarios on the table which offers all three teams a chance at qualifying for Sunday’s final, but which will examine how well they deal with pressure.
In typically bold Australian fashion, the world champions’ interim coach, Justin Langer welcomed the opportunity for his players to face that pressure.
This is something of a new Australian team missing the likes of Michael Clarke, Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson who were all instrumental in their World Cup success a year ago.
They of course do retain the likes of Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell from that victorious 2015 team, but for players like Adam Zampa and Usman Khawaja it is a new experience, certainly at international level.”All One-Day Internationals are pressure games, but certainly in this instance ... there’s real pressure,” Langer said after Sunday’s rain out.
“It’s game on.”Australia face the West Indies this evening, with the weather forecast a lot brighter that was the case on Sunday.”We haven’t done ourselves any favours in a sense that we haven’t got ourselves automatically into the final like we would have liked, so it’s good to see guys under pressure,” Langer added.
“And this will be a little bit more pressure than a normal One-Day International (tonight).”Australia have to win to secure a spot in the final and should they do so they’d also ensure South Africa qualify at the same time.
For his part, AB de Villiers was also bold about his own side’s chances should they need to beat the West Indies in the final round-robin match on Friday. A West Indies win tonight means South Africa have to win on Friday, as the tournament gives the advantage to teams with the most wins.
“Not an ideal situation for either team,” said De Villiers after what was an unfortunately low-key 200th ODI for his country. “We’ve had a few series like this where we’ve had must-win games.
“He referenced last season’s five-match series with England, where South Africa were 2-0 down to Eoin Morgan’s side before staging a thrilling fight back in the last three matches. In that series a dropped catch by Adil Rashid and a barnstorming performance with the bat by Chris Morris at the Wanderers got South Africa back in the series after which De Villiers' 24th ODI century sealed the deal for the Proteas at Newlands.H
aving those memories should inspire confidence as will their last performance in the current series when they overwhelmed the West Indies in St Kitts.
The South Africans will keep a close eye on today’s match not only because it could provide them with the prize of a berth in the final but also to assess how conditions will play.The prevailing theory going into Sunday’s match was that their would be greater assistance for stroke-makers, because the pitch is traditionally quicker than in St Kitts or Guyana, but the bounce would also assist the quick bowlers.
Morne Morkel was selected for his first start in the series, and so the performances of all the quick bowlers will be closely monitored in tonight’s match.De Villiers was asked if he’d consider going into a match without spin if the fast bowlers proved to be very successful in Bridgetown.”I’m a big believer in having the spinner in my pocket, because it can slow the game down.
“Besides Imran Tahir can bowl on glass at the moment, I’m not going to leave him out of the side,” De Villiers said of his leg-spinner, who is currently the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 13 from four matches, including a match-winning 7/45 against the West Indies. – The Star