The ICC World Cup comes into sharp focus with the start of the ODI series between South Africa and the West Indies at Kingsmead today.
Just days after the conclusion of the five-match series at the end of this month, both teams will head off Down Under for cricket’s most avidly watched and analysed tournament.
The strength of West Indies cricket lies in the limited-overs formats, particularly the Twenty20s, and they have already underlined this with a 2-1 win in the Twenty20 series that finished in Durban this week But the one-day format, is a different story, with the hosts currently on a remarkable 13-match unbeaten run that stretches back to November 2, 2006 when a Chris Gayle century in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy in Jaipur consigned the Proteas to a six-wicket defeat.
One of the most fascinating match-ups will be between the respective captains. While AB de Villiers is the established captain of the South African one-dayside, with nothing to prove as a player, his counterpart, 23-year-old Jason Holder, is his nation’s youngest captain at the start of his career. The Barbadian all-rounder has been pushed into the role because of the fallout that occurred when the Dwayne Bravo-led team pulled out of the series against India in October last year because of contractual problems.
Chief selector Clive Lloyd has great faith in the two-metre-tall youngster who will be 23 years and 72 days old when he leads his team out at Kingsmead this afternoon. He arrived at his first media conference yesterday with team manager Sir Richie Richardson and it was no surprise when Sir Richie gave Holder a handshake after the event. He handled questions calmly and gave succinct, thoughtful answers. “I’ve captained teams before, I like to be positive in what I do and it’s all about gaining the confidence and belief of my players. The first item on my agenda is engaging with the players and getting them on my side.”
By contrast, De Villiers has no issues in his dressing-room and was able to get straight down to business. “This is a big series for us. We know where we’re heading and we’re very happy with the squad we’ve got. It’ll be great to win the series and go to the World Cup with full confidence.” De Villiers said that the importance of the series was to solidify the team’s batting, bowling and fielding combinations.
SQUADS
South Africa: AB de Villiers (captain), Hashim Amla, Rilee Rossouw, Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy, David Miller, Farhaan Berhardien, Wayne Parnell, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir, Morne Morkel, Aaron Phangiso, Morné van Wyk, Kyle Abbott
West Indies: Jason Holder (captain), Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Lendl Simmons, Marlon Samuels, Leon Johnson, Sheldon Cottrell, Narsingh Deonarine, Andre Russell, Denesh Ramdin, Darren Sammy, Jerome Taylor, Sulieman Benn, Jonathan Carter, Carlos Brathwaite. - The Star