3rd Test; South Africa Vs West Indies – Match Preview
The third and last match of bilateral test series between South Africa and the hosts West Indies is going to be played today at Kensington Oval Bridgetown, Barbados. Graeme Smith’s side is leading the test series by 1-0. So far the hosts have lost all of their matches across all formats. The lone relief for the poor hosts came as the stalemate of second test in St. Kitts.
The middle order of West Indies spent time on the pitch which helped lead them to a high-scoring draw in the St. Kitts test match, but the quality of the pace attack of West Indies is still questionable. Inability of the West Indies’ bowling-line to bowl out the visitors, even after getting potentially prevailing position, suggested a defensive attitude for the hosts. With these traits Chris Gayle’s side would more likely rummage around for a draw in its last test.
The visitors, on the other hand, would step into Kensington Oval with a match winning strategy. South African team’s quest to reach the Number 1 place in five-day cricket was faltered in India, but this time they will definitely be eager to claim the Number 1 position. In order to regain the lost ground they would have to win the series with a good margin. The pace attack of South Africa, given the right conditions, has the ability to threat the batting line of hosts.
Hashim Amla, who failed to enhance his standing as a Test batsman so far in the tour, will try to make a comeback in the last chance at Caribbean. He got an early dismissal in both innings in the 1st test and tried to make some good starts before he was sacked by Shane Shillingford in the St. Kitts test. But in Kensington Oval, Amla will probably come with some preparation to counter Shillingford.
With the alarming dearth of quality pace attack and absence of Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards, Kemar Roach will be the one and only hope for Chris Gayle.
Gayle’s side is having a rough run these days. They have lost their 17 consecutive matches in all the three formats of cricket, ODI, Test and T20. The hosts failed to manage a win over Smith’s team in last three years. Their last victory over South African team came in the Port Elizabeth Test in 2007.
South Africa has played three five-dayers at the Kensington Oval and have won, lost and draw one respectively. They clinched a victory at Kensington Oval in 2005, when AB de Villiers and Graeme Smith scored centuries.
Looking at the results of last five games played by both the sides, the visitors have an edge over the hosts. Gayle’s side has lost its three matches and could manage two stalemates. While Smith’s men won three, lost their one match and one game ended in a draw.
The tracks at Bridgetown are generally batting friendly but at the same time fast and bouncy. The experts predict the wicket would slow down after the first few hours, so bowlers face a hard grind in another five days. A spin in the final stages of the match is also expected, which will interest Sulieman Benn and Shillingford. The weather forecast predicts some scattered showers on all five days.
Traditionally the Kensington Oval tracks have been supportive to bounce and move but in the recent times the pitch has shown a definite slowness. At the same time the pitch has been quite favourable for the batsmen. The recent example being England’s tour to Caribbean, last year when a cumulative of 1649 runs were scored for just 17 wickets in both the innings.
With the two teams coming into the match with contrasting mindsets, the pitch would better decide the course of the game.
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