Cricket news - South Africa wants to finish West Indies tour on winning note
South Africa won eight out of nine matches on the tour of West Indies across all formats. The last test match played at St. Kitts provided some relief to West Indians in the form of draw. Despite that, they came under heavy criticism for employing defensive tactics in the high scoring match.
The only positive that came from St. Kitts test was that the hosts’ middle order clicked for the first time. Their bowling was bashed by South African batsmen in usual manner. Hence, it is expected that the hosts will come to 3rd and final test in Barbados with defensive strategy.
On the other hand, South Africa will have completely different priorities for the match. After failing to gain No. 1 ranking in their tour of India, they want to finish their Caribbean tour on a high note. They will be hoping to win convincingly, so that they gain lost ground in the ICC Test rankings.
South Africa will be depending on their bowling attack to steer them to victory in Barbados. Moreover, if the pitch supports movement, South African bowling is capable of bullying West Indian batsmen as they have done in previous matches. The duo of Morkel and Dale Steyn will be hoping to end this tour by making a statement. If they succeed in annihilating the opposition batting, they could emerge as the fiercest bowling attack in the world. On the other hand, batting has always been South Africa’s strength. Nothing less is expected from one of the best batting line-ups in World Cricket. Chris Gayle believes that the biggest weakness of his team is bowling. He said, “We need someone to fill the gap in our bowling. We need someone, or some help for us to get 20 wickets, which will help us win the Test match.”
However, the deciding factor will be the pitch. Pitch played a pivotal role in St. Kitts and another dead pitch; the result could easily go for a draw. Historically speaking, the track at Kensington Oval in Barbados is supportive of bounce and movement. T20 Championship matches played at Kensington Oval earlier featured bouncy tracks. So it can be hoped that we will not be witnessing mammoth run scoring game.
Hashim Amla, who has had unimpressive Test matches so far, will be hoping to pile scores in the coming test as he did against the hosts in limited over version. It is mindboggling to see Amla struggling against Shane Shillingford. Shillingford, who is very young to Test cricket, twice removed Amla in the second test. Amla is usually very good against spinners as he showed in India when he bashed Harbajan Singh all over the park. Amla would be hoping to settle scores with Shillingford once and for all in Barbados. Another player to watch in this Test is Kemar Roach. Roach has emerged as the leading fast bowlers for West Indians after many years and it is expected from him to capitalize the bouncy nature of Kensington Oval’s wicket.
As far as team changes are concerned, hosts will be bringing Dale Richards in place of Travis Dowlin. Richards will be partnering Chris Gayle in opening the innings. Dale Richards is hopeful that his performance in coming Test will prove the selectors’ decision to include him in the team right. Talking tor reporters, Richards said, “A lot of people write off a lot of guys at 30 but I think when you get to that age, you understand batting more. I don't go in the game with any sort of pressure.” On the other hand, South Africa will be sticking to the same combination and therefore will be making no changes to the team.
Nevertheless, South Africa is hopeful that they will finish this tour on a winning note. Talking to media, South African skipper Graeme Smith said, “We have had an excellent tour of the West Indies so far, and it would be a pity not to finish it off on a high note.”
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