South Africa and West Indies drop to the shortest form of the game for a three match T20 series which gets underway in Centurion on Saturday to conclude the tour of this part of the world for the Caribbean men.
Usually a T20 series in a year where there isn’t a World Cup wouldn’t really mean anything but given that these two stunk the place out in the last tournament they probably have a point to prove and get a chance to do it here.
South Africa
This is the format of the three that South Africa have had the least success in through the years. The overriding reason for that is because their batting hasn’t been deep enough or powerful enough but there are signs now that they are coming into the modern world in that department. The other reason why they haven’t gone that well is because they have been left behind in the franchise tournament stakes but they have finally put that right this year too.
They will hope the success of the SA20 works its way up to the international side. Their best domestic players got to play against international stars which usually strengthens a national team as a result. South Africa have never struggled with the bowling attack in any format of the game, even this one, but now they are getting players who can clear the ropes throughout the innings and when under pressure they are giving themselves a better chance of being successful.
West Indies
West Indies have notoriously been the best in this format of the game but their star has dimmed dramatically in the last couple of years and they are in the transitional rebuild stage, if such a thing is allowed in West Indian cricket. The big problem West Indies had is their star players all grew old together and there wasn’t the foresight to blood the younger players to pick up where they left off. It is hard to challenge that strategy when you consider it brought them two World Cups but they are paying the price for it now.
The biggest problem West Indies have had is their all or nothing approach to batting. Attempting to hit everything for six on good pitches in India is ok but we’ve seen in the UAE and Australia on bigger grounds which offer a bit for the bowlers that the strategy just doesn’t work. They are going to need to change that approach. The other thing which has caught them out has been the lack of a death bowler and they need to come good in that department too.
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Team News
South Africa have a massive ODI series with the Netherlands next week so it remains to be seen what part their senior bowlers will play in these matches, especially with there only being 24 hours between the first two games. Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje are in the squad if called upon.
West Indies might go in with a similar balance to the one they had in the ODIs. The only difference could be that Johnson Charles comes in to open the batting and there is likely to be room in the side for Obed McCoy who wasn’t around for the ODIs.
Betting
We saw how accessible the boundaries are at SuperSport Park when the SA20 was here earlier in the summer and given how West Indies approach their cricket I don’t really see a reason why the sixes won’t continue to flow in this match. South Africa suddenly have some six hitters and they should be looking to both entertain here and get a few hits out of the middle ahead of the ODIs against the Netherlands which follow these T20s.
We saw throughout the ODI matches that these two sides can clear much bigger ropes than what we are going to get in this match and we also saw that both teams are going to rotate their bowlers and keep them relatively fresh. You would imagine that will be the case even more with this first game on Saturday and the next one on Sunday. The sixes line for this one is 14.5. On a high scoring ground with short boundaries and the way West Indies look to hit everything over the ropes I’m happy to be on the over.
Tips
Back Over 14.5 sixes for a 3/10 stake at 1.95 with BetVictor
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