West Indies head to South Africa after a successful Zimbabwe red ball tour to play 2 Tests, 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is starting Tuesday, February 28th 2023. The Test series, a part of the ICC World Test Championship 2021 – 2023 will be the concluding series of the Championship and the ODI series will form part of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League.

The Windies, who have a rather poor overall record against South Africa in all 3 formats of the game will hope the mini resurgence in their cricketing fortunes in recent times will have an impact by the time the tour wraps up on March 28th 2023.

South Africa

Big changes in South African cricket as operational shakeups continue. The Test squad sees Temba Bavuma replace Dean Elgar as the new captain from this series and includes neither of the side’s only century-makers from last year Kyle Verreynne and Sarel Erwee. Verreynne, SA’s 2nd highest run-scorer in Australia in December and January is replaced by wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen and Erwee has been dropped along with Rassie van der Dussen, Khaya Zondo, Lungi Ngidi and Glenton Stuurman.

Bavuma will lead the Proteas in the ODIs as well but has given up his T20I captaincy.

Aiden Markram, who lead the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the title in the inaugural SA20 and Keegan Petersen, who missed the tour of Australia due to a hamstring injury make a comeback to the Test side while Western Province batter Tony de Zorzi gets his Test call-up following an impressive showing at the CSA 4-day Series (489 runs at 122.25). The shock inclusion? Left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy returns to the Test side for the first time since 2019. Wicketkeeper-batsman Ryan Rickelton and all-rounder Wiaan Mulder also make it to the 15-man squad announced by CSA.

The squad is expected to assemble in Centurion on February 24.

Test Squad

Temba Bavuma (Captain) Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Dean Elgar, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Keegan Petersen, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton (wk)

ODI & T20I squads are yet to be announced.

 

West Indies

All-rounder Kraigg Brathwaite will continue to lead the West Indies hoping to improve their Test record against the No.3 ranked hosts. When the teams last met on African soil in 2014, the Windies lost the 3-Test series 2-0 and lost the more recent home series 2-0 in 2021 as well. In the 9 Test bilateral series between the sides, the Windies have only won once in 1991-92.

But the new look Windies side we saw in Zimbabwe look set to make amends as they bring in fresh firepower with Alick Athanaze, the captain of the Windward Islands, and Barbados pace bowler Akeem Jordan. Both earning their maiden call-ups to West Indies’ 15-member squad.

Athanaze made a name for himself in the Under-19 World Cup in 2017-18 in New Zealand by averaging 104.50 and has gone on to score 1154 runs at an average of 31.18 in first-class cricket. In the ongoing 4-day West Indies Championship, Athanaze has scored 41 and 51 against Trinidad and Tobago along with a career-best 141 against Guyana.

Jordan who has 24 wickets at an average of 17.62 in first-class cricket took a five-for versus Guyana and subsequently bagged 7 for 113 versus Jamaica in the current first-class season.

Test Squad

Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Alick Athanaze, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva (WK), Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Akeem Jordan, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Devon Thomas (wk)

ODI & T20I squads are yet to be announced.

 

Head-to-Head

Tests

Total – 30 | South Africa – 20 | West Indies – 3 | Drawn – 7 | Tied – 0

ODIs

Total – 62 | South Africa – 44 | West Indies – 15 | No Result – 2 | Tied – 1

T20Is

Total – 16 | South Africa – 10 | West Indies – 6

 

Schedule

Tests

1st Test – February 28, Tuesday – March 04, Saturday, SuperSport Park, Centurion

2nd Test – March 08, Wednesday – March 12, Sunday, The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Both Tests at 08:00 AM GMT / 1:30 PM IST

ODIs

1st ODI – Thursday, March 16 (Buffalo Park, East London) – 11:00 AM GMT/04:30 PM IST

2nd ODI – Saturday, March 18 (Buffalo Park, East London) – 11:00 AM GMT/04:30 PM IST

3rd ODI – Tuesday, March 21 (Senwes Park, Potchefstroom) – 08:00 AM GMT/01:30 PM IST

T20Is

1st T20I – Saturday, March 25 (SuperSport Park, Centurion) – 12:00 PM GMT/05:30 PM IST

2nd T20I – Sunday, March 26 (SuperSport Park, Centurion) – 12:00 PM GMT/05:30 PM IST

3rd T20I – Tuesday, March 28 (The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg) – 04:00 PM GMT/09:30 PM IST