Temba Bavuma has vowed to prepare “even better” for the second Test against the West Indies after a pair of ducks on his debut as captain. Photo: Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix
LIVE: Proteas beat West Indies by 87 runs
South Africa take on the West Indies in the first Test of their series at SuperSport Park from Tuesday 28 February.
Temba Bavuma has vowed to prepare “even better” for the second Test against the West Indies after a pair of ducks on his debut as captain. Photo: Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix
South Africa take on the West Indies in the first Test of their series at SuperSport Park from Tuesday 28 February.
South Africa vs West Indies: LIVE scores
In his first Test as South Africa captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bat first.
Dean Elgar survived an early dropped catch before the Proteas batted out the morning session without loss on day one of the first Test against the West Indies.
Kyle Mayers induced the edge but his slip corden let him down and that seemed to steel Elgar.
Elgar faced the bulk of the bowling in the morning session, in his typical nuggety style.
He went to his 23rd Test fifty and fifth at SuperSport Park.
Meanwhile Aiden Markram is on the brink of a half century having returned to the opening role.
Six changes were made from the Test team that lost the third Test in Australia.
Two debutants were brought in with Tony De Zorzi and Gerald Coetzee getting their caps.
At lunch South Africa reached 99 without loss with Elgar on 53 and Markram on 42.
What they said
“It won’t be easy, South Africa are a tough team at home, but we are looking forward to playing some hard days of test cricket,” Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite told reporters on Monday.
South Africa vs West Indies: Pitch report, prediction, betting preview
“It is important we take control of every hour, and not look at the big picture, just go from session to session.
“Zimbabwe isn’t a top team in the world so we are really looking to challenging ourselves here. We need to improve as batters and it is important as openers to set the foundation or the team,” he said.
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“It looks a good wicket, stats say batters can get runs on this pitch and the spinners will turn it later in the game.
“We have some very good bowlers. As a group we look forward to bowling at any batting line-up in the world. Discipline is very important, if we stick to our plans, the results will take care of themselves.”
“I think it’s exciting times for all the guys involved,” Bavuma told the media ahead of the game on Monday. “It’s the start of a new journey. We’d like to start with a clean slate and really go out there playing the way we want to play.
“I think you’re going to hear me saying that a lot, how we want to go about our business. That’s the exciting part. I’d like to see how it all looks like on the field of play. We come into the series against the West Indies wanting to win the series and that is what we’ll be aiming to do.”
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SQUADS: SOUTH AFRICA VS WEST INDIES
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain). Gerald Coetzee. Tony de Zorzi. Dean Elgar. Simon Harmer. Marco Jansen. Heinrich Klaasen (wkt), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Keegan Petersen, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton.
West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Jermaine Blackwood (vc), Alick Athanaze, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Akeem Jordan, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Devon Thomas.
PITCH REPORT
Pace and bounce are usually the order of the day at SuperSport Park although batters prepared to ride their luck can still get runs on the board.
The wicket does tend to get tougher to bat on in the latter days of Test making batting first the logical choice for a skipper winning the toss.
The West Indies have lost all three Tests they have played at SuperSport Park with their last visit ending in an innings defeat for the tourists.
