West Indies have won the toss and opted to field in overcast conditions at Southamton.
“This is one of the biggest grounds of the tournament. Straight boundaries are really long and the ones square are reasonably big too. The pitch looks soft and the fast bowlers should relish the track with the new ball in particular. There might not be as much misbehavior as there was during the South Africa-India game but the quicks should still love bowling here, weather permitting.” say Shaun Pollock and Ian Bishop.
South Africa are just not that kind of team. They like plans (and we’ve heard about A, B, C and so on at this tournament) and structure. They like order. They do not like the fact that their own cricketers’ association has taken the governing body to court over the proposed domestic restructure, they do not like the injuries that are haunting their almost every tour and they especially do not like the player exodus, mostly to Kolpak deals but in de Villiers’ case, to self-imposed exile which also wanted a self-orchestrated ending.
By contrast, West Indies have not won one of their last five series in the same time, and that includes three defeats at the hands of Bangladesh. Their best result was a drawn series at home against England earlier this year. But, if there’s one team to whom form barely matters, its West Indies. And if there’s one team to whom fights with the board barely matter, it’s West Indies. And if there’s one team who can manage players coming in and out or opting for T20 leagues over international duty and then deciding they actually want both, its West Indies.
