DURBAN, South Africa, (CMC) - After the embarrassment of Newlands and the self-destruction of St George’s Park, the elements now look set to intervene as the West Indies bid to halt South Africa’s quest for a series-clinching victory at Kingsmead in the third One-day International cricket match today.
The two teams arrived yesterday afternoon to find the city drenched by showers that have lingered over the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal for the last 48 hours.
Forecasters are predicting a continuation of the inclement weather, increasing the prospects of a complete washout or, at best, a rain-affected fixture that will see the Duckworth/Lewis Scoring System coming into the equation.
However as bleak as the prospects seem, all hope is not lost for an uninterrupted fixture. The ground was under water less than 24 hours before last year’s World Cup semifinal between India and Kenya yet that match was completed without a hitch.
Assuming that a dramatic improvement does materialise, Kingsmead’s reputation as a seamer’s paradise under lights renders the toss for this day/night fixture as a much more critical factor than it should be.
Having called incorrectly three of four times in the preceding Tests and for the first two matches in the ODI series, Brian Lara will be thinking that the odds are now in his favour to finally have the coin falling his way to give the West Indies an opportunity to bat in the daylight hours for the first time.
But the visitors’ captain knows that for all of the significance of the other factors, he and all the senior batsmen only have to look in the mirror to find the reasons why the series is not level at 1 rather than being 2-0 in favour of South Africa going into this match.
Lara has admitted the three run-outs that accounted for himself, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Ridley Jacobs on the way to a 16-run loss at Port Elizabeth on Wednesday were “stupid”.
However admission of guilt is one thing, attaining immediate redemption is another, and in seeking to make amends, the Caribbean skipper will have to justify a puzzling decision to bat at number five in the order two days ago.
His explanation that he hoped for a positive, attacking start from the top three, but wanted to have experience later on remains unconvincing, and it remains to be seen if Ricardo Powell will again be given the number three spot, followed by Sarwan and then Lara.
No doubt tactics are influenced by the state of the match, yet constant shifting of the batting order hardly allows players to develop confidence in any particular position.
While the West Indies top order again selects itself, the bowling department may be adjusted if a damp outfield is expected to make it difficult for the slower bowlers to be effective. Ryan Hurley may be the man omitted, for as well as he has bowled his off-spinners, his inability to cope with the moving ball with bat in hand could prompt the debut of either Kurt Wilkinson or Ian Bradshaw.
Yet Hurley’s excellence in the field and combined figures of two wickets for 81 runs from 19 overs in the first two matches remain significant factors in his favour.
As expected, South Africa have retained an unchanged 14-man squad for the next two matches in Durban and on Sunday in Centurion, and the trio of Morne van Wyk, Ashwell Prince and the uncapped Albie Morkel are again likely to be restricted to dressing room duties as the hosts seek a victory that will complete a third consecutive Test and One-day series “double” over the West Indies after similar triumphs at home in 1998-99 and in the Caribbean in 2001.
Indeed, any suggestion that they were in a more relaxed mood on the strength of a 2-0 series lead was dispelled yesterday afternoon when, within minutes of arriving at their hotel on Durban’s North Beach, they were off for an intensive workout at Kingsmead’s impressive indoor facilities.
Supreme professionalism has been the key to South Africa’s success so far, in both the Tests and ODIs. It remains an elusive quality for their opponents, although the abbreviated nature of ODI cricket allows for even fleeting moments of brilliance to make a decisive difference.
For the moment, however, the only brilliance all cricket fans here in Durban are concerned about is from the sunshine, which has remained worryingly hidden behind a thick grey blanket of moisture-laden clouds.
Teams:
SOUTH AFRICA (probable): Graeme Smith (captain), Herschelle Gibbs, Boeta Dippenaar, Jacques Rudolph, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Lance Klusener, Robin Peterson, Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel.
WEST INDIES (probable): Brian Lara (captain), Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ricardo Powell, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Smith, Ridley Jacobs, Ryan Hurley, Mervyn Dillon, Ravi Rampaul, Corey Collymore.