IN SPITE of their "lowest you can get" defeat in the first one-day international under the lights at Newlands on Sunday, the West Indies seem certain to stick to the same eleven for the second in Port Elizabeth tomorrow.
"We thought this was our best side going into the game so there is no point making changes after just one game," captain Brian Lara said following their record low total of 54 - the sixth lowest in all ODIs - and their 209-run loss.
"We must treat this as a one-off," he added. "We've got four more matches and we've got to improve from here on in, to get things together to ensure better performances."
Even if he were so inclined, Lara's options for change are limited to the inexperience of batsman Kurt Wilkinson and left-handed all-rounder Ian Bradshaw, two of the four players brought in for the one-day series, and fledgling fast bowlers Ravi Rampaul and Fidel Edwards.
Wilkinson and Bradshaw are yet to play an ODI, Rampaul had four and Edwards two on the preceding trip to Zimbabwe.
The first three had their first taste of floodlit cricket in last Friday's match against South Africa 'A' at Paarl when 19-year-old Ramapul's two for 23 from 10 overs seemed enough justification for selection for Sunday's match.
But, like South Africa, the West Indies went for the older, more seasoned men for the key opening match.
As it was, Merv Dillon and Vasbert Drakes, two professionals who have been around a long time, were the ones who were savaged most by the two Jacques, the right-handed Kallis and the left-hander Rudolph, in their unbeaten partnership of 162 that included 95 off the last 10 overs.
There is nothing they should need to know about where to put the ball in a limited-overs match when two quality, well set batsmen are slogging.
But Dillon was taken for 14 off one over and Drakes for 21 in another.
What is essential in the remaining matches is that Lara calls correctly at the toss to avoid having to bat under floodlights, generally a disadvantage on most grounds in South Africa.
The West Indies never had any realistic hope on Sunday once Kallis and Rudolph carried South Africa's total to 263 for four.
The combination of heavy cloud cover, the lights, the white ball and fast bowlers capable of seam and swing proved too much for a batting order with the shaky defences of Ricardo Powell and Dwayne Smith at Nos.5 and 6.
Powell is a fierce striker of the ball and duly sent Makhaya Ntini's half-volley whistling through mid-off for four and Lance Klusener's short ball over the long-leg boundary for six.
The length was neither full nor short for his other seven deliveries, the last of which, an outswinger from Klusener, found an indecisive edge to the 'keeper.
This was the ground where Smith stroked his memorable, unbeaten 105 on debut in the fourth Test. But conditions then yielded 1,648 runs and six other hundreds.
Things were far different Sunday night when the ball did all the talking. Batting for the first time in his life under lights, he lasted eight balls before Klusener clipped his defensive outside edge with the perfect outswinger.
It was also Ryan Hurley's first experience under lights and the kind of movement he doesn't confront at Kensington Oval.
In the circumstances, an on-drive was not the best choice of shot against another Klusener outswinger that pitched middle and was diverted to third slip from the leading edge.
Such adversity tests the character of young cricketers. They should learn from them.
If they don't, the West Indies will endure many more nights like Sunday, possibly even in the coming week.