South Africa tour to West Indies 2021 [Preview]
South Africa is scheduled to tour West Indies in the month of June and July to play two Tests and five T20Is, starting from 10th June at St. Lucia. West Indies have announced their T20I squad for home summer but yet to name the Test squad for the two-match Test series against South Africa.
The selectors will be looking to go in with same pool of players that featured for West Indies in the previous series against Sri Lanka played at home.
On the other hand, South Africa have made wholesale changes to their Test squad for the series in the Caribbean. Opener Dean Elgar was named new captain of the Test side for South Africa. Temba Bavuma will act as deputy to Dean Elgar for the two-match Test series.
Opener Sarel Erwee has added in the Test squad for the two-match Test series. Keegan Petersen and Kyle Verreynne are other batting options included for this series. Bowling all-rounder Prenelan Subrayen have earned maiden call-up to the Test side for the series in the Caribbean.
After doing well in the previous home series against Pakistan, Lizaad Williams has earned his call-up to the Test setup for this series. Marco Jansen is another pace bowling option for the series.
In the batting department, the side will be relying on the likes of Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen to deliver the bulk of the runs.
Since October 2019, Dean Elgar is leading the batting charts for South Africa in Test cricket. Left-hander would be looking to get back amongst the runs after having a poor series in Pakistan earlier this year.
The likes of Temba Bavuma, Kyle Verreynne and Keegan Petersen will make up the middle-order for South Africa for this series. Despite being sacked from captaincy, Quinton de Kock is still first-choice keeper for South Africa in Test cricket.
Anrich Nortje, Beuran Hendricks, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi are premier bowlers in the pace department. Beside the pace quartet, Lizaad Williams and Marco Jansen are other uncapped pacers included in the Test squad for the two-match series.
Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi and Prenelan Subrayen are three spinners for the upcoming two-match series.
On the other hand, West Indies will be looking to continue their decent form in red-ball cricket. Captain Kraigg Brathwaite will lead the side for the two-match Test series against South Africa.
In the batting department, the side will be relying on the likes of Kraigg Brathwaite, Kyle Mayers and Nkrumah Bonner to deliver the bulk of the runs.
In the previous series against Sri Lanka, the likes of Brathwaite, Mayers and Bonner continued their excellent form with the bat.
The likes of Joshua De Silva, Jermaine Blackwood and Jason Holder will make up the middle-order for West Indies for this two-match Test series.
In the bowling department, the pace trio of Jason Holder, Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach will need to make crucial breakthroughs. Rahkeem Cornwall and Jomel Warrican will be two spinners for the side for this two-match series.
The visitors will kick-start their tour with a two-match Test series against West Indies. Both the matches will be played at Darren Sammy Stadium in Gros Iset, St Lucia. The opening game will be played from 10th till 14th June. The second and final game will be played from 18th till 22nd June.
The culmination of the two-match series will see South Africa lock horns with West Indies in a five-match T20I series. All the matches will be played at National Cricket Stadium in St George’s, Grenada. The matches will be played on 26th, 27th and 29th June, 1st July and 3rd July respectively.
