 The fifth and the final ODI of the West Indies-South Africa series will be played
at Port-of-Spain in Trinidad and will see the West Indies team play for
personal pride. They have already lost the series and played rather well in the
fourth ODI - for the first ever occasion in the series - but will like to go into
the Test series with a win under their belt.
Click for Live Score Card of West Indies Vs South Africa
West Indies batted first for the first ever time in the series and batted really
well. This was despite the early loss of Chris Gayle who scored only
29, and that meant that the side was in early pressure. But the likes of Dale
Richards and Darren Bravo scored a half century each, and propelled the total
to 303 in the fifty overs - an excellent one, albeit in the absence of Dale
Steyn.
What the hosts need to do is to continue in the same vein and try and build
partnerships in the game, and try and go after the bowlers in the end. of course,
my age-old grouse of sending in Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy continues
to remain but then, what the West Indies needs is a strategy that works for
them.
The bowling becomes a bigger worry with the absence of Jerome Taylor. Taylor
was indisposed at the start of the previous game against South Africa
and will probably not play in this match as well, which means that the side
will need to rethink their bowling strategy. Having three frontline and the
rest of the 20 overs shared by the part-timers is probably not the best way
of going about it, but with a brittle batting like what West Indies has, it
does not make sense to adopt that kind of strategy.
For South Africa, Steyn was rested because the series was already won, but
that had a telling effect on the bowling. It just goes on to show what a class
bowler Steyn is and how listless the side is without him. Of course, the side
were obviously boosted by the presence of Ryan McLaren, who has been doing a
good job with the ball in his first full series and that will augur well for
them in the future.
South Africa should be favourites to win this game, but it also depends on
which players walk up to the park. Guys like Jacques Kallis need a break
from cricket, especially with the Test series coming up and it could just allow
the West Indians to get back.
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