No points on the line. No imminently looming World Cup to prepare for. Sport for sport's sake, who'd a thunk?
The three-match T20I series between West Indies and South Africa is a contextual anomaly on the cricket calendar because there does not seem to be any reason for it - other than that it was scheduled to take place. While fans may see it as an opportunity to just be entertained, neither side's coaching staff was willing to take that approach. Instead, they've already begun a narrative of using these matches as a first step on the road to the T20 World Cup in 2026, even as the memories from the 2024 event have barely receded.
West Indies hope to lay foundation for future
For West Indies, the failure to reach the semi-finals of their home tournament - after defeat against South Africa - confirmed to white-ball coach Daren Sammy that they need to work on their tournament-play. "I want to become a championship-winning team. Right now, we are a series-winning team," Sammy said . "We beat one team over a three- or five-game period and we know what to do, but I want this team to become a championship-winning team - where you can find and play a different opposition in a tournament, and be able to come up with the goods every single game."
In the lead-up to this year's T20 World Cup, West Indies came out on top in four out of five T20I series, including two against South Africa and one against England. At the tournament itself, they were unable to beat either side in the Super Eights , when it mattered most. Whether another series against South Africa can help West Indies overcome this issue is debatable, but it does allow Sammy to keep his core group of players together - 11 of the 15 who were part of the World Cup squad are in this one - and hope the younger ones like Alick Athanaze and Sherfane Rutherford can learn from the likes of Johnson Charles and Rovman Powell.
"Those guys of 2016 [the T20 World Cup West Indies won] are now the senior players," Sammy said. "It's a combination of youth and experience. And by the time you look at the next 16 months, hopefully the game plan we put in place, the roles and personnel we have will tick all the boxes, and the championship mentality we are looking for can come to fruition."
South Africa look to develop depth in talent
South Africa have taken the opposite approach, and brought only six of the 15-member squad that reached their first men's World Cup final as they try to create depth around the big names and among players who don't always feature in T20 leagues. Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi have all been given the series off, with recalls for experienced names like Rassie van der Dussen , and call-ups for promising youth like Under-19 World Cup's breakout star Kwena Maphaka.
"It's 18 months away from the 2026 World Cup. We've got nine series from now until then, which leaves us with around 32 to 36 fixtures before that World Cup," Rob Walter , South Africa's white-ball coach, said. "In terms of giving guys international opportunities and playing against quality T20 sides - not every one of our players is a marquee player in the league - we have to use these opportunities to play against strong opposition. We need to grow the base of our players that are competing at this level.
"For me, the importance of fixtures like these are massive. The leagues and the congestion is a challenge, but actually it can be a positive for us in that we've got a broader group of players that are playing competitive cricket."
Walter will also be looking for some level of consistency as he builds the squad. Before the 2024 T20 World Cup, South Africa had not won a T20I series in six attempts since beating Ireland in August 2022. They went into the tournament with only two wins from their previous 11 games, though it's worth remembering that they pulled off a stunning run of eight successive victories to reach the final.
Batters to watch: Nicholas Pooran and Reeza Hendricks
The highest T20 run-getter so far this year is Nicholas Pooran , who has played 54 matches and scored 1628 runs, including 11 fifties. He was also West Indies' highest run-scorer at the T20 World Cup, with 228 runs in seven matches. Pooran is known as one of the biggest hitters and best finishers in the game, and will be after a three-figure score to top off a stellar 2024.
Just 181 runs behind him this calendar year is Reeza Hendricks , but the least profitable of South Africa's top six at the T20 World Cup. Hendricks scored 113 runs from nine games in the competition and, after missing out on playing even a single game despite being a part of the squad at the 2022 tournament, may have a sense he did not fulfil his potential, especially as he just turned 35. But Walter is backing Hendricks to keep going, and Hendricks will know the expectation is that runs will come.
"In my opinion, 35 is not too old. There's many guys who are playing at older than that, and they're playing the best cricket of their life," Walter said. "We are cognisant of age and building for the future, but also of wrapping younger guys with experience. We want to get the balance right."
Bowlers to watch: Kwena Maphaka and Obed McCoy
To that end, Kwena Maphaka , who was the Player of the Tournament at the Under-19 World Cup this year, could get his first international cap. He has already played first-tier provincial cricket for Lions, and two matches for Mumbai Indians at the IPL, so he has had some taste of the big time. Walter has yet to see Maphaka bowl in the flesh, but likes what he knows about him so far.
"He's a wonderfully calm young guy, and seems to have his head screwed on very well," he said. "He's done some incredibly amazing things for a very young guy, and seems to have a really cool perspective on it all. We see him as a strong potential for the priorities moving forward, and it was an ideal opportunity to just get him on tour and get him into the system."
West Indies will also be relying on their younger quicks, with all of Alzarri Joseph, Jason Holder and Andre Russell rested. That puts responsibility on Obed McCoy as the senior seamer, and he has experience to lean on. McCoy has played more T20Is against South Africa and India than any other opposition - nine matches each - and had also bowled West Indies to a 3-0 series win against South Africa in May . He has also spent time in the SA20, so his knowledge of the South African batters could prove crucial for West Indies' think tank.
The venue: Brain Lara Academy, Tarouba
The ground staff at the Brain Lara Academy are still smarting from news that the surface they prepared for the T20 World Cup semi-final between South Africa and Afghanistan was deemed unsatisfactory by the ICC, and will be keen to do better. As a reminder, South Africa bowled Afghanistan out for 56 and chased the score down inside nine overs, with the low scores being put down to uneven bounce and excessive seam movement. But happily, that's not the norm here, and in 35 completed first innings in the CPL, the average first-innings score is 145, which, in the last two seasons, has increased to 158.
On the weather front, there may be some nerves as well after rain washed out most of the first Test, which was held in nearby Port-of-Spain. But the news is better for the T20Is. There are morning showers forecast for Friday and Sunday - the days of the first and second match - which should clear by the afternoon. The third game, on Tuesday, might be in some danger of being affected, but downpours are not expected to be constant, and a three-hour playing window should be possible. All three matches will start at 3pm local time.
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