Pressure growing on Windies to storm back against SA
While all appears rosy in the South Africa garden, the Windies are in the midst of another crisis, 2-0 down with just one game to play and a number of question marks hanging over certain players.
Brian Lara aside, the hosts have been below-par and even recently-appointed fitness trainer Bryce Cavanagh joined the chorus of condemnation following the third Test defeat in Bridgetown. After putting the players through a vigorous fitness test, the Australian said: “When they run and when they move they don’t move very efficiently. They were very floppy. Their hips moved, their legs moved. They were all over the shop when they were trying to run.
“From chatting to the coaches, one of the problems (they’ve identified) with these blokes is that they fatigue on the third, fourth and fifth day of a Test match, especially the fifth day.”
The selectors, however, have decided not to make wholesale changes for the final Test, bringing back paceman Tino Best after close to nine months out with a back injury and all-rounder Narsingh Deonarine to replace Reon King and Ryan Hinds.
“Everyone will expect me to go out and perform well,” Deonarine said.
“I think I can make a contribution as a batsman and a bowler. I’m a batsman first and my bowling has been coming on good,” added the Guyana player, who impressed on his debut in the first Test only to lose his place.
Meanwhile, the South Africans could give Shaun Pollock a run-out after the former captain missed the first three Tests with an ankle injury.
The Proteas will see the game as the perfect opportunity to ease Pollock back into the fray before the one-day series, which starts in Jamaica on May 7.
“Even if he (Pollock) can give us 10 or 15 overs a day that would be good,” said coach Ray Jennings.
“Monde (Zondeki) has a bit of a niggle with his thigh, and ‘Nella’ (Andre Nel) has a sore back. But I can’t see more than one change in our team for the match.”
Jennings wants to keep the pressure on the West Indies so that his team take a psychological advantage into the one-dayers.
“I don’t want to lose the pressure that we have put the Windies under,” he added.
“Their media are coming hard at them and there is a lot of pressure from the public on them.”
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