With the T20 series all square at one game apiece, both the West Indies and South Africa have now had a decent look at each other's resources heading into today's third Twenty20 International game in Grenada starting at 1 p.m. Jamaica time.
With the bowlers from both sides showing great resolve and aptitude, the respective camps will be hoping that their batting can show a bit more spark, as the sides seek to take the ascendancy and go 2-1 up in the five-match series.
The teams’ top order, including Evin Lewis and Andre Fletcher of the West Indies, and Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks of South Africa, has been imperious in the power play, scoring well over 10 runs per over to set up the innings. However, the middle to latter overs have been a cause for concern for both camps.
“There are certain guys trusted with the responsibility to do certain things and we trust that the guys can go out and execute that,” Pollard said. “We admit that we faltered in the second game from a batting perspective, but to me, it’s not the end of the world.”
The T20 World Cup will now be held in the United Arab Emirates and Oman rather than India this year, the ICC has confirmed on Tuesday.
Australia was originally scheduled to host the 2020 tournament ahead of India staging it this year. However, the pandemic forced the ICC to postpone last year's tournament, giving Australia hosting rights for 2022.
A second surge in cases of coronavirus in India has now forced a major change to the 2021 competition, which will still be hosted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The ICC had asked the BCCI to decide on the feasibility of staging the tournament, with BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla saying on Monday it had opted against remaining as hosts.
The Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the Sharjah Stadium, and the Oman Cricket Academy Ground will be the four World Cup venues.
ST GEORGE’S, Grenada – The Cricket West Indies Selection Panel today named an unchanged 13-member squad for the third CG Insurance T20 International (T20I) against South Africa. The match will be played at the Grenada National Stadium on Tuesday, June 29 with the first ball at 2pm (1pm Jamaica Time).
The five-match CG Insurance T20I Series is currently 1-1 after the first two exciting matches of the Series. Two-time World Champions, West Indies won the series opener by eight wickets on Saturday, while South Africa fought back to win the second match by 16 runs on Sunday.
This series forms part of the West Indies’ international home season with a total of 15 T20Is as they continue preparations to defend their title at the ICC T20 World Cup to be played later this year.
Berbician Shabika Gajnabi has recently been selected to vice-captain the West Indies Women’s ‘A’ Team for the upcoming T20 series against Pakistan Women starting from June 30 in Antigua.
According to West Indies Women’s Lead Selector Ann Browne-John, Gajnabi has been unanimously selected for this role, as she displayed leadership skills while captaining Guyana’s Under-19. “We have been looking at these players since Under-19. We saw leadership qualities, and we saw that we can groom her for the future,” Browne-John said.
West Indies Women’s Head Coach Courtney Walsh has disclosed that Gajnabi shows promise in all three departments. “One of the reasons why we got her in that leadership role is that she has been around for a while and has shown promise in all three departments, and she has the potential to be a good all-rounder. Her batting has been good in this camp, and she is now believing in herself a lot more, in her skill-set.
“The ability that she has will play a role in the team. As I said to her this morning, we are not looking at her short-term, we are looking at her long-term, she has the ability to be a genuine all-rounder. So, it’s a work in progress, and she is working really hard,” Walsh said in response to a question posed by this publication."
South Africa quickly shook off their opening defeat on Saturday to get the better of the West Indies by 16 runs in their second Twenty20 International in Grenada yesterday.
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said the team had some serious conversations after the first-match defeat, and his troops responded admirably, restricting the home side to 150 for nine after they had put up 166 for seven on the board.
Left-arm spinner George Linde and left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi conceded just 35 runs in the eight overs they shared while picking up three vital wickets in the West Indies run chase.
That run chase began brightly once again as Evin Lewis and Andre Fletcher raced to 31 in just three overs before Lewis played around one from Anrich Nortje for 21.
Chris Gayle looked out of touch despite hitting a boundary in his eight runs, but when he became the first of three wickets for Kagiso Rabada at 40 for two in the fifth over, things slowly began to turn in favour of the visitors.
