Toss South Africa chose to bat vs West Indies
With the inclusion of an extra batter in their playing XI, South Africa opted to bat in the opening Test against West Indies in Trinidad. Both teams announced their XIs on the eve of the match where South Africa unveiled a 7-4 split after opting to lengthen the batting line-up with the inclusion of Ryan Rickelton at No. 6. They were forced to bench a bowler as a result.
Left-arm seamer Nandre Burger will have to wait to add to his two Test caps with Wiaan Mulder expected to operate as the third seamer alongside Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. The combination also meant South Africa could only accommodate one specialist spinner in their XI – Keshav Maharaj – who will have to put in a long shift with West Indies batting last.
The hosts handed a debut to batter Keacy Carty and went with a twin spin combination of Gudakesh Motie and Jomel Warrican, which meant Shamar Joseph had to miss out. Kemar Roach makes his return to the XI after last playing against Australia earlier this year and will lead the attack in the absence of Alzarri Joseph.
Both sides are hoping to put their World Test Championship campaign back on track, with South Africa in seventh place and West Indies ninth. They have won only one match each. West Indies’ task is arguably tougher: they have not beaten South Africa in a home Test since 2001 and have not won a Test against them in 17 years.
West Indies: 1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), 2 Mikyle Louis, 3 Keacy Carty, 4 Alick Athanaze, 5 Kavem Hodge, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Joshua Da Silva (wk), 8 Gudakesh Motie, 9 Jayden Seales, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Jomel Warrican
South Africa: 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Tony de Zorzi, 3 Tristan Stubbs, 4 Temba Bavuma (capt), 5 David Bedingham, 6 Ryan Rickelton, 7 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Wiaan Mulder, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Lungi Ngidi
