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South Africa takes on the West Indies in Match 15 of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup in London. The match will take place on June 10, 2019, at The Rose Bowl in Southampton.
South Africa enters this match-up having lost to England in their opener. The South Africans then played Bangladesh on June 2nd in Match 5 of the tournament and lost by 25 runs and ss of this writing, they are still playing powerhouse India in Match 8 of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup also in Southampton. On the other hand, West Indies started their World Cup campaign on a high note as they defeated Pakistan by seven wickets. Before this showdown with South Africa, the West Indies will still play defending champions Australia on June 6th at Trent Bridge.
South Africa
After the apartheid ban, South Africa joined the Cricket World Cup in 1992 and went all the way to the semifinals in their first-ever appearance. The South Africans also reached the last four in 1999, 2007 and in the last Cricket World Cup in 2015. But their string of semifinals losses has led to the tag of chokers. South Africa headed to the World Cup having won six out of their last ODI series.
Here are the members of South Africa’s cricket team for the 2019 Cricket World Cup:
Faf du Plessis (captain), Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla, David Miller, JP Duminy, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Imran Tahir and Tabraiz Shamsi.
West Indies
The West Indies won the first two editions of the Cricket World Cup in 1975 and 1979. They made the finals again in 1983 but were dethroned by India. Since then, the West Indies have made just one semi-finals appearance at that was in 1996. Chris Gayle has announced that this will be his last international tournament so expect him and his teammates to go all-out in every game for him.
Below is the 15-man lineup of the West Indies for the 2019 Cricket World Cup:
Jason Holder (captain), Andre Russell, Ashley Nurse, Carlos Brathwaite, Chris Gayle, Darren Bravo, Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen, Kemar Roach, Nicholas Pooran, Oshane Thomas, Shai Hope, Shannon Gabriel, Sheldon Cottrell, and Shimron Hetmyer.
Who Wins?
South Africa has had a nightmarish start to their 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup campaign as they are 0-2 with their opening game loss to England and Sunday’s defeat at the hands of Bangladesh. The defeat to England was probably an expected one but losing to Bangladesh wasn’t something that was expected and in fact, came as a shock. The two losses have put the confidence of the South Africans down and they appear to be low in morale.
The South African bowling looks one-dimensional as Morris, Rabada, and Ngidi not causing the opposing batsmen any serious trouble during the matchup. David Miller and JP Duminy also looked out of form against Bangladesh and the South African batting has looked very atrocious early on in the tournament. If the South Africans lose to India in their third match, it is going to be very difficult for them to advance to the next round of the competition.
West Indies looked impressive during their opening match against Pakistan as they won by seven wickets. Oshane Thomas led an outstanding bowling effort by taking seven wickets while Andre Russell took two wickets as well. Thomas and Russell bowled with great pace and used the bouncer to trouble all of Pakistan’s batsmen. Captain Jason Holder also bowled magnificently by taking three wickets.
As for their batting, the West Indies batsmen were just as good against Pakistan. The departing Chris Gayle looked in great shape as the West Indies’ opening batsman. Gayle scored 50 runs in just 34 balls. Another impressive accomplishment for the West Indies’ squad was the fact that they chased down the total of Pakistan in just 13.4 overs.
The venue in Southampton is one that is well-known for its huge scores. The Royal London One Day Cup proved that it is a high scoring venue and I expect this game between South Africa and the West Indies to be the same. For the South Africans, Quinton De Kock should be their key player as he has the ability to score the big total that South Africa needs to win this.
But the South Africans are 0-2 right now. Their batting has looked very poor and their bowling has allowed big runs. On the other hand, the West Indies looked good in opening their 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup campaign with a win over Pakistan. Remember that Pakistan took down cricket betting favorites England in their second game of the tournament so they are a very good team that the West Indies defeated.
If Chris Gayle continues to give a good account of himself against South Africa, then the West Indies team is in good shape. West Indies is a team that’s really tough to beat. South Africa may be down and out this early and West Indies is the kind of opponent that can deliver the final nail in the coffin. Prediction West Indies
