ICC World Cup 2019 | South Africa's predicted XI for the game against West Indies
Having lost every one of the three games they have played so far, South Africa find themselves in a heap of trouble as far as their chances of progression are concerned. With a high flying Windies up next, Faf du Plessis does not have many options available in the squad to change too much.
Openers
Quinton de Kock : De Kock’s scores of 68, 23, and 10 are in perfect symmetry with South Africa’s chances of making the top four. The SA star is one of the dependable players in the team but if the Proteas want to give this campaign the illusion of respectability, he needs to come good in the remaining games.
Hashim Amla : The Proteas opener looked surprisingly good in the first game against England but after taking one on the helmet, he seems to have fallen back into a bad routine. One more bad game and du Plessis has a selection decision on his hands between him and Markram.
Middle-order
Faf du Plessis : Like de Kock, du Plessis has the responsibility of leading the side to a good total. And like de Kock, he has failed to do so in the tournament so far. But in all honesty, he looks like the second best batsman in the team and a little more consistency will take him a long way.
Rassie van der Dussen : Easily the best South African batsman at the World Cup so far. He looks assured whenever he walks in to bat and if he can convert his starts into some big ones, South Africa might just have a chance of recovering some lost pride. But that will mean he doesn’t try to reverse sweep a leg spinner bowling on leg stump - cue his dismissal against India.
David Miller : After being left out for the first match, Miller showed South Africa what he can do with two 30+ scores in the following games. However, batting at No. 5, he is expected to do a bit more or at least stay in the middle till the end of the innings.
All-rounders
JP Duminy : Apart from his 45, in a losing cause, against Bangladesh, Duminy has looked shaky to say the least. Had there been one decent option apart from him in the squad, I, and presumably du Plessis, would have picked him in a nanosecond. But the lack of such a player means that the veteran can keep his place.
Chris Morris : His performance against India has ensured that he will, barring injury, play every single match for the remainder of the tournament. After scoring a quickfire 42 in the first innings, Morris outdid that with the ball where he scalped a wicket at the cost of just 36 runs in his full quota of overs.
Pacers
Andile Phehlukwayo : To be fair, Phehlukwayo has had a decent outing in England so far with contributions of 86 runs and four wickets in three matches. His recent run means that he is right up there when du Plessis finalizes the playing XI for the next game.
Kagiso Rabada : Need we say more? For a guy who could waltz into any of the great South African teams of the past, making it into this team is as simple as dismissing Aiden Markram.
Beuran Hendricks : With the Tabraiz Shamsi experiment going up in flames against India, South Africa would have regretted not playing an extra pacer in the game. Hendricks will get his chance now and South Africa would hope that he can take some inspiration from Morris and seal a place for himself in the side.
Spinner
Imran Tahir : While four wickets in three games do not sound like bad numbers, when you are the second best bowler in the team, these numbers just won’t do. Having announced before the tournament that this would be his goodbye to the ODI format, it is unlikely that he will get the boot anytime soon.
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