The first of three T20 International between South Africa and West Indies takes place at Centurion on Saturday and we take a look at the squads, recent form and the all important betting.
This is a 3 match series with the second game taking place at the same venue on Sunday and the third will be staged at The Wanderers on Tuesday of next week.
A reminder that South Africa won both test matches at the start of this tour and the ODI series was shared 1-1 with 1 match washed out.
Let's start with the squads.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Sisanda Magala, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs
West Indies: Rovman Powell (c), Kyle Mayers (vc), Nicholas Pooran (wk), Johnston Charles (wk), Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Sheldon Cottrell, Shamarh Brooks, Brandon King, Obed McCoy, Odean Smith, Raymon Reifer, Romario Shepherd, Yannic Cariah
Recent Form
South Africa
South Africa return to the T20 fold for the first time since the World Cup late last year when they blew a golden opportunity to make it to the semi finals when they lost to the Netherlands by 13 runs in what was their final pool match.
Although their first match of that tournament against Zim was washed out they were in a terrific position having beaten Bangladesh and India but defeats to Pakistan and the shock loss to the Dutch ended their hopes of a semi final appearance.
West Indies:
West Indies failed to qualify for the group stage of the T20 World Cup last year, finishing bottom of the qualifying group which included Zimbabwe, Ireland and Scotland. Including those games they have lost 9 and won just 2 of their last 11 T20 internationals.
Head to Head
Overall the teams have met 16 times with 10 wins for South Africa and 6 for West Indies.
The most recent meeting came in the World T20 staged in UAE in 2021 and the Proteas won a pool stage match by 8 wickets.
In June / July 2021 a 5 match series staged in Port Elizabeth was won 3-2 by South Africa.
Supersport Park, Centurion
Over the course of the last decade South Africa have won 3 and lost 6 of 9 T20's at Centurion
The most recent T20 at this venue came in April 2021 against Pakistan. South Africa posted 144 (all out) and Pakistan chased it down with just 1 ball to spare for a 3 wicket victory.
You can check the weather forecast here
The Betting - 1st T20
At the time of writing South Africa are 1 / 3 to win the match and West Indies are 2/1
Quinton de Kock is 5/2 favourite to top score for South Africa and Johnson Charles and Kyle Mayers are both 7/2 to do likewise for West Indies
Note all prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
The Verdict
I'm looking to the top bat markets and new Proteas T20 skipper Aiden Markram looks very attractively priced at 4/1.
For West Indies, Kyle Mayers could be the man.
Bets: Top SA Run Scorer Aiden Markram at 4/1 with Sportingbet
Top West Indies Run Scorer Kyle Mayers at 7/2 with Sportingbet
Risk Free First Bet Up to R2,000 back if you don't win
Note all prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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