The Proteas look to level the 3 match series in Potchefstroom


By Neo Poho

After losing the second ODI to West Indies on Saturday by 48 runs, the Proteas will look to bounce back and restore parity in the third and final ODI at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom on Tuesday.

The loss to the West Indies in East London left an excitement amongst the fans in anticipation of what a full-strength Proteas side could achieve now that the captain, Temba Bavuma, is on song.

The team that suffered a loss to the West Indies this past Saturday had only Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen and Lungi Ngidi as senior players and also as regulars in ODI's while the rest of the players were auditioning and fighting for spots.

Despite not having the regular senior players, Bavuma wasn't that much disappointed with how the ODI debutants faired against the West Indies.

"I enjoyed batting with guys like Tony, Stubbs and Rickelton, you get a better sense of their character when they're put under pressure or in a stressful situation, so from a captain's perspective of understanding a player a bit better that was very valuable," Bavuma said.

Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, Tony de Zorzi and Gerald Coetzee all made their ODI debuts in the 48-run defeat to the West Indies with Bavuma.

With the Proteas needing to get the victory in the final ODI on Tuesday, some few changes have been made with big hitting David Miller returning to the squad alongside Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen.

The return of the trio will tweak the middle order of the team such that either Wayne Parnell or Sisanda Magala will be expected to take the all-rounder spot after Marco Jansen’s disappointing go at Buffalo Park in the second ODI.

The trio of Markram, Klaasen and Miller will also bring some stability to the team that needs some experience in the middle phase of a 50 over game.

The Proteas will also look to retain spinners Bjorn Fortuin and Tabraiz Shamsi for the third and final ODI as the the conditions in Senwes Park favour the spinners.

While the Cricket World Cup qualification hasn't been achieved as yet, a positive result at Senwes Park will set the tone for the Proteas' next ODI series against Netherlands in two weeks time.

The Netherlands series is crucial for South Africa as they still push for a possible direction qualification to the World Cup.

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