OPINION: SA can’t take much from West Indies series ahead of World Cup

It would be interesting to know how many South Africans are staying up this week to watch the T20 International series between South Africa and West Indies, and how many cricket fans are staying in bed.

Usually, a campaign against the two-time T20 World Cup champions would draw interest.

The Windies might not be the formidable outfit they once were, but they are still capable of beating the best in the world, especially in the short format. And they proved that with a 28-run win in the first match against the Proteas in Kingston on Thursday night.

On the eve of the T20 World Cup, the West Indies have an opportunity to raise public interest and boost their confidence as they prepare to co-host the tournament which starts next week. So they have a lot to gain, especially if they win.

What are the benefits?

From a South African point of view, however, we have to ask: What are the benefits?

A handful of players are tied up with Indian Premier League (IPL) commitments, so only eight members of the Proteas’ 15-man World Cup squad are in Kingston for the three-match series, and only six played in the opener at Sabina Park.

Rather than squeezing in a series ahead of the World Cup, which clashes with the IPL playoffs, it might have been better for the Proteas to have stayed at home for an extra week, extending their training camp in Pretoria.

In order to test combinations and sharpen up ahead of the tournament, one or two warm-up games next week would have been enough to ensure they were ready to compete as a unit.

A longer training camp and unofficial warm-up matches would probably have been more valuable than taking a second-string squad to the Caribbean, forcing the World Cup players into additional travel and a quick turnaround.

Switching focus next week

There is, of course, value in the West Indies series for uncapped players who can gain experience, but some of them won’t even be at the T20 World Cup, and this is not the time to be experimenting and providing opportunities. It’s time to sharpen up for the national team’s most important assignment of the year.

Hopefully this week’s series won’t be a distraction, and the World Cup players who are there will be able to switch their focus quickly ahead of their first match against Sri Lanka in New York on 3 June.

Perhaps the Proteas can bounce back to win in Jamaica, avoiding a knock in the world rankings and gaining a boost in confidence. But it will be more important for Walter to take enough from the series ahead of the T20 showpiece to make it worthwhile.