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South Africa may know something about Ahmedabad but West Indies know something about South Africa, with five of their players having been part of the SA20. West Indies also met South Africa in a pre-tournament series.
Shai Hope, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase (all Pretoria Capitals), Akeal Hosein (Joburg Super Kings) and Gudakesh Motie (Paarl Royals) all spent more than a month in South Africa playing in the country’s franchise T20 tournament. Rutherford and Hope were fourth and seventh on the run-charts, respectively, and together with Chase took Capitals into the final. They lost to Tristan Stubbs’ Sunrisers Eastern Cape, which also included Quinton de Kock, Marco Jansen and Anrich Nortje, but got first-hand looks at all of South Africa’s best players. It begs the question: could West Indies’ knowledge of their opposition trump the opposition’s intel about the venue?
Floyd Reifer, the West Indies batting coach, played it down with the usual talk about the rise in leagues and the frequency of T20s in international cricket bringing players closer. “When you play against teams in international cricket, guys know each other. They play against each other even in franchise cricket,” he said.
Keshav Maharaj, Capitals’ captain, seems to have paid closer attention. “We chatted briefly about it [West Indies players in SA20 squads],” Maharaj said. “We know the danger that they possess, so it’s about coming up with nice, simple plans and focusing on our execution towards those batters.”
And Maharaj would be among those who contribute most meaningfully to those discussions. As Capitals captain, Maharaj led and watched Hope take apart an attack that included Lungi Ngidi while making 118*, the highest score of the season. He was also in charge of the side when Sherfane Rutherford, alongside Dewald Brevis, rescued Capitals from 5 for 7 and helped them to a match-winning total of 143 for 6, which kept them in the hunt for the knockouts.
Rutherford finished with the highest strike-rate of anyone with more than 200 runs in the tournament, of 165.34. He has shown no signs of stopping. He is the third leading six-hitter at this World Cup and clearly has his eye on top spot. At training on Wednesday evening, he smacked almost every ball he faced far into the stands for the best part of half an hour and showed his range down the ground and square of the wicket.
South Africa will be bracing for him and Shimron Hetmyer, the leading run-scorer in the three-match T20I series against South Africa, as they prepare for what is now their and perhaps more so West Indies’ biggest match.
The hype around the India game being the final before the final turned out to be misplaced. Add that label to this one, primarily because a win puts either side all but in the semi-finals. West Indies’ task will be tougher because they will still need to play India, while South Africa play Zimbabwe last, but West Indies already have a significant net-run-rate advantage.
Perhaps, given that both sides are unbeaten, the winner here is also an indication of who could be the winner here again (or in Colombo) but neither side will allow itself to think that far ahead. South Africa have been burnt too many times in the past waiting for the one trophy they would finally get their hands on, and West Indies have fallen too far since their last major triumph and are starting anew, with the determination to get back to their best.
“Our energy is great. The vibe is good within the team. Everybody’s up for it,” Reifer said. “We came here to win cricket games. We’ve been planning well, batting well, bowling well and fielding well, and you have to do all of those well to win games. Guys are enjoying playing with each other, enjoying each other’s company, and enjoying each other’s success, that’s important in a team setup.”
That’s crucial but so is something else West Indies know about that South Africa don’t – what winning a white-ball World Cup feels like. Specifically this tournament. Specifically in this country. Exactly a decade ago. Of all the things people know and don’t know heading into this game, that may prove the biggest difference.
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