West Indies tour of South Africa 2023, 1st Test: SA vs WI| Fantasy Tips and Teams

image-len8hk8k(Source: Twitter)

South Africa welcomes West Indies for a full-fledged series beginning with the Red-ball series on Tuesday, February 28, 2023, at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. The match starts at 1.30 PM (IST) and 10.00 AM (local time). The Caribbean side visits the Rainbow Nation for the first time since the 2014/15 season. They will play 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, and 3 T20Is over exactly one month, with the final T20 international taking place on March 28 in Johannesburg.

The South African team toured Australia for a three-match Test series in December-January and lost by 2-0. The Proteas got defeated in the opening two matches in Brisbane and Melbourne, with the final game ending in a draw. As a result, Dean Elgar got replaced by Temba Bavuma as their new captain, and his first assignment will be the West Indies series beginning on home soil.

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On the other, Kraigg Brathwaite and his men sealed the two-match Test series 1-0 against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe this month. After the opening clash ended in a stalemate in Bulawayo, the Caribbean side beat the African nation by an innings and four runs in the second and final game at the same venue. Notably, West Indies lost the three-match Test series 2-0 the last time they visited South Africa 8 years back.

Before the game gets underway, let us look at some of the important stats, best player picks and the best-predicted teams for the fantasy contests of the match.


Ground Stats: SuperSport Park, Centurion

The surface in Centurion has usually been batting-friendly. The pitch provides a lot of pace and bounce to the seamers as they expected to make the most of the favourable conditions.

Numbers at the ground (Overall Test Cricket)

Total Matches: 27
Matches won batting first: 12
Matches won batting second: 12
Matches Drawn: 3

Average first innings score: 329
Average second innings score: 321
Average third innings score: 235
Average fourth innings score: 163


SA vs WI, 1st Test: Head-to-Head

The Proteas and the Caribbean team have met each other 30 times in Test cricket, and South Africa dominated the fixtures with 20 wins and just three losses. Seven games ended up in a draw.

Head-to-Head (Overall Tests)

Total Matches: 30
South Africa Won: 20
West Indies Won: 3
Matches Drawn: 7

Head-to-Head (Last 10 Matches)

South Africa Won: 8
West Indies Won: 0
Matches Drawn: 2


SA vs WI, 1st Test: Probable Playing XIs

South Africa Team News

No major updates

South Africa Probable Playing XI

Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram,  Keegan Petersen, Temba Bavuma (c), Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Ryan Rickelton, Keshav Maharaj/Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, and Gerald Coetzee.


West Indies Team News

No major updates

West Indies Probable Playing XI

Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kyle Mayers, Raymon Reifer, Jermaine Blackwood, Roston Chase, Joshua da Silva (wk), Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, and Kemar Roach/Shannon Gabriel.


SA vs WI, 1st Test: Top Five Picks

  1. Dean Elgar (SA): Former skipper Dean Elgar had a disastrous series against Australia last time out a few weeks ago in Australia. He scored only 56 runs in 6 innings at a poor average of 9.33. But with over 5000 runs in Tests, he is a proven player and should be picked for the opening game.
  2. Temba Bavuma (SA): Newly appointed Test captain Temba Bavuma will be hoping the lead his side from the front by scoring runs in the middle-order. He was Protea's leading run-getter down under with 185 runs and would look to do the same in the home series against West Indies.
  3. Kagiso Rabada (SA): South Africa speedster Kagiso Rabada finished the Australian series as the second-highest and the highest wicket-taker for his side with 11 scalps. With 268 wickets in 58 games, he is the leader of the pack, along with Anrich Nortje.
  4. Kraigg Brathwaite (WI): West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite has been their rock for some years now in the purest format of the game. He is always a reliable option at the top of the order, as he also scored the second-most runs (214) in 3 innings in the recently concluded Zimbabwe series.
  5. Tagenarine Chanderpaul (WI): Son of legendary player Shivanarine Chanderpaul, Tagenarine has made a great start to his Test career with 418 runs in 7 innings at an impressive average of 69.66 with a double century to his name. The left-handed batter looks like a safe bet for the opening Test.

SA vs WI, 1st Test: Must picks for the match

South Africa

  1. Dean Elgar
  2. Temba Bavuma
  3. Kagiso Rabada


West Indies

  1. Kraigg Brathwaite
  2. Tagenarine Chanderpaul
  3. Jason Holder


SA vs WI, 1st Test: Risky Picks

South Africa - Keegan Petersen, Gerald Coetzee

West Indies - Raymon Reifer, Joshua da Silva


SA vs WI, 1st Test: Best Captain and Vice-captain choices

  1. Dean Elgar (SA)
  2. Kagiso Rabada (SA)
  3. Kraigg Brathwaite (WI)


SA vs WI, 1st Test: Team for Head-to-Head Contests

Create and Participate with this team in the Cricket Exhcange Fantasy App

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Wicketkeeper: Heinrich Klaasen
Batters: Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, Kraigg Brathwaite, Tagenarine Chanderpaul
All-rounders: Jason Holder, Roston Chase
Bowlers: Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Alzarri Joseph

Captain: Aiden Markram
Vice-captain: Tagenarine Chanderpaul

SA: 6 Players, WI: 5 Players


SA vs WI, 1st Test: Team for Winner Takes All Contests

Create and Participate with this team in the Cricket Exchange Fantasy App

image-len8edi4(Powered by Cricket Exchange)

Wicketkeepers: Ryan Rickelton, Joshua da Silva
Batters: Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Temba Bavuma, Tagenarine Chanderpaul
All-rounders: Jason Holder, Kyle Mayers
Bowlers: Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj

Captain: Temba Bavuma
Vice-captain: Anrich Nortje

SA: 7 Players, WI: 4 Players