South Africa v West Indies Test series tips and prediction

South Africa will enter the two-Test series against West Indies as a hot favourite with cricket betting sites, despite making sweeping changes to their XI.

Beginning on Tuesday, February 28, the Proteas are a $1.25 favourite to win the opening Test at Centurion, with the Windies as long as $6.00 with some bookies.

The Proteas have announced Temba Bavuma will take over as captain from Dean Elgar, who remains in the squad, following their 3-0 whipping at the hands of Australia.

Five players in total have been axed from the squad that was thoroughly beaten Down Under, with batsmen Sarel Erwee, Rassie van der Dusssen and Khaya Zondo, wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne and fast bowler Lungi Ngidi dropped. Theunis de Bruyn has retired.

The Proteas have included uncapped Tony de Zorzi in their line-up, with the opening batsman likely to make his debut. Fast bowler Gerald Coetzee, Keegan Petersen and Ryan Rickelton all return to the squad after missing the Australian tour through injury. Batsman Aiden Markram, all-rounder Wiann Mulder and Senuran Muthusamy have also been recalled.

The Windies also have a point to prove after being thoroughly beaten by the Aussies on the road, although they will take heart from the performance of Tagenarine Chanderpaul and skipper Kraigg Braithwaite, who both batted well on the bouncy pitches.

The Windies have named a powerful pace attack with the likes of Shannon Gabriel, Alzarri Joseph and Kemar Roach expected to shoulder the bulk of the overs, but it’s their patchy batting line-up that has us worried about their chances in South Africa.

The first Test is due to start on February 28 and wind up on March 4, while the second Test will be played at Wanderers Stadium from March 8.

Below we take a look at the Proteas v Windies squads, the dates and fixtures for the Test series and give you our free South Africa v West Indies tips and series prediction.

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South Africa v West Indies Test series dates and fixtures

28 February to 4 March: 1st Test at SuperSport Park, Centurion

8-12 March: 2nd Test at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

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Proteas v Windies squads

South African squad: Temba Bavuma (captain), Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Dean Elgar, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen (wkt), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Keegan Petersen, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton.

West Indies squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Jermaine Blackwood (vc), Alick Athanaze, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Akeem Jordan, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Devon Thomas

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South Africa v West Indies tips

The South African gambling list cricket experts have cast their eye over the teams, conditions and odds and found some Proteas v Windies betting tips:

Chanderpaul to top-score in series

While it’s tempting to throw down some money on skipper Braithwaite to lead the runs for the Windies, young son of a gun Tagenarine Chanderpaul has all the talent in the world and is offering more value than his more experienced teammate. Chanderpaul is paying around the $5.00 mark to top-score in the Windies’ opening innings. If you want a real value bet, the son of Shiv is paying $20.00 with Betway (Betway review) to win player of the series.

Dean Elgar to hit back hard

Elgar, when in form, is a world-class batsman and from all reports he will be keen to hit back after being dumped as Test skipper. Elgar is paying around $4.00 to top-score in the first innings the Proteas bat and will be a worthy batsman throughout the series. He is also offering a juicy $9.00 to win man-of-the-match honours at Centurion with leading South African betting sites.

Kagiso Rabada to lead the wickets

Rabada is a serious bowler and showed his class at times in Australia. We think he could be the difference between the Proteas winning and losing this series. He is paying $3.00 to lead the wickets in the opening innings he bowls, while an $8.00 quote for man of the match at Centurion is also juicy. If the Proteas v Windies Test matches push deep into the five days, you could do worse than have a few Rand on Keshav Maharaj to take wickets in the second innings, with the spinner having plenty of talent.

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South Africa v West Indies prediction

We expect the Proteas to be too strong at home against the West Indies in this Test series, although on paper these teams are evenly matched. Both teams were equally as humiliated in Australia and are very much in a rebuild phase. We just have more faith that the Proteas can find more consistency than the Windies. We are predicting the Proteas to win this series 2-0, although the West Indies do have some outstanding young talent. Our final South Africa v West Indies prediction: South Africa to win the series.

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