If you were wondering how seriously South Africa and West Indies would take the third Twenty20 at Kingsmead today, here’s your answer: not very.
What with the Windies having clinched the series at the earliest opportunity by winning at Newlands on Friday and at the Wanderers on Sunday, they did not bother training or holding a press conference yesterday. South Africa , meanwhile, have opted to rest captain Faf du Plessis.
On top of that, the weather, an ancient enemy of cricket in Durban, seems unwilling to play ball – a thunderstorm has been forecast to arrive two hours after the 3pm start.
A Cricket SA release yesterday quoted team manager Mohammed Moosajee as saying the Du Plessis decision was “a precautionary measure ahead of a busy one-day international period over the next three months”.
Also, Du Plessis apparently has “a long-standing hip niggle and any amount of rest will be beneficial to him in the long run”.
So South Africa will be led today by Justin Ontong, who might be remembered as an international player for something besides then United Cricket Board president Percy Sonn ordering his selection on transformation grounds during South Africa’s tour to Australia in January, 2002.
At the start of the T20 series, Ontong was in the squad purely as cover for JP Duminy, who is recuperating from a knee injury.
But today he will be tasked with staving off what would be only the second whitewash in a home series of at least three matches, regardless of the format, in the 70th such rubber South Africa have played since readmission.
The only time they have yet suffered this ignominy was when Australia whipped them 3-0 in the Test series of March 2006.
Ontong thus faces a tall order for a man who has not scored a half-century in any of his 43 matches for South Africa across all formats and has taken one test wicket, nine of the ODI variety and one in T20s.
At least a contributing factor to why he has not delivered on his considerable talent is that, in his 26 previous series for South Africa, only six times has he been picked for more than one match in the rubber.
He will have to lean hard on the experience he has gained while captaining the SA Academy XI, the SA Invitation XI, SA A, the Lions and the Cobras. They add up to 147 matches in charge, 69 of them won and 52 lost.
All that said, Ontong was the epitome of ebullience at his press conference yesterday, greeting the assembled reporters with a friendly, “Howzit gents. How you doing? Are you well?”
Enough already, Mr Nice Guy. What are you going to do about the man-of-the-series-in-waiting, the juggernaut, Chris Gayle, who has launched 167 runs off 72 balls so far – only 21 of those runs not coming by way of boundary bludgeons.
“Ja, the Gayle force winds,” Ontong said. “He’s due for a failure, so hopefully it happens .”
So, what’s the plan?
“I don’t think it’s ideal for me to say it, because then Gayle will hear it. We’ve got plan A. And B.”
Ontong in driver's seat
What with the Windies having clinched the series at the earliest opportunity by winning at Newlands on Friday and at the Wanderers on Sunday, they did not bother training or holding a press conference yesterday. South Africa , meanwhile, have opted to rest captain Faf du Plessis.
On top of that, the weather, an ancient enemy of cricket in Durban, seems unwilling to play ball – a thunderstorm has been forecast to arrive two hours after the 3pm start.
A Cricket SA release yesterday quoted team manager Mohammed Moosajee as saying the Du Plessis decision was “a precautionary measure ahead of a busy one-day international period over the next three months”.
Also, Du Plessis apparently has “a long-standing hip niggle and any amount of rest will be beneficial to him in the long run”.
So South Africa will be led today by Justin Ontong, who might be remembered as an international player for something besides then United Cricket Board president Percy Sonn ordering his selection on transformation grounds during South Africa’s tour to Australia in January, 2002.
At the start of the T20 series, Ontong was in the squad purely as cover for JP Duminy, who is recuperating from a knee injury.
But today he will be tasked with staving off what would be only the second whitewash in a home series of at least three matches, regardless of the format, in the 70th such rubber South Africa have played since readmission.
The only time they have yet suffered this ignominy was when Australia whipped them 3-0 in the Test series of March 2006.
Ontong thus faces a tall order for a man who has not scored a half-century in any of his 43 matches for South Africa across all formats and has taken one test wicket, nine of the ODI variety and one in T20s.
At least a contributing factor to why he has not delivered on his considerable talent is that, in his 26 previous series for South Africa, only six times has he been picked for more than one match in the rubber.
He will have to lean hard on the experience he has gained while captaining the SA Academy XI, the SA Invitation XI, SA A, the Lions and the Cobras. They add up to 147 matches in charge, 69 of them won and 52 lost.
All that said, Ontong was the epitome of ebullience at his press conference yesterday, greeting the assembled reporters with a friendly, “Howzit gents. How you doing? Are you well?”
Enough already, Mr Nice Guy. What are you going to do about the man-of-the-series-in-waiting, the juggernaut, Chris Gayle, who has launched 167 runs off 72 balls so far – only 21 of those runs not coming by way of boundary bludgeons.
“Ja, the Gayle force winds,” Ontong said. “He’s due for a failure, so hopefully it happens .”
So, what’s the plan?
“I don’t think it’s ideal for me to say it, because then Gayle will hear it. We’ve got plan A. And B.”
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