For South Africa, it is the culmination of something which began six months ago when they started intense preparation for the tournament. They hoped by the time this series came around, they would be able to field their full World Cup squad to give them a dummy run - or five - ahead of the event. But one of the most important members of that outfit is unavailable so the perfect practice will not happen. Quinton de Kock, although recovering well from an ankle ligament tear, will not feature in the series, which leaves South Africa with a stand-in opening batsman and gloveman. They are likely to be Rilee Rossouw and AB de Villiers, although Morne van Wyk could fill both roles if required. In all other departments South Africa are at full strength but not fully settled. JP Duminy's return will require some rejigging in the line-up while they still need to consider the composition of the lower order. The time for experimentation is not completely over for the hosts, but this is their last chance to come up with a formula that works. South Africa may not be comfortable with that level of uncertainty but West Indies will be envious of it, especially as for them, this series is about starting over. Their most recent ODI outing was the abandoned tour of India and the aftermath of that walkout is being strongly felt. There is a new captain in place and a significant senior core missing but for an outfit used to operating on the fringes of crisis, that may not be so bad after all
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