Elgar era begins as South Africa battle a confident West Indies side in St. Lucia

Overview:

West Indies v South Africa, first Test
Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St. Lucia
10-14 June, 10:00 local

The hosts led by Kraigg Brathwaite will hope to clinch a famous series victory, being unbeaten in their previous four Test matches. Much will be at stake for the visitors too, as they embark on a tough rebuilding job under the leadership of newly-appointed Test skipper, Dean Elgar.

Both the sides will fancy their bowling units as the stronger suit, with some terrific pacers in their armoury. Despite missing Shannon Gabriel, the likes of Kemar Roach, Alzarri Jospeh, and Jason Holder will provide the firepower in the Windies bowling unit. Young pacer Jayden Seales could also be handed his Test debut. Skipper Brathwaite, Roston Chase, Shai Hope, and Jermaine Blackwood will form the backbone of the West Indian batting order.

For the Proteas, they will back the pace trident of Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, and Lungi Ngidi to make a dent in the West Indies batting order. There will be a lot of pressure on Elgar, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, and Quinton de Kock to do the bulk of the scoring.

Rememer the last time:

The two teams last battled it out in a Test series in 2015 in South Africa. The hosts comfortably emerged as victors with a 2-0 margin in the three-match series. They won the opening Test in Centurion by an innings and 220 runs and the third Test in Cape Town by eight wickets. The second Test in Port Elizabeth ended in a draw.

What they said:

Jason Holder (West Indies all-rounder): "I am just trying to find ways to move on and transition back to just being a regular player. For me now, it's about showing a bit more of my character, and being a lot more… I would say outspoken. I am relatively outspoken, but just expressing myself a little bit more and having fun."

Dean Elgar (South Africa captain): "Now that we are in a new chapter, we need to play more cricket and better cricket. We are conscious that over the last period we haven't been very consistent. Our skill level hasn't been where it should be. We need to get back to a bit more of a consistent nature of cricket; a bit more of a South African way."