Potch a dress rehearsal for Dutch ODIs

It isn't often that the dress rehearsal looms as a taller order than opening night, but that's South Africa's reality going into the third men's ODI against West Indies in Potchefstroom on Tuesday.

What comes next for the South Africans - two ODIs against the Netherlands in Benoni on March 31 and at the Wanderers on April 2 - will likely decide whether the home side qualify directly for the World Cup in India in October or November, or will have to bother with a qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe in June and July.

The first match of the current series, at Buffalo Park in East London on Thursday, was washed out without a ball bowled. The visitors won the second, at the same ground on Saturday by 48 runs. In a word, handsomely. Tuesday's game, like the first two, counts for nought on the World Cup Super League standings - unlike the matches against the Dutch.

But the West Indians are easily stronger opponents than the Netherlands, who have lost all five ODIs between the sides. That said, Dutch supporters are no doubt still glowing in the wake of their team's deserved win over South Africa at the T20 World Cup in Adelaide in November. Maybe lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice, but a committed XI could.

Even though that seems unlikely given South Africa's apparent revitalisation under new coaches Shukri Conrad and Rob Walter, no-one will make the mistake of taking victory over the Dutch for granted. The best way to prepare to nail down wins in those games is to hit the ground running on Tuesday.

With Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller in the squad - they weren't for the first two games - South Africa's batting should be more solid than it was on Saturday, when they debuted four players in the format. But the Windies have strength in depth in all departments, which will make them slight favourites to earn a third white-ball series win in South Africa.

Both teams know winning on Tuesday won't move the needle on their bid to reach the World Cup, and the West Indians seem resigned to having to go to Zimbabwe to make it to India. That leaves the match in an awkward place; somewhere between a middle practice and an experiment.

So, rather than a hard-fought contest, expect an intriguing spectacle on a ground where 300 hasn't been breached in the six list A games played there since the start of last year. And where the team batting second have won only two of those matches. And also where the sides who have won batting first have dismissed their opponents all four times. Expect a dress rehearsal, and pretend it's opening night.

When: March 21, 2023; 10am Local Time (1.30pm IST)

Where: JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom

What to expect: A flat pitch, a temperature of 31 degrees Celsius, and a thunderstorm in the afternoon, when a 40% chance of rain has been forecast.

Team news:

South Africa: Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen return to the squad from rests and David Miller from the PSL. They could replace Ryan Rickelton, Rassie van der Dussen and Tristan Stubbs.

Possible XI: Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma (capt), Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Bjorn Fortuin, Gerald Coetzee, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi

West Indies: Why fiddle with an XI that won well in Buffalo Park's not dissimilar conditions on Saturday?

Possible XI: Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Shamarh Brooks, Shai Hope (capt), Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph, Yannic Cariah

What they said:

"I've been there for many years now and I want to make the impact that I can, on and off the field, with the new guys in the squad so they can feed off my experience and learning. I am always learning myself; learning from them as well. The young guys have different thought processes." - David Miller on being a big fish in a pond not short of younger, smaller fish.

"It's something we speak about in meetings. We're just trying to win more games. We didn't have a successful 2022 and we are trying everything to turn it around," - Shai Hope on the Windies' emphasis on forward momentum in the wake of losing 16 of their 21 ODIs last year.