South Africa include Rickelton in XI and bat; WI hand debut to Carty

Kemar Roach makes his return to the West Indies side; no place for Shamar Joseph

In the opening Test against the West Indies in Trinidad, South Africa won the toss and decided to bat first. Opting for a stronger batting line-up, South Africa included an additional batter in their playing XI, resulting in a 7-4 split. Ryan Rickelton was added to the squad at No. 6, which led to the exclusion of a bowler. Both teams had announced their line-ups the day before the match.

In the opening Test match against the West Indies in Trinidad, South Africa made some strategic changes to their team. They decided to bat first and included an extra batter, Ryan Rickelton, at No. 6. As a result, left-arm seamer Nandre Burger, who has played two Test matches, was left out of the team. Wiaan Mulder is expected to be the third seamer, joining Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. South Africa also decided to go with just one specialist spinner, Keshav Maharaj, who will need to bowl a lot since West Indies will bat last.

For the West Indies, Keacy Carty made his debut as a batter. They chose two spinners, Gudakesh Motie and Jomel Warrican, which meant Shamar Joseph was not included in the team. Kemar Roach returned to the squad and will lead the bowling attack in the absence of Alzarri Joseph.

Both teams are aiming to improve their positions in the World Test Championship standings, with South Africa currently in seventh place and West Indies in ninth place, each having won only one match so far. The West Indies face a tougher challenge, as they haven’t beaten South Africa at home since 2001 and haven’t won a Test match against them in 17 years.

West Indies Team:

1. Kraigg Brathwaite (captain)
2. Mikyle Louis
3. Keacy Carty
4. Alick Athanaze
5. Kavem Hodge
6. Jason Holder
7. Joshua Da Silva (wicketkeeper)
8. Gudakesh Motie
9. Jayden Seales
10. Kemar Roach
11. Jomel Warrican

South Africa Team:

1. Aiden Markram
2. Tony de Zorzi
3. Tristan Stubbs
4. Temba Bavuma (captain)
5. David Bedingham
6. Ryan Rickelton
7. Kyle Verreynne (wicketkeeper)
8. Keshav Maharaj
9. Wiaan Mulder
10. Kagiso Rabada
11. Lungi Ngidi