South Africa vs. West Indies 1st T20: Date, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview

South Africa and the West Indies begin their three-match Twenty20 series with an evening clash at Newlands on Friday. 

Date: Friday, Jan. 9

Start time: 4 p.m. GMT (6 p.m. local time)

TV and live stream: SuperSport (South Africa), TEN Cricket (India), PTV Sports (Pakistan), Orbit Show Network (Middle East), Willow TV (USA), SkySports (UK)

Weather:  AccuWeather.com has given the all clear on the weather front. Temperatures during the day will reach up to 30 degrees Celsius, which means it will be a mild evening, with temperatures still hovering around 25 degrees Celsius.

Overview

South Africa have opted for a somewhat experimental squad for the T20 series against the West Indies. The merits of playing the three T20s is debatable, but at least the South Africans have found some sort of use for it: testing out some of the players who lurk on the fringes. They have opted to omit the likes of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and AB de Villiers, and it comes as no surprise.

The experiment serves a dual purpose—ensuring that their key World Cup players aren't overworked and offering a look into possible replacements. One such replacement is Morne van Wyk. The Dolphins player is likely to take up the gloves in both the T20s and the ODIs against the West Indies, in place of the injured Quinton de Kock.

This sends a clear message that should De Kock not recover in time for the World Cup, it will be Van Wyk who is called upon to serve behind the stumps for the tournament.

A core group of World Cup players are part of the team, with the likes of JP Duminy, David Miller and Rilee Rossouw all likely to get a chance to fine-tune their skills. Kagiso Rabada and David Wiese, two players on the fringes of the national team, will also get an opportunity to show their worth.

Rabada stole the show during the Under-19 World Cup in 2014 and is steadily being introduced to the world of international cricket. Weise, meanwhile, has played just a handful of matches for South Africa, but he has been a solid performer domestically for quite some time. It's only reasonable that he is being given a chance to prove himself.

On paper, then, it means the West Indies are far stronger than the hosts. Chris Gayle, Andre Fletcher, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell and Marlon Samuels are big names in the T20 format, and they should easily beat a relatively inexperienced South Africa outfit.

However, T20 is a funny game, and it takes just one special performance to take a match away from the opposition. With the Newlands track likely to be batsman-friendly, the first match will come down to who has the more cunning bowlers. One thing is for sure, though, as with all T20s, it should be buckets of fun to watch.

Key players

South Africa

In the absence of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, Kyle Abbott is likely to be the man who leads the South Africa attack. He'll have to keep a cool head against the bulky West Indies top order. It'll be a big test of nerves for the South African.

West Indies

Marlon Samuels showed in the Test series why he has the potential to be one of the West Indies' most valuable players. On a few occasions, though, he gave his wicket away far too easily. However, in the T20 format, his brash approach could be really beneficial.

Squads

South Africa

David Wiese, Aaron Phangiso, David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, Jean-Paul Duminy, Faf du Plessis (capt), Wayne Parnell, Rilee Rossouw, Morne van Wyk (w/k), Imran Tahir, Marchant de Lange, Reeza Hendricks, Kyle Abbott, Kagiso Rabada, Justin Ontong

West Indies

Jason Holder, Andre Russell, Andre Fletcher, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Sammy (capt), Sulieman Benn, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Gayle, Lendl Simmons, Denesh Ramdin (w/k), Dwayne Smith, Marlon Samuels, Ashley Nurse, Kieron Pollard