Will Windies arrive?

Times Media

TELFORD VICE, Cape Town

THERE’S an old joke in the Caribbean that the legend BWIA, which was painted on aircraft attached to British West Indies Airways, actually stood for, “But will it arrive?”

Now, that question could be asked of the West Indian cricket team - who are at this stage SA’s last opponents before the World Cup starts in Australasia in February.

The Windies are scheduled to play three tests, three T20s and five one-day internationals in SA between December 17 and January 28.

However, that tour would appear to be in jeopardy in the wake of the West Indians cancelling the rest of their current engagement in India over a player pay dispute.

They planned to return home after Friday’s fourth ODI at Dharamsala without playing the fifth ODI, a T20 international and three tests. India have already made arrangements to play five ODIs against Sri Lanka to fill the gap.

The status of West Indies’ tour to SA has not changed, but there will be concern in Cricket SA circles that alternative opponents might have to be found - and quickly.

With teams already committed to ensure they are fully prepared for the World Cup, signing up replacements may prove difficult.

That means SA had better squeeze every last drop of preparation for the World Cup out of their tours to New Zealand and Australia.

None of which was on Ryan McLaren’s mind as he looked forward to making the first ODI against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui on Tuesday his comeback after having his arm broken by Australia’s Mitchell Johnson in Harare last month.

“It’s feeling good,” McLaren said. “I started batting on Thursday, and every day is a step in the right direction.”

The New Zealand attack does not harbour anyone with hopes of entering the arm-breaking market, but that did not diminish what the South Africans thought of the Kiwis.

“We’ve spoken at length about the respect we have for New Zealand as an ODI team,” McLaren. “They’ve shown in the past, not only against us but also against other teams, that they are a force to be reckoned with in one-day cricket and they will be even tougher in their home conditions.”

That said, Tuesday’s match will be the first ODI played anywhere near October in New Zealand and only the second of the 265 contest in the country to be hosted at Bay Oval. The conditions, then, will be a mystery until they reveal themselves.

“This ground will be foreign to most of the teams and it will be a case of us assessing the conditions as quickly as possible and plan from there,” McLaren said.

The Windies are a fading shadow of the powerhouses they were in the 1980s and 1990s, and the New Zealand tour - as well as the visit to Australia for three T20s and five ODIs that will follow - hold the added value of being played on some of the same grounds where SA will try to win a trophy next year.

So the possibility of the men in maroon being marooned far from SA is not something to stress about just yet. Far rather McLaren and his teammates keep their focus on the challenges at hand.

“These are two very important series for us leading up to the World Cup,” McLaren said. “Every bit of cricket we can play in these conditions is good, and winning here would really boost the morale and the confidence of the team leading up to the World Cup.”