Temba Bavuma expects South Africa to put the "trauma" of a hammering in Australia behind them when they start a new Test era against West Indies on Tuesday.
Bavuma has replaced Dean Elgar as captain in the longest format after the Proteas were emphatically beaten 2-0 in Australia, where they probably would have been whitewashed but for the weather in Sydney.
The opening Test against the Windies at Supersport Park will also be Shukri Conrad's first as head coach, with Malibongwe Maketa having taken over on a temporary basis following Mark Boucher's departure.
Bavuma says it is time to heal the wounds from a chastening tour of Australia.
The skipper said: "No one died. We went to Australia and got a good beating. With that there were lessons that guys took individually from it. It was quite hard to have a team de-brief on it because the management who were there, some of those guys are not here now.
"From a personal point of view, I went back and looked at areas I could work on.
"Here within the Test team, guys would've dealt with the challenges that they faced. I also think that guys need to be kind to themselves and understand that Australia is another tough place to tour. That's why people respect Australia for the country that they are.
"Another thing is not to hold on for too long to the trauma or that baggage. At some point you have to move on from it and I trust that the guys have done that."
Tony de Zorzi could make his debut and Aiden Markram has been recalled, while fellow batters Keegan Petersen and Ryan Rickelton have recovered from injuries and Neil McKenzie has been appointed as a batting consultant.
Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne and Lungi Ngidi were overlooked, but Elgar will hope to thrive at the top of the order without the captaincy.
Batter Alick Athanaze and seamer Akeem Jordan will be hoping to make their debuts for the Windies, who arrived in South Africa with three series wins from four after a 1-0 success in Zimbabwe.
Windies overdue a win over Proteas
You have to go back to December 2007 for the first time the Windies beat South Africa in a Test, with the Proteas winning eight and drawing two of the 10 since then.
Only against Bangladesh (14) do the Proteas have a longer active unbeaten streak in the format.
South Africa have won each of their eight multi-game bilateral Test series against West Indies.
Chanderpaul must build on impressive start
Tagenarine Chanderpaul has looked very much at home in the Test arena since making his Windies debut last year.
The left-hander scored a magnificent unbeaten 207 in the first Test against Zimbabwe this month and averages 69.66 from his seven innings.
West Indies will need Chanderpaul to stand up when they attempt to improve a poor record against South Africa.
"Couldn’t be scripted better": King honoured to lead West Indies for the first time
Opener Brandon King will captain the West Indies for the first time when they take on South Africa in three T20Is from May 23-26 at Sabina Park in Kingston.
The 29-year-old has scored 1150 runs in 47 T20Is at an average of 28.04 since his debut against Afghanistan in Lucknow in 2019.
Captaincy is not new for King as he most recently captained the Jamaica Scorpions in the West Indies Championship after leading the Jamaica Tallawahs in last season’s Caribbean Premier League.
“Definitely,” was King’s response when asked about whether or not it is an honor to lead the regional side for the first time.
“It couldn’t be scripted better. It’s an honour to lead the West Indies in any capacity and even more to do it at home so I’m very happy,” he added.
In addition to leading the Windies for the first time, King also expressed joy at getting to do it in his home country Jamaica.
“Obviously, extremely happy. I’m always excited to play at home. It’s good that we get some cricket in especially leading up to the world cup. It brings some excitement to the fans so I’m happy about it,” he said.
The squad recently had a training camp and King is looking forward to the squad getting an opportunity to get some match practice ahead of the world cup set for June 1-29.
“Match practice is something that you can’t replicate in training. We’re coming from a training camp and this is our opportunity to put those plans and skills in place so we’re very much looking forward to it,” he said.
Despite some regular squad members being missing from the squad due to the IPL playoffs, King says the players present are looking to implement some of the plans that many hope will lead to West Indian success at the world cup.
“A few of the guys aren’t here as yet but I think the communication has been clear with the whole group. We know how we want to play and the guys that are here, we’re looking to implement that in this series and see how it goes,” he said.
No place like home: Simmons anticipates return to T&T as part of Papua New Guinea's staff for T20 World Cup
Former West Indies head coach Phil Simmons says he is looking forward to being back in his homeland of Trinidad and Tobago while assisting Papua New Guinea through their ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup campaign in which they will rub shoulders with West Indies.
Simmons, 61, joins Oceania side as a specialist coach, and he will provide Papua New Guinea's head coach Tatenda Taibu with some added experience and knowledge of playing in Caribbean conditions during the June 1-29 showpiece, which will also see games being played in United States.
“My role here is as a consultant coach and how I put across my experience, not just playing in World Cups, but playing in the Caribbean and the things that we should be looking at to make sure we do it right in the Caribbean and especially the venues that we play at,” Simmons shared.
Having built a strong reputation working with international sides such as Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Afghanistan, Simmons, who has played the sport for 14 years and coached for a further 18 years, was pressed for time to spend in the Caribbean and, as such, welcomed the opportunity to spend some time in the twin island republic.
“It’s been a long time in the game. It’s always brilliant to come home, always brilliant to come back to any part of the West Indies you know how beautiful it is here. I’m looking forward to getting home, which is Trinidad. Having people come here, me getting back here, it’s always a great thing, it’s always something to look forward to," he declared.
Simmons, who recently joined the Papua New Guinea squad in their pre-World Cup training camp in St Kitts, expressed pleasure with what he has seen so far.
“Their energy is unbelievable. Their warm-ups alone, got me tired. The guys look like they have settled in really well. In training, we started to get out in the middle of their game, so they started on some of the things they have to do here in the Caribbean, and it’s nice to see the energy that’s among this squad," Simmons said.
“I’ve known the head coach [Taibu] for a long time, and he’s always been energetic. There is always a lot of energy, but the players seem to be pushing him where that is concerned, and so I like that atmosphere in the team, I like the liveliness in the team," he added.
Papua New Guinea will contest Group C alongside West Indies, Afghanistan, New Zealand, and Uganada. They will open against the Caribbean side on June 2, at the National Cricket Stadium in Guyana.
Buttler: England looking to repair dented pride at T20 World Cup
England's white-ball captain Jos Buttler says the team had their pride dented by last year's 50-over World Cup failure, as they look to set things right at the T20 tournament.
England endured a dismal defence of their ODI title in India last year, failing to make it out of the group stage as they lost six of their nine matches.
They are desperate for a better showing as they look to retain their 20-over crown at the T20 World Cup in the United States and West Indies, with their opener coming against Scotland on June 4.
Before then, Buttler's team face Pakistan in a four-match home T20I series, and he has witnessed a determination to respond within the camp.
"That pride was obviously dented and it was a really disappointing competition," Buttler recalled.
"But life moves on, it's a chapter in the book and there's lessons you learn but we're presented with a new opportunity, a different format.
"We go to the West Indies and want to give a better account of ourselves."
Headingley is the venue for England's first match against Pakistan on Wednesday, when Jofra Archer could make his first international appearance for over a year.
The fast bowler has missed the better part of two years with elbow and back issues, but Buttler says he has impressed in training this week.
"He's bowling quick," Buttler said of Archer. "It was good fun facing him in the nets yesterday, a really good challenge. It's great to see him back."
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