West Indies hopeful Motie can put South Africa in a spin

West Indies are sweating on the health of spinner Gudakesh Motie forward of the second and remaining Test in opposition to South Africa at The Wanderers on Wednesday as captain Kraigg Brathwaite revealed they’ll most likely hold the identical batting line-up.

Motie missed the 87-run first Test loss in Pretoria with a decrease again damage, however was capable of bowl on the eve of the second recreation having recorded spectacular match figures of 13-99 in opposition to Zimbabwe final month.

“He had a bowl yesterday and it went decent, so we will wait for the report and see,” Brathwaite advised reporters on Tuesday.

South Africa has chosen two spinners in Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj on a wicket that has favoured the sluggish bowlers over the past 12 months.

“We have the option to bring him in if we can,” Brathwaite added. “The wicket has some bare patches to the right-hander, so you can see why South Africa have gone with two spinners.”

West Indies might be happy with their bowling effort in Pretoria, bar a poor first couple of classes after which they took the final 19 South African wickets within the match for 237 runs.

“It was very good for us as a bowling group to get 20 wickets,” Brathwaite stated. “It is as a batting unit where we can improve. South Africa will come hard at us and we have to be up for it.

“They are a tough team at home, and a bit more application, myself included, is needed from the batsmen. Will we change (the batting line-up)? Possibly not, we are backing the guys to get the job done.

“Test cricket is all mental. It is figuring out how to score runs against each bowler and is important to know with clarity which balls you want to play and what to leave.

“Mentally we have to be in the right space to believe we can bat and score runs. Then it is to do it.”

West Indies has gained one in every of 16 earlier Tests in South Africa, shedding 13, whereas its total report in opposition to its opponents is dire with three wins in 31 Tests residence and away.