Teenager Jayden Seales, who has only one first-class match to his name, got his first Test cap for West Indies
West Indies chose to bat vs South Africa
South Africa’s four-pace-and-solo-spin attack will get first use of the St Lucia surface after Kraigg Brathwaite determined to bat first in the two teams’ first assembly in the Caribbean for 11 years. South Africa final toured West Indies in 2010 and none of the present squad were a part of that group of players. That means all XI visitors will be making their first Test appearance on the islands.It is usually a first for Dean Elgar, who takes charge of South Africa in whites, after being appointed captain in the winter break. Elgar has led South Africa once before, when Faf du Plessis was once on paternity leave, at Lord’s in 2017. du Plessis could also be no longer a part of the team and retired earlier this year, making way for Keegan Petersen, a top-order batter from Durban via Bloemfontein and Paarl. Petersen’s first cap was once deliberate ahead of the series but South Africa also had to make a last-minute adjustment to their XI after vice-captain Temba Bavuma was once ruled out of the match with a hip injury. Kyle Verreynne was once provided an possibility in his place.West Indies actually have a newcomer in their team. Teenager Jayden Seales, who has only one first-class match to his name, has been included in an attack that contains Kemar Roach and Jason Holder but not Alzarri Joseph. West Indies opted for two spinners in Roston Chase and Rakheem Cornwall. In the line-up, Shai Hope has been reminisce about after final playing in July final year against England and will open the batting with his captain Brathwaite. That left no space for Kieran Powell, who was once also back in the squad after a time period on the sidelines.
West Indies: 1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), 2 Shai Hope, 3 Nkrumah Bonner, 4 Kyle Mayers, 5 Jermanine Blackwood, 6 Joshua da Silva (wk), 7 Jason Holder, 8 Roston Chase, 9 Rakheem Cornwall, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Jayden Seales
South Africa: 1 Dean Elgar (capt), 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Keegan Petersen, 4 Rassie van der Dussen, 5 Kyle Verreynne, 6 Quinton de Kock (wk), 7 Wiaan Mulder, 8 Keshav Maharaj 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Lungi Ngidi
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s South Africa correspondent