Jerome Taylor ... set to return from injury. - File

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CMC):

Although well rested by virtue of a lopsided itinerary, the West Indies will still not be firing on all cylinders for the second one-day international against South Africa today.

Beaten by six wickets in a rain-affected opening encounter at Centurion five days earlier, this day/night fixture at Newlands, followed almost immediately by the third match at Port Elizabeth on Sunday, will test the tourists' ability to rebound from a succession of disappointing results.

It was at Newlands three weeks earlier that the Caribbean side's campaign started to go off the rails when they not only lost the second Test which allowed the home team to square the series, but also suffered significant setbacks with injuries to Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Fidel Edwards.

Gayle has since returned home nursing his fractured thumb and strained hamstring, an fast bowler Edwards is back up almost to full throttle, vice-captain Bravo who now carries the responsibility of leadership will be unable to bowl because of an aggravated side strain.

Hammered

Since that seven-wicket defeat, the West Indies were hammered by an innings and 100 runs in Durban to surrender the Test series 2-1, before being edged out by the Proteas in the final Twenty20 fixture in Johannesburg and then going under in a lacklustre opening ODI.

However, there was some good news at the final practice session on Friday with Jerome Taylor going through his paces with ball and bat, suggesting that the young fast bowler will be returning to competitive action since wrenching his left shoulder while batting in the Twenty20 fixture a week earlier.

Highly critical of the heavy outfield that probably contributed to a succession of injuries on both sides during the Test, John Dyson expressed satisfaction with the Newlands surface, while also seeking to put the four-match losing streak into perspective and dismissing suggestions that the momentum is very much with South Africa.

Unlucky

"I think we've been a little unlucky in losing the toss on two bowler-friendly wickets," said the West Indies coach in referring to the recent matches at Johannesburg and Centurion.

"We've also had a few injuries, which you don't plan for, of course, but it hasn't affected our motivation to do as well as we can."

How the coin falls is not likely to be as much of a factor this time around with the excellent weather in Cape Town since the start of the week expected to continue on Friday. A bone-dry Newlands pitch has influenced the Proteas to consider playing off-spinning all-rounder Johan Botha, but it is doubtful that the West Indies will opt for Rawl Lewis, choosing instead to go with another seam-dominated attack and relying on Marlon Samuels for slow bowling support.

The real headache, however, for the visitors is at the top of the order, and with Gayle back in Jamaica and Devon Smith desperately out of form, Guyanese left-hander Sewnarine Chattergoon is tipped to play his first match of the tour opening with Brenton Parchment.

Keen to bat first

Ironically, both teams will probably be keen to bat first given bright afternoon sunshine, as conditions can change dramatically under lights, as the West Indies found out four years ago in being routed for their lowest-ever ODI total, 54.

South African captain Graeme Smith is nursing a knee ailment, but the South African captain expects to play and believes his team can show that they are well ahead of their opponents, contrary to Dyson's assertion that the gap between the sides isn't all that wide.

TEAMS: West Indies - (probable) Dwayne Bravo (captain), Brenton Parchment, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Runako Morton, Darren Sammy, Denesh Ramdin, Jerome Taylor, Ravi Rampaul, Fidel Edwards.

South Africa - Graeme Smith (captain), Herschelle Gibbs, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, JP Duminy, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Albie Morkel, Johan Botha, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Andre Nel, Charl Langedeldt, Makhaya N'tini.