‘We want to turn our Test fortunes around’

South African bowling coach Charl Langeveldt says the Proteas are keen to put on a good show, as his side get ready to face the West Indies in the two-Test series starting on Thursday in St. Lucia.

The two-match Betway series will be played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground for the Sir Vivian Richards Trophy on June 10-14 and June 18-22.

The clash will be the final set of matches in the current cycle of the ICC World Test Championship, with West Indies on 200 points, looking to move above Pakistan (286) into fifth place in the table, while the South Africans (144) will hope that victory will take them above the West Indies into sixth place.

Both teams have won three matches in the Test championships, however, the West Indies have lost two fewer games with six defeats to South Africa's eight, with the West Indies drawing two matches.

The former South Africa seamer Langeveldt is eyeing a positive result, despite the Proteas being in transition.

Under pressure

"We want to turn our Test fortunes around. A one or two-nil result or any win for that matter would help us. We need to play good cricket for long periods and put the West Indies under pressure with both bat and ball," said Langeveldt.

Langeveldt believes the team's bowling unit will be the trump card with the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje leading their charge.

"I think we have the right balance and we have four seamers that will probably play in the first Test and we also have a spinner, so we have options. I think we have the personnel because everyone is different, but it is key for us to use the surface well," added Langeveldt.

In the meantime, West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder believes both teams are matched up well in the bowling department, however, he believes the team that bats the best, will have the advantage.

"I think it will be a hard-fought series. I think South Africa are in a transitioning phase and their bowling attack is very solid," Holder said. But the former West Indies captain said the visitors have a big hole in terms of experience in their batting line-up with the absence of AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Francois 'Faf' du Plessis.