South Africa's attack gets workout despite rain

Time in the middle for South Africa's bowlers was the most important takeaway from their tied warm-up match against West Indies Cricket Board President's XI on Sunday, according to Hashim Amla. The match was affected by rain, with only 24.1 overs possible in the second innings, but it gave South Africa's attack enough time to find rhythm.

"It was a really good sign that our bowlers got some time in the middle before it started raining. It was turning out to be a good game," Amla said. "They bowled well. It started raining and the ball got really wet, but even then they bowled decently. Getting overs under the belt is the most important thing."

The match was set up for a tense finish after President's XI had reached 127 for 3, chasing 281, and all of South Africa's bowlers used in the fixture got in more than one over. Morne Morkel and Tabraiz Shamsi were the only two bowlers in the squad who did not get a bowl.

Despite not having played competitive cricket in nine weeks after the World T20, Kagiso Rabada did not show any signs of rust and took 1 for 13 in five overs. Wayne Parnell was the only player coming off a long lay-off. Parnell had last played in the first week of April, for Cobras in the Sunfoil Series, and took a five-wicket haul in the first innings against Titans. But he struggled to replicate that form and conceded 35 runs in four overs. Kyle Abbott (1 for 11) and Chris Morris (0 for 18) have some form behind them, both having been part of the IPL, while the spinners were just getting started when the rain came down.

Imran Tahir (1 for 15) and Aaron Phangiso (0 for 8) both seemed to settle in easily. They will be crucial to South Africa's success in the triangular series where conditions are expected to favour the slower bowlers. There is a strong possibility of sides fielding more than one specialist spinner, especially at Providence, the venue for the first three matches. "The wickets in West Indies can differ, but a lot of the guys are saying that Guyana may be a bit slower and lower. But you will only really know when you get there," Amla said.

Amla was the most successful batsman and scored an aggressive 92 for the South Africans, who were also propped up by contributions from the lower order. Morris, Abbott and Phangiso were among the runs, after Rilee Rossouw had been dismissed for a duck and JP Duminy fell for just 6. South Africa missed Faf du Plessis - out with a finger injury - Quinton de Kock - necessitating the use of an opposition wicketkeeper - and AB de Villiers, who will join the squad shortly, having just played in the IPL final.

Out of the 15 members in the squad, de Villiers is one of 11 to have taken part in the IPL, which meant South Africa's players were not going into the tri-series cold. In fact, Amla said their time at the tournament would be an advantage. "I don't think (the difference between T20 and ODIs) is that big. The only thing is that you have a lot of time to set the game up," he said. "You have to remind yourself that there is a lot of time still left in the game, but it's a lot easier to go from T20s to one-dayers than from a Test match."

South Africa and West Indies play the series opener on Friday.