Five Tests for 2001 Cable & Wireless Series

South Africa will engage the West Indies in five Tests and seven One Day Internationals in its first full tour of the Caribbean since returning to world cricket.

The two-and-a-half month Cable & Wireless Series will open on March 4, 2001, with a three-day practice match in Guyana and concludes in St. Vincent on May 16 with the final One Day International. During that time the visitors will have a busy agenda, playing cricket in seven territories - Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Antigua, Jamaica, Grenada and St. Vincent.

Announcing the schedule and lauding sponsors Cable & Wireless for again joining in partnership with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), the Executive Secretary of the WICB, Andrew Sealy said this tour has been eagerly anticipated by cricket fans in the region and the WICB has done its best to ensure as many countries as possible share in this historic event.

"We've been looking forward to this tour since South Africa's one-off Test in the Caribbean (Kensington Oval, Barbados) in 1992. It promises to be a very exciting series. On the one hand, the West Indians will want to bounce back on home turf from their very poor showing in South Africa in 1998-99 and there are also some promising, young players who will want to impress against the visitors.

"On the other hand, the South Africans have produced some of the most talented cricketers since coming back into the international arena and although they are going through a bit of off-the-field turmoil now we can certainly expect a strong performance from them during their Caribbean tour. All in all, it looks like a very good contest," said Sealy.