South Africa surely too strong

South Africa are becoming a pretty consistent Test team once more and they must be licking their lips at the prospect of the arrival of West Indies, who in recent years have been one of the worst travelling teams in world cricket.

Click here to bet on South Africa v West Indies at bet365

West Indies have lost 37 of their past 50 Tests away from home and Bet365 make South Africa virtually unbackable at 1/10 (1.10) to win the three-match series, with West Indies 16/1 and the draw a 15/2 chance.

West Indies are, to put it kindly, a side in transition and quite frankly, I can't see anything other than a South Africa victory, with a 3-0 triumph looking more than possible, something reflected in the price for the whitewash, which is just 11/8.

That's the favourite in the correct score markets, just ahead of a 2-0 win for Graeme Smith's side, which is 2/1. A 2-1 win is 7/1, while a 1-0 win and a 1-1 draw are both 8/1. If you think West Indies win, if you really think they can, then you can get 33/1 that they win it 2/1, 50/1 that they triumph 1-0, 80/1 that they win 2-0 and a massive 200/1 that they win 3-0.

Aside from the fact that the weather can never truly be trusted in South Africa, West Indies just simply are not up to the task, still trying to rebuild after the retirement of Brian Lara.

They have talent in their ranks - Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels are all excellent batsmen, on their day, but they all - with the notable exception of Chanderpaul - struggle with concentration.

Their bowling attack is youthful but obviously lacking in experience and they will surely struggle to bowl out the home side twice as South Africa have some real class in their line-up, led by Jacques Kallis and Smith himself. Their bowlers, too, carry plenty of pace and threat.

Kallis the obvious favourite
Kallis is the 7/4 favourite to be his side's top runscorer in the series, with Smith next at 3/1. Herschelle Gibbs, who can make some big scores when he gets on a roll, is 4/1 and Hashim Alla, who is improving all the time, is 9/2. AB De Villiers is 7/1 and 10/1.

Chanderpaul tops the bill for West Indies at 7/4, with Gayle 10/3. Daren Ganga is a 6/1 chance, while Runako Morton is 13/2, the same price as Devon Smith, just ahead of Samuels, who is 9/1.

South Africa are 1/3 to win the first Test, which starts on Boxing Day, with West Indies 17/2 and the draw on offer at 10/3. West Indies have never won a Test in South Africa, losing eight of the nine between the two, and I see no reason why it should get any better for them just yet.

Cambers' Call:
South Africa to win the series against West Indies 3-0 -11/8 (2.37) bet365

Please note that odds are correct at time of publication and are subject to change.