South Africa would want to get back to their winning ways after their loss against West Indies in the fourth ODI at Port Elizabeth, with the fifth ODI scheduled at SuperSport Park, Centurion.
Though the Proteas might have already clinched the ODI series after putting up an emphatic display in the first three one-dayers, they want to travel down under for the prestigious 2015 world cup with a win under their belt.
AB de Villiers has been given some well deserved rest; hence the team would be led by Hashim Amla in the last one dayer.
Talking about winning, Amla said that it was "very important," reported cricbuzz.
"You want guys to perform and to be in good form getting into the World Cup. Everyone is hungry to excel, to do their part and to make sure that they get on to the plane knowing that their skills are up to date. As a team we want to be winning. 4-1 sounds better than 3-2 and the benefit of being in the position that we are in is giving the guys an opportunity which is just as important as winning."
The Proteas have been handing games to fringe players, so as to provide them with exposure and confidence as well.
"Another purpose of a game like tomorrow (today) is to give another opportunity for the fringe guys to get some confidence ahead of the World Cup," said Amla.
"The bowling reserves did well in PE (Port Elizabeth) but you also have to give credit to the West Indies, they played well. It was a game of cricket that could have gone either way with nine wickets down."
On the contrary, West Indies have not been performing consistently in the 50 over format, so they need to finish the series 3-2 and travel to Australia and New Zealand with their tails up.
What looks troublesome for the West Indies is the form of their key batsman, Chris Gayle, who has been below par in the series. His scores in the series read, 41, 19, 1 and 10 runs. Hence, the player needs to get back to form, if they are to pose a strong challenge in the 2015 World Cup.
His fellow opening partner Dwayne Smith has also failed in his last two games scoring 5 and 0.
Hence, it is imperative that the West Indies players get back to form before the biggest event in world cricket, which happens once every four years.
Where to Watch Live
The fifth ODI match is set to begin at 1.30 pm local time (5 pm IST, 11.30 am GMT) start with live coverage in India on Ten Cricket and Ten HD.
The game can also be watched in India via live streaming on Ten Sports Live.
Watch the match in South Africa on SuperSport, while viewers can live stream the action on SuperSport Online. Audience in the Caribbean can catch the match live on SportsMax.
Sky Sports 2 will broadcast the second one-day international live in the UK, while viewers can also watch the match via live streaming online on Sky Go or Watch Sky Sports. Audience in the US can catch the game live on Willow TV or Willow TV Online.
