OBAKENG MELETSE
The Proteas Test squad wrapped up only their fifth match of the year with a 40-run victory against the West Indies on Saturday at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.
The Proteas, under the leadership of coach Shukri Conrad and skipper Temba Bavuma, maintained their unbeaten series record against the Windies since the 1998/99 season with a 1-0 series win. South Africa are heading towards the beginning of our summer, so where to from here for some of the stars that recently concluded the games in the longer format?
There are a handful of Proteas that will make the switch to the three-match T20 series against the West Indies, starting on Friday.
Tristan Stubbs will be on of those players. The 24-year-old has become a revelation in the South African cricket set-up, and he will feel right at home in the format that announced his arrival.
Thereafter, the Caribbean Premier League is set to kick off, and Stubbs will join Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamzi and Rilee Rossouw for the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in that tournament.
Meanwhile, player of the two-match Test series against the West Indies, Keshav Maharaj, will be in the company of Proteas David Miller and Quinton de Kock in Guyana as the two-time champions the Barbados Royals go in search of their third title in the CPL.
David Bedingham might be on his way back to his County Championship side Durham as Division One is set to continue from August 22. Bedingham has scored the bulk of his career runs in County Cricket, and he is currently the leading run scorer in his division.
He will be out to add to what has been a productive season so far that has seen him score 926 runs at an average of 71.23 with five hundreds. Dane Paterson couldn’t get any game time in the West Indies but he will hope to continue playing a role for Nottinghamshire when they continue with their campaign against Durham.
Meanwhile, Matthew Breetzke and Wiaan Mulder took part in Division Two of the County Championship for Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, respectively, before the tour to the West Indies. Breetzke could be set to make a return to Northamptonshire as the season nears its end.
Mulder, however, will remain in the Caribbean to also participate in the forthcoming T20 series but could then return to the Foxes.
For the rest of the Proteas, there is still an opportunity to be picked up by some of the sides around the world with several tournaments set to start, but for the likes of Kagiso Rabada, this could be a perfect opportunity for rest and recover ahead of a busy summer.