After all the questions, finally South Africa play.

It's been exactly a month since South Africa last played an ODI and almost every minute of the days spent between their victory over India in Centurion and this moment has been consumed with how they will approach the World Cup. Questions have floated in the air about every possible aspect of South Africa's squad and strategy. Even after they have been answered, they've managed to find a mouth-to-mouth way of being resuscitated and asked again, in a slightly different way.

How many spinners will they play? Will the middle order prove strong enough? Can the quicks do the job in the subcontinent? How much is expected of a squad with 11 World Cup debutants? Will they choke again?

After all that, it's no wonder that South Africa are itching to get onto the field as soon as possible so that the cricket can start and the questions can end, or at least change. Even though South Africa have talked down the pressure, the truth is it has gone nowhere. After five failed attempts to raise the World Cup with five squads more than capable of raising it, patience is running out. The match against the West Indies on Thursday is not so much about the opposition as it is about starting the campaign with the kind of intent that will tell their critics and fans how serious they are about doing the business this time.

For West Indies, it's pressure of a completely different kind. They have slipped below Bangladesh in the ODI rankings to ninth spot and this World Cup presents them with an opportunity to show that they can still be counted among the top nations in international cricket. They've had difficult series in the recent past, against Sri Lanka and South Africa, and give the impression of a side that may fire now and again but struggles to find consistency in prolonged series.

They're aiming for the quarter-finals and the format could well see them get there, but they will have to achieve at least three "onces" to achieve that. In personnel they have the capability, so it's the mindset they'll have to get right. Their match against South Africa is being touted as the first marquee one of the tournament, although England against the Netherlands rubbished that assumption. To make an impact in this one could serve them well in the coming weeks.