The flags will be flying, horns blowing and the calypsos sung to let our team know that folk from back home are in the stands cheering them on in this tough encounter.
The popular posses that have become a standard feature at grounds around the region will be represented in Capetown, Johannesburg, Durban and even at the last test in Pretoria.
Promoters of the Red Stripe Mound have a group going from Jamaica, along with the Trini Posse and the Annexe Crew from Barbados. Fans are also expected from other parts of the region such as Cayman Islands and Grenada.
Travel agents are arranging tours for cricket fans ranging from young professionals to retired persons who promise to bring the colour and fun of cricket in the Caribbean to the African continent.
But the posse organisers see their activity as more than just fun. Rather they see the tours as building interest in the sport, particularly among the 25-40 age group. These fans, they say, find touring with the team to be very exciting and a sure way to ensure commitment to the sport and the team.
But what makes this tour so different from any other series of cricket matches to make West Indians spend thousands of dollars to travel across the globe?
Yes, there is the lure of an unknown land, the tours to Robben Island and Kruger Park. And they want to see our new opening pair come up against Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock. But there is additional excitement about this tour. It rests on the history of South Africa and indeed the history of cricket and South Africa which are closely entwined and worth restating so that particularly young West Indians and South Africans understand this tour's significance.
Ten years ago, when Nelson Mandela was still imprisoned and the nationalist government was fighting tooth and nail to hold onto power, who would have thought that the West Indies would be playing and touring in South Africa as honoured guests?
Just 50 years ago, when apartheid seemed so strong that it could last a thousand years, Learie Constantine, a most distinguished West Indies cricketer and statesman, refused to sanction a tour to that country because he could not go freely to South Africa and could not invite any South African to visit.
Rebel West Indies teams later played in the republic, having the indignity of being accorded ``honorary white'' status to earn the Kruger rands they got for their efforts.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) maintained a firm position against apartheid, even banning players who had played on rebel teams from playing for the West Indies. The South Africans were indeed barred from all sporting and cultural ties with most of the world.
While this is the first official Test and One-day series, this is not, however, the first time West Indies are playing in South Africa. When the ban was lifted West Indies played there before returning from the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Moreover, many of West Indies' great former players - notably Conrad Hunte, Clive Lloyd and Wes Hall - visited, coached and motivated youth in the townships and the result is that in a comparatively short time South Africa have produced Omar Henry, Paul Adams and fast bowling sensation N'tini for their test teams.
It is appropriate that Messrs. Hunte, Hall and Lloyd will be in South Africa for the tour and will witness some of the results of their work, albeit against their own team. The West Indies team is also expected to visit the townships and interact with young people there in particular. The WICB is negotiating sponsorship deals with companies in South Africa to benefit both the Board and the players financially during the tour.
The South Africans fans are eagerly awaiting the arrival of West Indies, who are a popular team in that country. Many young South African players, particularly the young black players who are now being encouraged to play at the highest levels, see the West Indies stars as role models.
Indeed, West Indies will have to play like champions to encourage and motivate these black youth of South Africa to play the game that has given so many of the sons of this region a place in the sun.
Tony Harford is a member of the West Indies Cricket Board's (WICB) Marketing Committee.
Across The Board is the column of the WICB. Questions addressed to Across The Board can be sent by mail to:
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