Philo Wallace, as short of confidence as he is of runs, was predictably dropped at the selection meeting last night but who should open in his stead occupied most of the two hours manager Clive Lloyd, coach Malcolm Marshall, captain Brian Lara and vice-captain Carl Hooper spent discussing the order.
Lara indicated his willingness to fill the position in which he first made his mark in the 1992 World Cup and where he scored his early hundreds in the shortened form of the game. His fellow selectors were concerned the effect his early loss would have on the remainder of the batting and it was finally determined he should remain at No.4.
The experiment of using Nixon McLean as the big-hitter to utilise the field restrictions over the first 15 overs would be maintained unless, for a change, the openers see of the threat of Shaun Pollock with the new ball. In that case, Lara would appear at No.3.
Daren Ganga, the 20-year-old who is yet to appear in a one-day international, was another option for the role but manager Lloyd said last night that Murray's experience tipped the balance in his favour for a crucial match.
The series is level 1-1 following the first major West Indies' victory of their wretched tour in the second match in East London on Sunday by 43 runs.
The only feasible explanation for Murray's retention in the one-day squad following the Test series was as an additional opening batsman, a makeshift role he filled in the third and fourth Tests. He is the reserve wicket-keeper to Ridley Jacobs who was certain of his place and neither of the two specialist openers, Stuart Williams and Clayton Lambert, were kept on.
First used in the position in the World Series tournament in Australia two seasons ago when Robert Samuels and Adrian Griffith weren't measuring up, Murray immediately made an impact with 86 off 79 balls in a victory over Pakistan that helped spark a West Indies revival.
He had two other half-centuries but was then omitted for the series against India and Sri Lanka in the Caribbean. Today will be only his second one-day international since Australia. He played in the first against England at Kensington Oval last in which he was injured and replaced by Jacobs.
The other ten are unchanged from the first two matches in which the West Indies have shown appreciably more intensity than they did in the Tests.
Keith Arthurton and Neil McGarrell, two of the new players, have given a new sharpness to the fielding, Reon King has bowled superbly with the new ball in support of Curtly Ambrose and Chanderpaul and Carl Hooper have enjoyed the relief of not being confronted with the attacking close fields of the Tests.
Chanderpaul's 150 in the second match was a masterpiece. There are not many scores of that magnitude in one-day cricket compiled off as few balls as 136 and yet without a single six. The nimble left-hander used classical strokeplay - principally pulls, cuts and drives along the fast outfield to gather 20 boundaries and a genuine edge of the brilliant Pollock for one of them was his only false stroke.
The South Africans have been shaken by the closeness of the opening match, which they won off the final ball through some strange tactics by Lara, and their defeat in the second.
Their 100 per cent successes in winning the Commonwealth Games Gold Medal in Kuala Lumpur and the Wills International Cup in Bangladesh emphasised their strength in the shorter game based on their all-round depth and sparkling fielding. Coach Bob Woolmer said the results were a blessing in disguise in the buildup to the World Cup, making them realise that they are not invincible.
They are also shuffling at the top of the order where Gary Kirsten (twice), Herschelle Gibbs and Mike Rindel have all gone cheaply, putting pressure on the lower order. There is now talk of Daryl Cullinan going in first as he did in the Bangladesh tournament.
The match is a sell-out with a crowd of 21,000 anticipated in conditions that ground curator Philip Russell, the former Derbyshire county player, predicted yesterday would be ideal of batting.
The teams:
West Indies: Brian Lara (captain), Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Junior Murray, Nixon McLean, Carl Hooper, Keith Arthurton, Keith Semple, Ridley Jacobs, Neil McGarrell, Curtly Ambrose, Reon King.
South Africa (expected): Hansie Cronje (captain), Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Daryll Cullinan, Jacques Kallis, Jonty Rhodes, Dale Benkenstein, Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher, Lance Klusener and Nicky Boje.