Following their 47-run loss at the hands of a revived South Africa side in match three of the Ballr Tri-Nation Series tournament played in Guyana, Australia will now seek retribution when they meet their longtime rivals today in game four at the Warner Park Ground, St Kitts.
The opening match in Guyana saw the competition’s hosts West Indies beating South Africa before losing to the Aussies a day after. Australia then sought to make it two wins but the Proteas turned the tables to hand the reigning 50 Over World Cup Champs their first loss of the series.
A change in venue from the sluggish Providence Ground in Guyana to the livelier Warner Park Ground in St Kitts where both teams met back in the 2007 World Cup, means that the misfiring batsmen on both teams can now look forward to bit more pace with the ball coming onto the bat as well as shorter boundaries, ideal conditions for a huge total which is synonymous with the ground.
Both side have five points, South Africa got theirs via the bonus pint they received from handsomely beating the Aussies in Guyana on Sunday while the Caribbean side has four points, all of which came from two games each played in the opening round.
The key for the South Africans in the last match was their bowling and while pacer Kagiso Rabada ended with 3-15 on a spinners track, it was their slower bowlers who utilized the conditions to keep the Aussies in a choke-hold throughout their pursuit of the 190 total.
Apart from Rabada, the South Africans depended heavily on their spinners but a faster wicket means the likes of Wayne Parnell, who returned with a few wickets against Australia, Kyle Abbott who played against the West Indies and Morne Morkel who is yet to play, could come in at the expense of possibly Imran Tahir and Tabraiz Shamsi.
Left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso remained consistent throughout both matches picking up 2-26 in the first game and 3-40 against the Aussies, but he could easily be swapped for a seamer or if AB de Villiers decides to tinker with the leg-spinner Tahir or the wrist-spinner Shamsi on that type of surface.
Australia will definitely look to retain off-spinner Nathan Lyon who has made an impressive comeback to limited overs cricket while Adam Zampa, the leg-spinner has been brilliant. Pacers Nathan Coulter-Nile and Josh Hazlewood had success in Guyana and will likely team up with left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc who was rested against South Africa but bowled well against the West Indies for his two wickets in game one.
The real worry for both sides will definitely be the batters, especially the big guns on both teams who have not yet gotten out of the blocks. In the last match, Aaron Finch batted almost to the end of the game for his 72 in losing effort while Farhaan Behardien said his Man-of-the-Match innings of 65 was one of his best due to the difficult conditions.
Rilee Rossouw who made 61 against the West Indies, is now out of the competition after injuring his shoulder which means the struggling middle-order will be boosted by the return of Faf du Plessis who has recovered from a broken finger. Hashim Amla has made a few starts but has not yet played a significant hand while de Villiers too has made starts but has not score a boundary since the start of the tournament.
JP Duminy’s form is a worry for his team and he could likely be given one more match on a faster track to see if that helps with his form.
Australia will also want more from their batsmen, apart from Finch, only David Warner who saw his team home against the hosts with a run-a-ball unbeaten 55 has score a half-century.
Much like the South African skipper, Steven Smith has yet to fire with the bat, similar to the lies of Usman Khawaja, Glenn Maxwell and Matthew Wade who failed in the previous encounter. The Day/Night will begin at 13:00hrs Australia: David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steve Smith
(capt), 5 Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade (wk), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wk), Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers (capt), JP Duminy, Farhaan Behardien, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Kyle Abbott, Aaron Phangiso, Tabraiz Shamsi, Imran Tahir
