South Africa vs Australia Series

South Africa vs Australia series. South Africa are set to start their Test and ODI tour of Australia. The tour will begin from December 17 with a Test in Brisbane. The second and third fixtures will be played in Melbourne and Sydney.

The series will be a special one anyway as it will complete the century of Test matches played between Australia and South Africa.

As of now, both teams have competed in 98 matches in the five-day format where Kangaroos have a far superior record with 52 wins compared to 26 victories of the Proteas.

In matches Down Under, the Baggy Greens have a similar dominance where they won 21 out of 41 matches whereas South Africa managed to win 10 times.

The five-day format will be followed by three 50-over matches which will commence from January 12 in Adelaide.

Out of both series, the ODIs will be of greater importance for the Proteas as their direct qualification to the next year’s International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup is depending on how the team will perform in those three matches.

South Africa vs Australia, Australia team analysis

Australia will enter the contest as a strong favorite, largely because of playing in home conditions where they have a formidable record.

Even though the squad has not been announced yet, the chances are very slim that there will be any major surprise when the contingent will be announced for the series against the Proteas.

Australia Batting

In the batting department, the onus will be on the likes of veteran top-order batter David Warner, in-form Usman Khawaja, dangerous Marnus Labuschagne and star right-hander Steve Smith to score the bulk of the runs and put the opposition under pressure.

Even after them, Kangaroos will have the services of the players like all-rounder Cameron Green and wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey who are more than capable of scoring big runs when the team needs them.

The only place up for debate will be of left-hander Travis Head, that too despite his heroics in white-ball cricket.

The 28-year-old has had a hard time in the recent past with the bat in hand where he has only managed to score 99 runs in the last eight innings at an average of just over 14 with the highest of 26.

Those numbers are not good enough but looking at his record while playing at home, where he averages nearly 50 with the bat in 17 matches, the chances are that he will get another opportunity as well.

Australia Bowling

In the bowling department, the onus will be once again on the experienced pros including the likes of captain Pat Cummins, left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon to claim timely breakthroughs and put the visitors under pressure.

South Africa vs Australia, South Africa team Analysis

South Africa named a very strong squad for the five-day format whereas there is no side announced for the 50-over contests.

The team will be led by veteran top-order batter Dean Elgar and he will be accompanied by other experienced batters.

The most positive thing for the side will be the return of star batter Rassie van der Dussen who missed the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup after failing to recover from a finger injury.

South Africa Batting

In the batting department, the visitors will be heavily relying on the likes of captain Elgar, experienced Temba Bavuma, van der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen to score the bulk of the runs and give the bowlers something to bowl with.

South Africa Bowling

On the bowling front, there is a surprising inclusion of young right-arm pacer Gerald Coetzee who earned his maiden call in the Test side for the tour. He has 40 wickets to his name in just 14 First-Class matches.

His arrival will further bolster the side’s fast-bowling department where there is already a lot of talent available in the form of Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen.

The management will be hoping that their pace battery will be able to restrict the home side to a manageable total by claiming timely breakthroughs.

In the spin department, the onus will be on Keshav Maharaj to provide breakthroughs in the middle phase and control the flow of runs as well.

His role will be even more important when the team will compete at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in the third Test where the pitch generally offers more to the slow bowlers.

Predictions

Both teams have been pretty decent in the five-day format and therefore, it will not going to be easy to predict an outright winner.

On paper, both teams look pretty balance but looking at the overall composition of the teams, Australia look a more solid side as despite South Africa having a lethal fast-bowling attack, the home side’s batting look far superior and they have enough talent available in the ranks to tackle any threat coming their way.

Therefore, the prediction is for Australia vs South Africa Test Series is that the Australian team will win the series with a score of 2-1.

South Africa vs Australia Last 5 Matches results

• South Africa won by 492 runs.
• South Africa won by 322 runs.
• South Africa won by 6 wickets.
• Australia won by 118 runs.
• Australia won by 7 wickets.