Published: Oct 31, 2016, 06:40 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 31, 2016, 11:54 PM (IST)
South Africa decimated Australia in the One-Day International (ODI) series, but the Test series Down Under will surely turn out to be a different ball game altogether. While the ODI series did not have the likes of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood in the Australian side, the duo will be in full swing in the Test series, making life for the Proteas a tad difficult. Just like in the ODI series, South Africa will be without their skipper AB de Villiers, who is nursing an injury. As a result, Faf du Plessis will once again lead the side. He led them in the 5-0 whitewash of Australia in the ODI series and also led South Africa to 1-0 win in the 2-Test series against New Zealand at home. Full Cricket Scorecard: Australia vs South Africa 1st Test at Perth
After Australia’s poor show in the series against Sri Lanka and their closest competitors India and Pakistan scaling new heights, Australia find themselves in the third position in the ICC rankings. South Africa have been one of the most inconsistent Test teams and find themselves at fifth. As far as South Africa are concerned, this series will be a good opportunity for some to cement their place in the side, for some to live up to their expectations and for some to scale new heights. Ahead of the series, lets us look at some of the South African players to watch out for
Kagiso Rabada: South Africa’s cricketer of the year, Rabada is slowly but surely transforming himself into one of the most feared bowlers in world cricket. 18 out of his 29 Test wickets have come in his last four innings and the series against Australia could turn out to be his most challenging tour till date. With the likes of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel in the squad, there is a lot of competition to make it to the playing XI. Rabada has the reputation of being quick and also accurate. He can be deadly coming up against the likes of David Warner, Steven Smith and others. He is a genuine wicket-taker, who has impressed with every passing series – be it limited-overs or Test. His 13 wickets against England at Centurion has certainly been the highlight of his brief Test career so far. With Australian pitches favouring the quicks, Rabada may thrive under these conditions.
Keshav Maharaj: Maharaj has been knocking on the doors for some time now and after a good domestic show, he has been included in the South Africa squad. There will be a tough competition between him and Tabraiz Shamsi for a spot, but Maharaj shoud get the nod as he also can contribute with the bat in the lower middle-order. He has a couple of First-Class tons to his name as well. He picked up over 40 wickets in the previous season for the Dolphins and he will be an excellent addition to the South African playing XI. It will be interesting to see if Maharaj plays in all the three Tests, given that South Africa will be tempted to play all four quicks for all the matches, with Duminy playing the role of a spin-bowling all-rounder. READ: AUS vs SA 2016: 5 players from the hosts’ dugout to watch out for
Stephen Cook: A player with good technique and great temperament, the Australia tour will be make or break for the 33-year-old opening batsman. Cook has already made a promising start to his Test career, having scored a fifty and a century in his first five innings. Cook has shattered various record in the domestic arena. He holds the record for the highest individual score in South Africa’s First-Class cricket when he scored 390 in 2008-09. He also was part of a marathon 365-run partnership with wicketkeeper Thami Tsolikele, which again is a South African record. Cook will open the innings with Dean Elgar and will once again look to get South Africa to a good start.
Dale Steyn: Folowing a long lay-off Steyn returned to the South African squad with a point to prove. Steyn was clearly not at his best during the India tour, but roared back to form in the home series against New Zealand. Steyn, still one of the best in the world, will look to repeat his performance from the 2012-13 series in Australia, where he along with Morne Morkel shared 26 between them, with Steyn getting 12 of them to help South Africa win the three-match series 1-0. Australia cannot afford to underestimate Steyn. Not many in the current Australian side have faced Steyn at this level. They will have to be at their very best to negotiate a bowler of Steyn’s caliber. READ: South Africa announce 16-member Test squad for Australian tour; Morne Morkel included
Hashim Amla: Amla is perhaps South Africa’s most consistent batsman across formats. But when it comes to Test cricket, Amla takes it to a whole new level. Amls’s ability to churn out runs day in, day out regardless of the condition is quite phenomenal and it will not be surprising to see him flourish in this series as well. His current form is good and is record in and against Australia is even better. Amla averages close to 58 in Australia and has an overall average of 51.20 against the Aussies. Even on the previous tour Down Under, Amla finished as the leading run-scorer for South Africa, coring 377 in three Tests t 62.83. With wealth of experience under his belt, Amla will be a key figure in the South African middle-order. READ: South Africa’s deliberate show of bravado intensifies tour of Australia
JP Duminy: It is baffling to know that someone of the quality of Duminy does not have a permanent spot in South Africa’s Test side. Duminy made his Test debut in the 2008-09 season at Perth – the venue for the first Test. After scoring an unbeaten fifty on debut to help South Africa chase a record 414 runs down, Duminy followed it up with a sensational 166 in the second Test at MCG. South Africa won that match as well and wrapped up the series with a game to spare. Duminy on that tour finished as the third highest run-getter for his team with 246 runs in three Tests, just behind Graeme Smith and Amla. Duminy is also a very handy off-spinner and could be utilised on many occasions in this series. When South Africa go in with four quicks, Duminy can be used as their lone spinner. He has 37 Test scalps from 36 Tests. He could be used in short burst, especially when the captain is in desperate need of breaking a partnership, if his frontline bowlers fail to do their jobs. Duminy could very well turn out to be South Africa’s trump card in the series and could once and for all put an end to the speculation surrounding his place in the Test side.
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry.com. He is a sports enthusiast and a keen observer of cricket, the contests, and its personalities. When not tracking cricket, he follows the world’s soccer leagues and is somewhat partial towards Liverpool. His Twitter handle is @pramz)
