Published: Nov 03, 2016, 06:00 AM (IST)
Edited: Nov 03, 2016, 03:43 PM (IST)
Hello and welcome to CricketCountry’s coverage of first day’s play of the first Test between Australia and South Africa at Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA), Perth on Thursday. It i definitely one of the most awaited series of the season as two giants of the game will collide in a Test series. Perth has been one of the famous Test venues and one can expect the surface to be result oriented. South Africa are without the services of the their skipper and undoubtedly one of the best batsmen in contemporary cricket AB de Villiers. Faf fu Plessis is the stand-in skipper and will have to shoulder the extra responsibility along with batting. LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: Australia vs South Africa, 1st Test at Perth
South Africa have had a magnificent record in Tests in Australia since 2008. They top the charts with highest Win/Loss ration as they have won three games, lost one and drew couple of Tests out of six games played here since 2008, which makes their W/L ratio 3.0. In fact, no other team stands as close as the Proteas, which rightfully speaks of their dominance Down Under. With momentum being on their side, South Africa will eye to replicate their splendid performance in whites as they famously did back at home against the white ball.
Both the swords are equally sharpened will be worth to watch. They have some solid depth in their bowling and it won’t be wrong to say that a team’s success will also highly depend on how their bowlers fare. With numbers backing South Africa, the hosts have home conditions as an advantage. Most of their batsmen have had a good run in whites at home in last two years. Adam Voges averages 165 while Usman Khawaja hails of a staggering average of 126. Steve Smith, David Warner and Shaun Marsh all have some incredible numbers to their names in last 24 months. As the series is expected to be a thriller, let’s analyse the bowling attack of both the sides.
Australia would be bolstered with the return of their premium strike bowler, Mitchell Starc, as he has successfully recovered from an injury. Starc is inarguably one of the bests in the business and has done a admirable job with the red cherry in hand. His soaring height, high-arm action, getting the ball to move, the extra zip, unexpected bounce and ability to bowl toe-crushing Yorkers stands him apart from his imminent peers. On the contrary, Starc is well capable in getting rid of the tail-enders. He was unstoppable in the Test series against Sri Lanka in their own den, where spinners inflicted most of the damage. He had 24 scalps to his name in three Tests at an astounding average of 15.16. His presence will make the difference and is undoubtedly the man to watch out for in the entire tour.
Squads:
Australia: Steven Smith(c), David Warner, George Bailey, Scott Boland, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Marsh, Joe Mennie, Chris Tremain, Matthew Wade, Daniel Worrall, Adam Zampa, James Faulkner, Shaun Marsh.
South Africa: Faf du Plessis(c), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, Jean-Paul Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dale Steyn.
