Quantas White Ball tour of South Africa | Australia vs. South Africa
Australian cricket team’s white-ball tour of South Africa has just started, with both the teams looking for some game time before a mega event in India starting from October 05. South Africa vs. Australia has always been one of the most competitive series over the years in any format. The matches are intense with so many quality players in both teams. Now, South Africa will host Australia for a 3-match T20I and a 5-match ODI series at home.
Today, we will preview the South Africa vs. Australia white ball series in this article. We will talk about the opportunities for both teams, having a look at their squads, and much more. So let’s start.
South Africa vs Australia series 2023
T20Is
Australia’s white-ball tour of South Africa will commence with the T20I series starting from August 30. Followed by the first T20I, the next two T20Is will happen on September 01 and 03 respectively. Durban will host all the three T20Is in the series.
ODIs
Followed by the T20I series, the five-match ODI series will start on September 07 in Bloemfontein. The same venue will host the 2nd ODI as well before the series moved to Potchefstroom for the 3rd ODI. Centurion and Johannesburg will host the last two ODIs on September 15 and 17 respectively.
Injury blows for Australia
There are some forced changes in Australia’s squad as players like Steve Smith, and Glenn Maxwell have been ruled out due to injury.
Australia’s regular captain Pat Cummins is also ruled out of the whole tour due to injury along with M Starc. The Aussies will definitely miss the services of two of their premier fast bowlers in the South Africa vs Australia series. They will recover from their respective injuries and come back for the ICC ODI World Cup 2023.
New faces in the teams: SA vs. AUS
We will see some new faces in both teams in this series. Apart from the injury concerns, both teams have decided to rest some of the big players, particularly in the T20I series.
Opportunities for the youngsters
Resting a few players will give a huge opportunity for the new players in both teams. Australia will try to test some of the new players like S Johnson, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Tanveer Sangha, etc. in the T20I series.
On the other hand, players like D Brevis, T Stubbs, Matthew Breetzke, Donavon Ferreira, and Gerald Coetzee will have the opportunity to showcase their talent for South Africa.
Chance to be in the T20 WC squad next year
However, right now, the main focus will be on the ODI WC. And the teams will make the most of this opportunity before the tournament. But the youngsters have a chance to make the mark for the T20I WC next year in the West Indies and the US.
A few big names will be back for the ODIs
The South Africa vs Australia ODI series will see some of the big names coming back from both teams. Players like KG Rabada, David Miller, Quinton de Kock, etc. will be back in the ODIs for South Africa.
On the other hand, apart from the injured players, big names David Warner, Cameron Green, Josh Hazelwood, etc. will be in action in the ODI series.
A good game time for both the teams
This South Africa vs Australia ODI series will be a good game time for both teams before the marquee tournament in India. They will look to make use of it properly and want to win the series. Winning a series against a big team will boost the confidence of a team.
Head to Head (South Africa vs Australia)
T20Is
Till now in 22 T20Is, Australia has won 14 games while South Africa won 8.
ODIs
Til now, South Africa has a slight edge over Australia. In 103 South Africa vs Australia ODIs, the former has won 51 while the latter has won 48.
South Africa’s squad for the series:-
T20Is
A Markram (c), Temba Bavuma, D Brevis, Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Marco Jansen, M Breetzke, Donavon Ferreria, Tristan Stubbs, Gerald Coetzee, B Fortuin, S Magala, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lizaad Williams
ODIs
Temba Bavuma (c), D Brevis, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Rassie van der Dussen, Marco Jansen, Quinton de Kock, T Stubbs, H Klaasen, Gerald Coetzee, B Fortuin, S Magala, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi, W Parnell, KG Rabada
Australia’s squad for the series:-
T20Is
M Marsh (c), Tim David, Travis Head, M Short, Aaron Hardie, M Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Sean Abbott, Josh Inglis, Matthew Wade, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Ellis, Spencer Johnson, Adam Zampa, Tanveer Sangha
ODIs
David Warner, Travis Head, M Stoinis, M Marsh (c), Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Marnus Labuschagne, Ashton Agar, Sean Abbott, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazelwood, Adam Zampa, T Sangha,
Conclusion
So this is the preview of the South Africa vs. Australia white ball series. As we are writing this article, the first T20I of the series going on with the home team South Africa in all sorts of trouble after they lost 5 wickets for just 87 runs in a big run chase of 227.
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