South Africa will look to extract an advantage from their spin stocks when they take on a hard-hitting Australian side in the second match of a triangular series in Harare on Wednesday (August 27).
Australia had issued a statement of intent on Monday, when they crushed Zimbabwe by 198 runs in the series opener, exhibiting a greater degree of ruthlessness than South Africa did in winning a three-match One-Day International series against the hosts in Bulawayo last week.
Australia hammered Zimbabwe’s bowlers to the tune of 147 runs in the final 10 overs, racking up 350 for 6 on a slow wicket, proving that their big-hitting middle order can be particularly difficult to contain. However with the dry, late winter pitches in Harare suiting the spinners more than the pacers, the South Africans could have an advantage.
Imran Tahir, the legspinner, and Aaron Phangiso, the left-arm spinner, both picked up wickets against Zimbabwe while conceding less than four runs per over, and they also have the support of JP Duminy, whose offspin has become a regular feature for South Africa. “The wicket in Harare is a lot slower so it might be a strategy that we might try and use,” Duminy said of the spin factor.
In contrast, Australia have only one specialist spinner in Nathan Lyon, and although he picked up a couple of wickets on Monday, he was also hit for 42 runs in seven overs by a struggling Zimbabwean line-up.
However, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, the pacers, have returned to the South African squad after they were rested for the bilateral series against Zimbabwe, setting up the tantalising spectacle of a face-off between Steyn and Mitchell Johnson.
“The great thing about our seam attack is that they can adapt to all conditions so it will be a good challenge for us,” said Duminy. “This is the pinnacle of cricket, you want to play against the best in the world, so we are looking forward to it. They have a lot of match-winners and we will need to find a way to curb them.”
Australia will miss the services of Michael Clarke again, after the skipper had sat out of the first game. Clarke is yet to recover fully from a hamstring injury, and in his absence, George Bailey will continue to lead the side.
Mitchell Marsh, who was entrusted with the No. 3 berth against Zimbabwe, paced his innings perfectly and scored 89 from 83 deliveries.
The allrounder also picked up 1 for 15 in five overs, and believes Australia’s seamers have adapted to the conditions sufficiently to make up for any deficiency they may have in the spin department. “The way all the bowlers bowled (against Zimbabwe), they took pace off the ball at the right time and I think that’s going to be key on this wicket,” said Marsh. “There’s a lot of experience in our changing room, they’ve played on these sorts of wickets all around the world, so I don’t think it’s anything too new.”
Teams (from):
Australia: Aaron Finch, Phil Hughes, George Bailey (capt), Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Brad Haddin (wk), Ben Cutting, James Faulkner, Kane Richardson, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon.
South Africa: AB de Villiers (capt), Hashim Amla, Kyle Abbott, Quinton de Kock (wk), JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Rilee Rossouw, Mthokozisi Shezi, Dale Steyn.
