Proteas ready to push for series win in Mackay
Australia v South Africa | 2nd ODI | Friday, 22nd August | Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay | 06:30am
South Africa won the opening game of the series by a comfortable margin of 98 runs.
Marnus Labuschagne has played 57 ODI innings in his career. In that time, he has been dismissed by left-arm spinners on 14 occasions – that’s almost a quarter of all dismissals. He was trapped LBW by Keshav Maharah last time out.
South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj is the third ranked bowler in the ICC ODI rankings. He returned his best ever ODI figures in the opening game of the series as he ripped through the Australia middle-order with figures of five for 33 in his ten overs.
Australia have beaten South Africa just once in their last five encounters and three times in the last ten games.
Australia’s Travis Head has a career batting average of 43.65 in ODI cricket; this is significantly higher than his average against South Africa which is a far more modest 30.38.
South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada has been ruled out of the ODI series after picking up an injury.
Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma is currently averaging 44.46 in ODI cricket.
Australia is currently the third ranked ODI side in the world while South Africa is ranked sixth.
Given their collective lack of recent ODI action, there are no Proteas or Australian batters in the top ten of the ICC rankings. The best ranked batsman on show in Mackay will be Travis Head who is 12th on the list.
Matthew Breetzke has played just three ODIs in his career, but he has scored a total of 290 runs for an average of 96.66 at a strike rate of over 100. He was in good form in the series opener with a score of 57.
Venue: Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay
The Great Barrier reef Arena has hosted just one previous ODI – a World Cup clash between India and Sri Lanka from back in 1992. That game ended with no result after rain intervened following just two deliveries.
Neither South Africa nor Australia have ever played an ODI (or any other type of match for that matter) at the venue.
Weather:
The weather in Mackay on the Queensland coast looks set to be ideal for cricket on Friday with temperatures moderate and not a hint of rain. The mercury will rise to 24 degrees at its peak and while the humidity will be high at 80 percent there will be a pleasant breeze to take the edge off any discomfort.
Form (most recent game first):
Australia: L, L, NR, A, W.
South Africa: W, L, W, A, W.
Key player:
Australia, Mitchell Marsh: The Australian skipper put up a brave fight in a losing cause on Tuesday as he scored 88 runs out of a total of 198. Having opened the batting, he was eventually eighth man. His knock of 88 was his best ever against South Africa against whom he averages just 29.65 – compared to a career average of 36.48. He is however in a good run of form at present averaging just over 50 from his last 10 ODI knocks.
South Africa, Matthew Breetzke: Breetzke has taken to ODI cricket very well. In his three ODI innings for the Proteas, he has posted scores of 150, 83 and 57. But he is not just flying in ODI cricket, he is currently in a rich vein of form. Aside from his well-played 57 in Cairns he previous innings on the county circuit in England (where he plays for Northants), saw him score 52, 85 and 93. Batting at number four for the Proteas, Breetzke will be looking to weigh in with more big runs in Mackay.
Verdict: South Africa
The Proteas have been in good recent ODI form and with seven wins from the last ten against Australia they have built up a comfortable winning habit. They also boast a host of inform batters with the likes of Breetzke, Bavuma, Brevis and Markram all in good touch at the moment. While the venue is something of an unknown quantity South Africa did a lot better than their opponents in Cairns in reading the wicket and adjusting accordingly – expect them to do the business on Friday.
