South Africa primed for home summer's headline clash

September 30, 2016
Start time 1330 local (1130 GMT)

It's not even October and the headline series of South Africa's summer is already beginning. No disrespect to Sri Lanka, who are the only touring team to visit later this year, but the fans will regard Australia as a bigger draw, and even though they are only playing ODIs, the series will generate significant interest.

The Champions Trophy is nine months out but this will be the start of South Africa's planning and, worryingly, it does not include AB de Villiers. The regular captain has been ruled out of the series with an elbow injury which leaves a hole in the leadership, in the batting line-up and in the field. It will be up to Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy to step up as senior players, while David Miller and Farhaan Behardien will need to find form with the bat and light up the fielding effort. South Africa's squad as a whole must show they can cope in the absence of one of their biggest names. The bowling will be bolstered by the return of Dale Steyn, who was rested for the West Indies tri-series in June. He will have Kyle Abbott, Kagiso Rabada, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius and Andile Phehlukwayo for company.

Australia have not packed their pace pack with the same power, leaving several frontliners at home while giving opportunities to a younger crop. They have brought their captain along for the trip, which is certain to provide fodder for some off-field banter - Steven Smith was sent home from Sri Lanka to prepare for the summer and among those critical of the decisions were South Africans. Steyn and Graeme Smith had a few things to say on social media and, given the tension between Steyn and former Australia captain Michael Clarke in the past, this could be episode two.

Episode three, of course, will take place in November when what some will consider the real battle begins. South Africa travel to Australia for three Tests. For now, enjoy the opening act.

South Africa WLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia WWWWL

De Villiers' absence for the next two months leaves Faf du Plessis in charge. Du Plessis has not been shy about expressing his desire to captain more and especially to lead from the front. With scrutiny over his scoring rate, this is the format in which he may feel he needs to prove himself. The middle overs are where South Africa don't want to let the game drift and it will be up to du Plessis to push their cause.

Mitchell Marsh struggled for consistency in length on his return to the ODI side against Ireland, after having been rested for the Sri Lanka series last month. None of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, James Faulkner or Nathan Coulter-Nile are in the touring party, so it will be up to Marsh to play his part in filling those roles. He has taken more ODI wickets in 2016 than in any other year but has also been expensive, with an average of 34.13 compared to his 2015 average of 23.35. He will want to tighten up against South Africa.

With Dale Steyn and Imran Tahir back in the squad, Andile Phehlukwayo and Aaron Phangiso are likely to be the two casualties from the Ireland victory. In the absence of Chris Morris, both Wayne Parnell and Dwaine Pretorius are likely to keep their places. Hashim Amla was sick and he rested a day before the match, but du Plessis was "99% sure" the opener would be fine on Friday.

South Africa (possible): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 JP Duminy, 5 David Miller, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 Dwaine Pretorius, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Imran Tahir

After Usman Khawaja's unbeaten 82 in the Ireland match, Australia will be hard-pressed to choose between him and Aaron Finch. They may look to change their bowling attack with Chris Tremain coming into contention.

Australia (possible): 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch/Usman Khawaja, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 George Bailey, 5 Travis Head, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Mathew Wade (wk), 8 John Hastings, 9 Adam Zampa, 10 Chris Tremain/Daniel Worrall, 11 Scott Boland

Unlike Benoni's tacky and, at times, two-paced pitch, SuperSport Park is expected to produce a pristine surface packed with runs. There should be something in it for the quicks too. Summer has arrived on the Highveld and a warm day is forecast, with temperatures close to 30 degrees. There is also the possibility of an afternoon thunderstorm which may interrupt briefly.

"Pretoria and Wanderers are generally wickets that don't offer too much spin, but there is always a role for a spinner to contain the game. So I definitely see the role of a spinner, not much attacking, but by doing a holding job. For the first three games, we won't see too much spin."
South Africa's stand-in captain Faf du Plessis indicates South Africa will field at least one of their three spinnners.

"Both of our top orders play the same pretty much all around the world. Their job is to go out and play the way they play and be nice and positive. You can't really ask David Warner and Aaron Finch to go block it around. It's not the way they play and it's not the way I want them to play either."
Steven Smith agrees that this series may become a battle of the top orders.