T20 World Cup: Australia v South Africa Preview

Bet Central previews the Super 12 curtain-raiser which will be played between South Africa and Australia on Saturday, 23 October, at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

The T20 World Cup Super 12 fixtures will get underway on Saturday 23 October following the qualifiers that commenced on the 17th of October.

Setting The Scene

There’s no better way to start a World Cup than to have a match between two sides with a lot of history & rivalry between them. Aaron Finch and Temba Bavuma will lead Australia and South Africa respectively for the first time in a T20 World Cup.

The last time these two nations locked horns in T20I cricket was at the Wanderers Stadium, in Joburg, where Australia registered a massive 107-run victory over the Proteas. In that game, Ashton Agar picked up a five-wicket haul which is a very impressive and rare feat in the shortest format of the game.

But this is a World Cup, what happened in the past has little to no value. The two teams seem to have an extremely different approach to T20 cricket. As far as batting is concerned, the Aussies take on an explosive and attacking approach, while the Proteas usually opt for a rather quiet and measured game plan.

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The presence of David Warner, Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell and Mathew Wade for Australia puts them in a comfortable position as these batters can play an explosive and attacking game that is favourable in this format.

While Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram and David Miller can, on their day, produce an entertaining brand of cricket.

On the bowling front, particularly fast bowling, these two sides have one of the strongest bowling attacks in T20I cricket. Australia has fast bowlers Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, while the Proteas have Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje.

Recent Results at Sheikh Zayed Stadium

Four Super 12 qualifiers were played at this stadium from October 17 to October 20th.

Three of those matches were won by the team batting second and only Sri Lanka won a match in which they set the score at this ground. This then suggests that teams batting second stand a chance of winning the game more than the team batting first.

Two games were low scoring games with targets of 96 runs by Namibia and 106 runs by the Netherlands.

Tabraiz Shamsi, Keshav Maharaj, Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa could produce match-winning performances at this ground as conditions tend to favour spin bowlers.

Australia Probable XI

1.   Aaron Finch

2.   David Warner

3.   Mitchell Marsh

4.   Steven Smith

5.   Glenn Maxwell

6.   Marcos Stoinis

7.   Mathew Wade

8.   Ashton Agar

9.   Pat Cummins

10. Mitchell Starc

11. Josh Hazlewood

South Africa Probable XI:

1.   Quinton de Kock

2.   Temba Bavuma

3.   Rassie can see Dussen

4.   Aiden Markram

5.   David Miller

6.   Heinrich Klaasen

7.   Dwaine Pretorius

8.   Keshav Maharaj

9.   Kagiso Rabada

10. Anrich Nortje

11. Tabraiz Shamsi

The encounter between South Africa and Australia will start at 12PM SAST, on 23 October.

Australia Squad

Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins (vc), Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Travelling Reserves: Dan Christian, Nathan Ellis, Daniel Sams.

South Africa Squad

Temba Bavuma (c), Keshav Maharaj, Quinton de Kock (wk), Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, W Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen

Travelling Reserves: George Linde, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lizaad Williams.