Rilee Rossouw comes in for the ill Hashim Amla, as the Proteas bowl first in the first ODI against Australia at Centurion.
After comfortable respective victories against Ireland, South Africa and Australia go head-to-head in another epic five-match series. The sides have a comprehensive history of five-match bilateral series, with the Proteas winning three of the last four, stretching back to the world-renowned 438 back in 2006.
Australia, depsite carrying a depleted squad, especially in the bowling department, have enjoyed plenty of success in this format recently, After their 2015 World Cup success, they won the Tri-Nation series featuring the Proteas and West Indies, and have just beat Sri Lanka 4-1. They will be a difficult side to overcome no matter what XI they field.
Faf du Plessis will continue to skipper the side in AB de Villiers’ well-documented absence, while they’ve strengthened their bowling attack with the inclusions of Dale Steyn and Imran Tahir, both of whom missed the match against Ireland. Rossouw will open the batting alongside Quinton de Kock, while Andile Phehlukwayo keeps his place.
Australia bring in Aaron Finch at the expense of Usman Khawaja, despite scoring an unbeaten 82 against the Irish, with the bowling line-up remaining unchanged.
South Africa XI: Rilee Rossouw, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis (c), JP Duminy, David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir
Australia XI: David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steve Smith (c), George Bailey, Travis Head, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Marsh, John Hastings, Adam Zampa, Scott Boland, Daniel Worrall
Photo: Samuel Shivambu
