A Cricket Australia XI will give South Africa a chance to test some new combinations at the North Sydney Oval ahead of their three-match T20I series against Australia.
The match will start at 03:30 South African time on Sunday 2 November. Both squads are packed with young talent and the players will know that this is a golden opportunity to show the selectors what they are capable of producing on the big stage.
JP Duminy will be pulling the strings in the middle and it will be interesting to see how the all-rounder copes with the extra responsibility. There are also a number of players in the Proteas ranks who are in need of a big performance, for very different reasons.
Robin Peterson has been thrown an international lifeline by the injury that has forced Aaron Phangiso to redraw from the squad. He’s been back to his best in the One Day Cup and will be keen to show the world that he still has a lot to offer. Rilee Rossouw has struggled since being drafted into the South African side. He has all the talent in the world, but desperately needs some runs under his belt. Finally, U19 World Cup star Kagiso Rabada has been fast-tracked into the squad. He will need to get off to a good start or his confidence may take a knock.
Players to watch:
David Miller has shown during his time in the IPL that he is a match-winner. However, he has struggled to replicate that form in a Proteas shirt. With a number of the senior batsmen sitting out, an opportunity up the order may bring out the best in him.
For Australia, James Muirhead has had a taste of international cricket and will be desperate to get back in the mix. He’s a promising leg-spinner who has all the weapons in his bag. If he can consistently hit a good length, he will cause problems for the South African middle-order.
Prediction:
The Cricket Australia XI is filled with guys still making their way in the domestic game and they shouldn’t be able to maintain the intensity required to get the better of a talented South African side.
The CA XI squad for the tour match is: Ashton Turner (Capt), Ben Ashkenazi, James Bazley, Jake Doran, Sebastian Gotch, Damien Mortimer, James Muirhead, James Peirson, Clive Rose, Matthew Short, Kelvin Smith, Timm Van der Gugten.
The South African squad for the T20I series in Australia: Jean-Paul Duminy (Capt), Kyle Abbott, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, Marchant de Lange, Reeza Hendricks, Imran Tahir, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, David Wiese.
