Australia vs South Africa, a Tale of Strong Bowling and Top-Order Batting

After the famous series in 2018, Australia and South Africa meet up for a Test series once again. There are a good amount of players who played in both series, and there will be some key battles to watch out for.

Top-Order Batting

Both sides have pretty solid names in their top six. South Africa though are heavily reliant on Dean Elgar while Temba Bavuma is coming in after a really rough few month. Bavuma is still a really good Test Cricketer but with a lot of scrutiny around him he will have to be a little watchful. Individually, their batters are not too strong. They only managed one fifty across three Tests in England.

Comparatively, the Australian top six are all very commanding. Barring David Warner, who is in a lean patch the others are making runs with ease. The likes of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne are leading Australia with the bat while Usman Khawaja is also going consistently.

Spin Bowling

Both teams are reliant on one name each for spin. Nathan Lyon has carried the spin attack for over a decade while Keshav Maharaj is doing the same for nearly six years. Maharaj started his career in Australia and 45 Tests later is back for another round of Tests. Barring Keshav Maharaj, South Africa has Steve Harmer while Australia do not have too many with a lot of experience.

Pace Attack

Both teams have really good pace attacks and that is where the series is likely to get decided. Australia though do not have Josh Hazlewood to start with. In his place though, Scott Boland gets another run and is a very good replacement given his record in Australia and his single-digit average. Behind him there is also Michael Neser, who will unfortunately have to wait for his chance with Pat Cummins coming back from injury.

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South Africa’s big four is just as interesting. In Anrich Nortje they have raw pace. Lungi Ngidi gives them variety, Marco Jansen provides the height factor which can help extract bounce in Australia, and Kagiso Rabada, the attack leader provides aggression. Kagiso Rabada in particular has had a lot of battles with Australia. He is the only pacer in the squad to have played a Test in Australia, and his experience will be very handy. Beyond these four though, the pace attack remains bare and South Africa will have to find a way to manage their bowlers and the fitness of their pacers.

The All-Round Balance

The all-rounders role is where Australia are ahead clearly. Cameron Green has come into his role nicely as a proper all-rounder. With the bat he is capable of playing big knocks and he has also taken a lot of responsibility with the ball. He had the better of Joe Root in the last Ashes proving that he can be an irritating bowler to face.

South Africa do not have anyone of that calibre. Like Cameron Green though they have a very tall fast bowler. Marco Jansen is there, and he can bat too, but his batting capabilities are not as proven as Cameron Green. With Australia likely to play five bowlers though, Jansen will be batting higher than usual and will need to step up, emulating Cameron Green.