ICC World Cup 2019 Match 45, Australia v South Africa: Preview, likely XIs, predictions

To top the group (and avoid playing England in the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup), Australia need to beat South Africa in the 100th ODI between the sides. If they cannot, they have to expect Sri Lanka to take India down. South Africa, on the other hand, will want to pick up two points and – if Bangladesh lose to Pakistan – finish seventh.

Australia’s batting has depended heavily on Aaron Finch, David Warner, and Steven Smith this time, but on the rare occasions that they have all failed, someone or the other has stood up. Alex Carey has contributed several times; Glenn Maxwell, visibly under orders to go for the kill, has done exactly that; Usman Khawaja has made valuable contributions; and even Nathan Coulter-Nile has turned a match around with bat.

Mitchell Starc is three wickets away from becoming the highest wicket-taker in a single World Cup edition. He has found considerable support from Pat Cummins and, of late, Jason Behrendorff, but the support cast looks a bit thin. That, combined with a middle order that has collapsed at times, seem to be the only chinks in the Australian armour.

Plagued by injuries, South Africa have not had a great tournament. Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, and Rassie van der Dussen have got runs, but the big hundreds have remained elusive. Hashim Amla has had a stop-start tournament, and the middle order has failed to come off.

Kagiso Rabada, Chris Morris, and Imran Tahir have bowled their hearts out. While they have received support (most notably from Dwaine Pretorius against Sri Lanka), the support has come in bursts, not over long periods of time. Injuries to Anrich Nortje (before the World Cup), Dale Steyn (without playing a match), and Lungi Ngidi (during the tournament) have really hurt their cause.

Head to head

The sides are quite evenly matched, with Australia holding a 48-47 lead. South Africa have won the last two bilateral series between the sides – 5-0 at home in 2016-17 and 2-1 in Australia in 2018-19.

South Africa had won the first match in the World Cup, in 1992, but the next four matches have produced three wins for Australia and a tie.

Their only two encounters on English soil were in 1999, where Australia famously won a humdinger at Headingley. Four days later, the sides played out a tie in the semi-final at Edgbaston.

Key players

Glenn Maxwell (Australia): Maxwell has not scored a lot of runs – he averages 24 and does not have a fifty – but his strike rate of 191 is the highest of the tournament so far. A hundred of his 143 runs have come in boundaries. This may well be his first big innings of the tournament.

Imran Tahir (South Africa): This will be Tahir’s last ODI appearance, and given his tendency and ability to put up a show, expect him to make this special. He has had a better tournament than most of his colleagues (10 wickets at 31.50, economy 4.70), and he will want to make an impact before he bows out.

Likely XIs

Australia: Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon.

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis (c), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, JP Duminy, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir.