ICC WC 2023: Match 10: Australia vs South Africa: Preview & Prediction

The World Cup caravan moves to Lucknow for the first time in this edition of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup as Australia takes on South Africa in match number 10. The two nations have had an interesting history in World Cup Cricket with some close encounters. The most famous of them being the semi-final clash in the 1999 Cricket World Cup in England which ended in a tie after Lance Klausner was run out on the last ball of the match a dismissal which helped Australia qualify for the final of the tournament.

Another not-so-happy memory for South Africa from that match was when Herschelle Gibbs dropped the catch of Steve Waugh who went on to score a century. 'You've just dropped the World Cup', was what Steve Waugh is said to have said to Herschelle Gibbs after the South African batsman put down a dolly of a catch at mid-wicket with the Australian skipper batting on 56 - that's the urban legend. 

The prophecy came back to haunt South Africa in the coming days, but more importantly for Australia, the dropped catch ensured another life to Waugh - who would go on to make an unbeaten 120, thereby securing a semi-final slot for his team.   

Since that incident a lot has changed, as Australia has won five World Cup titles while South Africa is looking to win their first. Talking about the composition of both the teams in this World Cup South Africa is looking like a complete team while Australia has a few questions to answer after their loss to India. 

In this article, we will look at the key aspects of the mouth-watering clash.

Australia

The five-time world champion hasn’t been in great form coming into the World Cup having lost back-to-back series against South Africa and India. The loss against the former would be hurting more as the Aussies were leading the five-match series 2-0 and lost it by 3-2 after the Proteas scripted a magnificent comeback in the last three matches. 

The start of the World Cup campaign was quite similar as the Australian batting collapsed in the first match against India to a score of only 200 runs after a good start. On the bowling front, the pace duo of Starc and Hazlewood did make things a little interesting after picking three wickets in the first two overs but with not enough runs on the board, their efforts went in vain.

Cameron Green

Australian all-rounder Cameron Green can be the surprise element for other teams in the World Cup. Although he hasn’t performed well in ODI cricket till now but with height being a big advantage for him he can get the ball to bounce on pitches, which has some help for the bowlers. Another thing that makes Green the player to watch out for is his fielding. He has already made a name for himself as a good slip fielder in his first Ashes series in 2021 with his bucket-size hands he can guard the third-man region and save crucial runs for his team. 

Marnus Labuschagne 

The right-hander can be said to be the carbon copy of Steve Smith in terms of the way he goes about his business while batting. Yes, his low strike is an area of concern, but he is someone the team could bank on while batting. He was in good form in the series against South Africa before the World Cup where he came in as a concussion substitute and would like to contribute to his team.

Adam Zampa

 Zampa is the only specialist leg-spinner in the squad. The 31-year-old has established a reputation for breaking opposition partnerships and providing crucial breakthroughs for his team. The combination of his healthy strike rate (31.5) and tight economy rate (5.53) will make him Australia’s most important bowler in the 50-over format, where he has taken 45 wickets in the past 20 months.

South Africa

South Africa is looking like a force to reckon with in this edition of the World Cup with a solid batting lineup the proteas have announced themselves at the biggest stage in style. Having hit three centuries in the opening match against Sri Lanka the South African batters would be oozing with confidence and will look to continue the good form against Australia. The only area of concern for captain Bavuma will be the bowling department as the pacers leaked over 300 runs against Sri Lanka

Heinrich Klaasen

One of the three centurions of South Africa’s opening match against Sri Lanka, Klaasen stands out for the ability to walk on to the crease lower down the order and get down to the business of hitting boundaries right away. He boasts one of the highest strike rates among current batters as he often scores most of his runs from fours and sixes. As a skilled wicketkeeper, the 32-year-old holds the record for 10 wicketkeeping dismissals and scoring 200 runs in a series.

Marco Jansen 

The South African all-rounder has had a decent outing in international cricket so far. All though he is yet to deliver with the bat, with the ball he bowled a match-winning spell against Australia in the recently concluded five-match ODI series which the Proteas won 3-2 after losing the first two matches comprehensively. So far in his short career he has picked up 18 wickets in 14 games and has scored 265 runs with an average of 29.44 and SR of 114.72. His performance in both departments provides South Africa with an amazing balance.

Aiden Markram

Markram has been in red-hot form in the last month or so having scored a century against Australia in the five-match ODI series before the World Cup. He continued his good form and started the World Cup with the fastest century in the history of the tournament. 

The South African vice-captain will look to score another big one in the next match against Australia.

Head-to-Head

Total matches played: 108

Matches won by Australia: 50 

Matches won by South Africa: 54

Recent form

Past 10 matches, most recent first. W: win, L: loss, N: no result

Australia: LWLLLLLWWW

South Africa: WWWWLLLWWW 

Past 10 years

South Africa (18 wins), Australia (9 wins), no result (1)

Most runs: Ricky Ponting (1879), Jacques Kallis (1639), Jonty Rhodes (1610), Steve Waugh (1581), Hansie Cronje (1364)

Most wickets: Shane Warne (60), Glenn McGrath (58), Shaun Pollock (55), Dale Steyn (49), Allan Donald (45) 

Pitch Report

The surface at the Ekana Cricket Stadium was one that was heavily preferred by the bowlers. The spinners, specifically, had a lot to gain from such a surface. After the T20I match against New Zealand the pitch was heavily criticized, and the curator was sacked. It would be interesting to see what the surface looks like for the game on Thursday. 

Weather update

The weather on Thursday is expected with a day and night temperature range of 35 degrees Celsius as the high and 22 degrees Celsius as the low. There is very little likelihood of rain at just 1 percent. 

Squads

Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa 

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada, Rassie van der Dussen, Lizaad Williams 

Probable playing XI

Australia: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi

Dream11 Team Prediction #1

Wicketkeeper: Q de Kock (C)

Batters: S Smith, T Bavuma, R van der-Dussen, M Labuschagne (vc)

All-rounder(s): G Maxwell, A Markram, M Jansen

Bowlers: M Starc, A Zampa, K Rabada

Dream11 Team Prediction #2:

Wicketkeeper(s): Q de Kock

Batters: D Warner, S Smith (C), M Marsh, D Miller

All-rounder(s): A Markram (vc)

Bowlers: J Hazlewood, M Starc, K Maharaj, K Rabada

Dream11 Team Top 4 Backups

P Cummins, L Ngidi, G Coetzee, A Carey 

Winner Prediction

The quality of battle is going to be absolutely high with Australia expected to take the honours considering their past record.

Match Details

Match: Australia vs South Africa, Match 10, World Cup 2023

Venue: Ekana Sports City Stadium, Lucknow

Date & Time: Thursday, October 11, 2:00 pm IST

Image Credit: ESPN Cricinfo