South Africa are 1-0 up in the series, but they are already two men down. One of them, Kagiso Rabada, was excluded from the squad owing to injury, while the other, Prenelan Subrayen, was omitted after suspicions were raised about his bowling action. Off-field troubles knocked at Australia’s door as well, though not as severely. Adam Zampa was handed a demerit point for using inappropriate language during the game.
But that should worry the hosts less than the more immediate danger, losing the series for the fifth time in a row if they do not pull themselves together in Mackay. Australia have not had a great time in this format since they won the ODI World Cup in 2023. Their win percentage in bilateral games has been a modest 50% across 14 matches, which includes series defeats to Sri Lanka and Pakistan. This could be their third such defeat, unless they manage to find a way to supercharge their batting lineup.
Team overview:
Barring a captain’s innings from Mitchell Marsh, the Australian batting lineup failed horribly to pose a challenge against South Africa in Cairns. None of them, though, would have felt as defeated as Marnus Labuschagne, who is in a race against time to prove himself worthy of an Ashes spot. He had scored only one run before a Keshav Maharaj delivery trapped him LBW. In his defence, it was a brilliant ball and Maharaj went on to dismiss half the team. But in a few months, he will hardly have any chance to use these excuses.
The spinning track, surprisingly, aided Travis Head more than Australia’s premier spinner, Adam Zampa. Head grabbed four wickets and set up a run out to halt the Proteas at 296. The chase never seemed easy, but that total was a better bargain than what the visitors seemed likely to post while their top four were batting. Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickleton, Temba Bavuma and Matthew Breetzke collectively scored 237 runs, a fat chunk of the eventual target, but the remaining side collapsed badly. And with the South African pace duo unimpressive with the new ball, iy seemed Australia might easily sweep this one away. That was until spin was introduced and Maharaj got to wreak havoc.
Head-to-head matches:
South Africa and Australia have crossed swords in 111 ODI games to date. Of these, the Proteas have won 56 matches, while Australia follow closely behind with 51 wins. Four games ended without a result.
Weather and pitch report:
Mackay has only ever hosted one ODI game, or perhaps just a couple of balls of that game, way back in 1992. So the conditions, as has happened so often in this series, are largely unpredictable. The List A records here oscillate wildly, some signalling a more batting-friendly surface while others suggest the bowlers will hold sway.
There is one thing that carries a slight certainty, and that is the weather in Mackay, which is forecast to remain clear of rain.
Prediction
Australia need to get ahead of South Africa to keep the series alive, so they could be backed to find their way through.
Where to watch
Australia: Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports, Foxtel
South Africa: SuperSport Action, SuperSport Grandstand, SuperSport Cricket
Pakistan: Tapmad
India: Star Sports, JioCinema
UK: BT TV
USA: Willow TV
