Proteas hoping to exploit weak points in Australia’s bowling attack

While he concedes Australia have a rock-solid batting line-up, Proteas captain Temba Bavuma says the SA team will be hoping to take advantage of weak points in the opposition’s bowling attack in their Champions Trophy match on Tuesday.

With both sides having impressed in their opening games last week, they were set to meet in what could be a thrilling Group B contest in Rawalpindi starting at 11am on Tuesday morning (SA time).

The Proteas raced to a 107-run victory in their campaign opener against Afghanistan in Karachi and Australia defeated England by five wickets in Lahore, chasing down their 352-run target with 15 balls to spare.

And though South Africa also might have areas to exploit in their own attack, with some fast bowlers missing due to injury, Bavuma said the Proteas batters would be looking to take advantage of any opportunities to put Australia under pressure.

He admitted, however, that they were bracing for a tough battle against the world’s second-ranked ODI team in what was a crucial encounter for both sides.

“Any Australian outfit that comes together for an ICC event is always one you don’t take lightly,” Bavuma said yesterday.

“They don’t have their mainstay bowling attack, but I think they still have enough to be successful as a team, and it could be the case that their batters need to do a little bit more than they’re accustomed to.

“I think there are opportunities in their team, especially in their bowling, and if that presents itself on the day, we’ll be looking to make use of those. But having said that, we won’t be taking them lightly.”

High-scoring game

With both sides boasting powerful batting line-ups, and with conditions again expected to favour the batters (particularly in the second innings), Bavuma predicted another high-scoring game.

“We had training yesterday and there was quite a considerable amount of dew compared to the other venues, so we expect that to play a part,” the skipper said.

“So we’re expecting a good wicket and I think it will be another game where there should be a lot of runs.”

Klaasen might return

With big-hitting batter Heinrich Klaasen having missed South Africa’s opening match against Afghanistan, as a precautionary measure due to a left elbow niggle, Bavuma said a decision on his availability was set to be made after his fitness test during the Proteas training session in Rawalpindi yesterday.

“They still have to assess his fitness at practice today, and between him and the medical team, they will make a decision accordingly.”

South Africa have won nine of their last 12 ODI matches against Australia, though they lost their latest encounter, in the semifinals of the World Cup in India in November 2023.