Australian cricket fans have a winter treat on their hands as the Aussies take on South Africa in game one of the T20I series in the Top End! Australia will be looking to continue their excellent T20 form, and Jack Tobin has you covered with his full preview for game one, which gets underway at Marrara Stadium at 7:15pm AEST on Sunday, 10th August.
Check out our preview and betting tips for the 1st T20I clash below, with odds thanks to Dabble!
Australia vs South Africa 1st T20I Preview & Betting Tips
Red Hot Aussies
Australia Squad: Mitchell Marsh, Sean Abbott, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Owen, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa
Australia heads to Darwin for the first time since 2008, for the first two games in a three match series against South Africa. The Aussies are coming off a 5-0 thumping of the West Indies just a few weeks ago and will be full of confidence against an inexperienced South Africa squad. Australia have been in serious form in the T20 arena, winning 20 of their last 23 games, and are currently on an eight game winning streak.
Australia got excellent production from their batting unit against the West Indies, with Cameron Green (201 runs at 68.33, strike rate of 164), Josh Inglis (172 runs at 43, strike rate of 209), Tim David (132 runs at 132, strike rate of 269) and Mitch Owen (125 runs at 41, strike rate of 192) all having excellent series. With the ball Adam Zampa and Ben Dwarshuis were the leading wicket takers with 8 wickets, however Nathan Ellis was the stand out bowler, going at an economy rate of just 7.88 in a series where the overall run rate was 10.5.
Remarkably Australia will have a stronger side than they did in the Caribbean, with Josh Hazlewood and Travis Head set to feature in this series after being managed against the West Indies. Captain Mitch Marsh has confirmed he will open alongside Travis Head for the foreseeable future, meaning Glenn Maxwell will move back to the middle order, and Mitch Owen will remain in the middle order.
Young Proteas
South Africa T20 squad: Aiden Markram, Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, George Linde, Kwena Maphaka, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Prenelan Subrayen, Rassie van der Dussen
With sixteen T20 International fixtures between the end of this series at the World Cup next year, South Africa have brought in a relatively rotated squad. Marco Jansen, Henrich Klaasen, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi won’t feature in the series. However there’s still some experience in the likes of Aidan Markram, Kagiso Rabada, Rassie van der Dussen, Tristan Stubbs and Ryan Rickleton.
The big interest will be around young guns Dewald Brevis and Lhuan-dre Pretorius. Brevis burst onto the scene in under 19 cricket which earned him an IPL contract, but he hasn’t been able to translate that form to the international stage. 19 year old Pretorius put his name in lights during a stunning season in the SA20 earlier this year, being the leading run scorer with 397 runs in 12 games. Pretorius then blasted 153 on Test debut to announce himself on the international stage.
South Africa have had some mixed form in T20I cricket over the last 18 months. The Proteas won eight consecutive games on route to the T20 World Cup Final last year, however it’s been a struggle from the Final onwards. South Africa have recorded 11 losses and only six wins from their last 17 T20I’s, and have lost three of their last four games, from a T20I tri series in July. South Africa have only won one of their last nine bilateral T20I series.
Match Prediction
Australia are much better prepared for this series, with their recent form and playing a near best side for this series. Judging on the recent Australia A series in Darwin, these conditions will favour batsmen significantly, which is what Australia found themselves in during their series against the West Indies. Australia chased down scores of 190, 173 (in 15 overs), 215 (in 16 overs), 206 and 170 (in 17 overs). In each game Australia’s bowling attack found a way at the death to restrict runs, which will be crucial in this series given the power of the batting lineup.
Australia have a great record in T20I cricket against South Africa, having won five straight games against the Proteas, and eight of their last ten against South Africa in the format. The Aussies have also won five of the last six T20I series between the two nations. An in-form Australian side will get off to a flyer against an inexperienced Proteas side.
Australia to Win
$1.42 (2 Units)
Australia vs South Africa Prop Bet
Cameron Green took his form from the back end of the Test series into the T20 series against the West Indies, where he was the leading run scorer. Green produced scores of 51, 56*, 11, 55* and 32 in an excellent series for the 26 year old, who has had a strong 24 months in the T20I arena. Since the beginning of 2024, Green has scored 329 runs at an average of 68, with a strike rate of 151.
Cameron Green 30+ Runs
$2.50
