South Africa fails to put up a challenge against Australia at home: Player ratings for the Hosts
Under Mitchell Marsh‘s captaincy, Australia whitewashed South Africa in the three-match T20I series in a dominant fashion. The Australian cricket team has been in brilliant form since the start of 2023 as they had handed defeats to the likes of India and now, South Africa on their home soils respectively.
The Aussies have been constantly flaunting the versatility and depth of their squad on the global level ahead of the upcoming 2023 ICC World Cup, that will take place in India. In addition to that, several pundits and cricket analysts have already stated that the Kangaroos will be a tough side to get past in the upcoming mega-fest.
On the other hand, South Africa has been going through a set of huge changes in the last few months. From the change in captaincy to giving chances to new players, the Proteas are currently in pursuit of a perfect World Cup squad. However, the ongoing hunt and experimentation did cause them a huge blow in the T20I series against Australia.
Hence, with eyes full of revenge, Aiden Markram’s men will walk into the five-match ODI series against the Aussies which is also their last series before they visit India for the highly anticipated 2023 ICC World Cup.
Nevertheless, without any further ado, let’s take a look at the performances of South African players in the T20I series against Australia.
Batters
Reeza Hendricks (8/10): The right-handed opening batsman was the only positive aspect of this South African batting lineup in the first T20I match of the series. Where all the other battles struggled to score in double digits, Reeza Hendricks scored a brilliant half-century to help the Proteas somehow cross the 100-run mark. He stood compact in front of Spencer Johnson and Tanveer Sangha in the middle overs and scored 56 runs off 42 deliveries before eventually getting dismissed by Johnson.
After starting the series in style, Hendricks struggled to settle his feet against the seam trio of Australia in the second match. After trying to score for a while, the opening batter was caught off-guard by Nathan Ellis. In the last match, the right-hand batter again gave a glimpse of his capability by scoring 42 runs off 30 balls when his side lost two early wickets.
Temba Bavuma (3/10): The other opening batter and also the former South African captain, Temba Bavuma will be looking forward to forgetting the T20I campaign. In the first match, he was dismissed on a duck by Marcus Stoinis in the very first over of the innings on a length delivery.
Bavuma’s innings in the second T20I was his highlight of the series. He scored 35 runs off 17 deliveries against the likes of Sean Abbott, Jason Behrendorff, and Ellis before he was eventually caught behind the stumps by Josh Inglis. Nevertheless, after an explosive innings, the former South African captain got out on a duck in the last match of the T20I series too.
Rassie van der Dussen (2/10): Rassie van der Dussen is known for his explosive batting style however, the right-handed batter failed to live up to the expectations in the most recent series. In the first match, while Hendricks was trying to anchor the innings, Dussen handed his wicket to Marsh who was standing on at wide mid-off after hitting a few boundaries. He scored 21 runs off 11 deliveries, and his innings lacked composure.
Another underwhelming display of experience was given by Dussen in the second match when he headed back to the pavilion after scoring only 6 runs off seven deliveries. Consequently, van der Dussen was dropped for the last match of the series.
Dewald Brevis (0/10): Dewald Brevis, who was giving decent performances in limited-overs club cricket, failed miserably against the Aussies. The 20-year-old failed to read debutant Sangha’s leg-break bowling and ended up handing his wicket to Abbott who was alert on the boundary line.
The second match of the series was more embarrassing for the youngster as he had to head back to the pavilion on a golden duck. Brevis was also dropped by the coaching team for the last match of the series.
Tristan Stubbs (4/10): Tristan Stubbs was expected to be as reliable as Quinton de Kock in the T20 Series against Australia, however, the baggage of expectations was too much for the 23-year-old. Falling in the trap of Sangha, Stubbs was stumped by Josh Inglis on his first delivery of the series.
Despite getting out on a golden duck in the first game, Stubbs gave a confident performance in the second match. He scored 27 runs off 20 deliveries in a clutch situation and helped Markram with a 49-run partnership. The wicketkeeper-batsman again played a decent innings in the third match, where he scored 25 runs off 16 balls.
Matthew Breetzke (0/10): Matthew Breetzke was called into the playing XI in the place of Dussen, who failed to impress the coaches in the two initial fixtures. Similarly, Breetzke also headed back to the pavilion after failing miserably against Marcus Stoinis scoring a total of five runs.
Donovan Ferreira (10/10): Donovan Ferreira only got to play a single match in the whole series and despite the odds, he still managed to steal the spotlight in the little time. Ferreira played the role of a perfect finisher and guided the South African team to a total of 190. Unfortunately, he got run out on the wicketkeeper’s end when we were at the score of 48 runs in only 21 balls.
All-rounders
Aiden Markram will hope to ignite the new-look Proteas side in the upcoming ODI series
Aiden Markram (8/10): In the first match, Aiden Markram failed to impress the spectators as he scored only seven runs before getting dismissed by Tanveer Sangha, who was playing his first T20I match for Australia.
However, this Proteas skipper came back stronger in the next two matches. In the second game of the series, Markram was the top scorer of the side when he scored 49 runs off 38 deliveries. He also bowled a couple of overs in the same match and conceded only 13 runs.
After exhibiting his defensive abilities, Markram displayed his prowess of playing attacking strokes in the third game. The skipper scored 41 runs off 23 deliveries and helped the Proteas reach their best score of the series. However, the biggest highlight of the match came when the skipper dismissed Matt Short on the first ball of the second innings.
Marco Jansen (4/10): Marco Jansen has managed to develop himself into a reliable all-rounder over the last few years. In the first match, he dismissed Travis Head, but he also had an economy rate of 11. In addition to that, when the whole South African batting order collapsed in the first game, Jansen somehow managed to score 20 runs. Nevertheless, Jansen was later dropped for the whole series.
Gerald Coetzee (4/10): Making his debut against Australia, Gerald Coetzee took the wicket of Josh Inglis in his first T20I spell with an economy rate of 10, and talking about his batting, he scored only a single run.
In the next match, he scored 11 runs and bowled two overs conceding 32 runs. Coetzee had his best performance in the last game of the series where he scored 13 runs and took two wickets at an economy rate of 9.
Imaad Fortuin (3/10): Imaad Fortuin was called into the line-up in place of Marco Jansen in the second match, however, he failed to make any significant difference for the squad. He scored eight runs and bowled two overs, without taking a wicket. After getting out on a duck in the last match, Imaad Fortuin turned out to be South Africa’s most effective bowler with two wickets in his spell.
Bowlers
Lizaad Williams (6/10): The right-arm medium-fast bowler shined bright against the Aussies in the series opener as he took three wickets. However, his economy rate, which was 11, was surely a point of concern for the Proteas.
As compared to the other bowlers, Williams gave a decent performance in the second match by taking a wicket and conceding 17 runs in two overs. In the last match, Williams was deprived of wickets as he bowled his two overs with an economy rate of 12.
Lungi Ngidi (0/10): Lungi Ngidi was thrashed by the Australian batters in the first match as he leaked 49 runs in his four-over spell and in addition to that he also failed to capture a single wicket.
In the next match, Ngidi was targeted by the batting lineup of the visitors as he conceded 42 runs in just 2.5 overs. The third match of the series was like the final nail in the coffin for Ngidi as he gave away 18 runs in only a single over that he bowled for Proteas.
Tabraiz Shamsi (3/10): The left-arm unorthodox spinner was expected to be the X-factor of the South African team against Australia, but the visitors came prepared for all the challenges.
Tabraiz Shamsi dismissed Tim David in the first game, however, when he got the wicket, enough damage was already done. In the second match, Shamsi discarded Short but his economy rate of 10 was concerning.
Keshav Maharaj (0/10): Tabraiz Shamsi was rested in the final match and Keshav Maharaj was called in to lead the spin attack. Nevertheless, Maharaj also failed to get any praise as he leaked 40 runs in three overs, without taking any wickets.