South Africa v Australia, 1st ODI: 5 Talking Points

A masterclass of an innings from Quinton de Kock saw South Africa clinch the first ODI of what is expected to be a gruelling series against the world’s best ODI side – Australia. While South Africa was missing a few players on the day, one thing that did go their way was the toss. In spite of leaking a few runs towards the death of the innings, the Proteas proved their might in their batting powerhouse.

George Bailey was proving to be a blossomer in the twilight of his career with some impressive batting performances. However, it was the Quinton de Kock show right till the very end as the southpaw clawed his way to his highest individual ODI score. While there were a plethora of talking points on the day, five of these talking points are illustrated and enumerated below.

1. Warner and Finch get Australia off to a good start:

With the weight of the captaincy well and truly off his shoulders, David Warner soon found out how amazing it was to have his old role back. As well-documented, Warner began to chance his arm. He was joined by his aide-de-camp Aaron Finch who had surprisingly been overlooked in the T20I series against Sri Lanka. Together, the duo stitched a partnership of 64 runs together in just 57, thus getting the visitors off to a good start.

2. George Bailey’s experience comes to the fore:

The accelerator for the Australian innings, as has been for a while now, was former skipper George Bailey. While Glenn Maxwell cools his heals prior to the start of the T20 Internationals, it would seem as though the 34-year old Bailey has been given somewhat of an extended lifeline. That said, the 34-year old Bailey simply failed to disappoint.

Taking calculated risks at will, Bailey smashed the ball into the stands on a few occasions, something that he has done in his earlier days with the Aussie team. He top-scored for Australia with a well-made 74 off 90 deliveries including 7 boundaries and 2 sixes.

3. Andile Phehlukwayo steals the thunder:

20-year old Andile Phehlukwayo made his debut against Ireland in the previous encounter at Benoni. However, with Ireland being an associate member, the 20-year old’s main baptism of fire would most certainly come against Steve Smith and his band of merry men.

While Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada did all they could to rattle the cages of the batsmen, it was Phehlukwayo who ended up with the wickets as he claimed 4 wickets whilst exhibiting some blistering pace. His scalps included those of Steve Smith, Aaron Finch, Mitchell Marsh, and John Hastings, something he would most certainly be proud of.

4. South African openers set Centurion ablaze:

While the Australians had huffed and puffed their way to a massive score of 294 in their quota of 50 overs, the young southpaw opening combination of Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw had other plans. Facing somewhat of a depleted Australian pace attack, the batsmen began to help themselves to boundaries square of the wicket.

While Quinton de Kock clobbered his way to what became his highest individual ODI score, Rilee Rossouw played perhaps one of the most impressive supporting roles in ODI cricket thus far. Of course, he chanced his arm at will, but, there was some logic to the way the 27-year old approached his game. In spite of losing his wicket as well as the fall of skipper Francois du Plessis, the Proteas were in perhaps the best position to claim a victory.

5. Quinton de Kock helps himself to another century:

At 23, it is extremely difficult to fathom a player who has achieved as much as Quinton de Kock has. While his glove work behind the stumps has always been world class, he just seems to be getting better with the bat each time he graces the world with an innings. In the first ODI against Australia, de Kock showcased yet another batting masterclass.

The Supersport Park in Centurion was his canvas and his left-handed strokes were there for one and all to see. While he was supported by a few other batsmen at the other end, it seemed quite clear that the southpaw wanted to take charge of the situation.

Although he is not necessarily the most consistent of batsmen, when he is in his flow, he is incredibly difficult to stop. Needless to say, he managed a massive 178 runs including 16 boundaries and 11 sixes. Moreover, all of this was managed in just 113 deliveries, something AB de Villiers would have been proud of.