South Africa v Australia: Can The Proteas break 48-year jinx to beat Australia at home?

After getting whacked by India in the limited formats, South Africa is set to meet Australia in a four-match Test series beginning in Durban on Thursday, March 1. The Proteas will have some of their top players who missed the limited-overs series against India coming back to the team to bolster the chances against yet another tough side in world cricket.

The Test series is being seen as a high voltage clash between two strong bowling units. It is also being seen as one which will throw a final chance at the aging greats of the current South African side to win a home series against Australia after almost 50 years. It is a disappointment for South Africa that out of 15 series that they have played against the trans-Indian Ocean rivals, they have won only two – in 1966-67 and 1969-70, Two series have been drawn while Australia has won 11. For a side which is known to be strong in home conditions, South Africa’s Test record at home against the Aussies is something forgettable for their supporters.

Since 2005-06, neither Australia nor SA have won any home series

The statistics become all the more interesting if we see the last seven Test series played between these two countries. Both have three series each while one has been drawn but guess what, both South Africa and Australia have won three of those series in away conditions. It means none of these two strong outfits have been successful in maintaining a clean record at home. The last time a team won an Australia versus South Africa series at home was in Australia in 2005-06. Can South Africa put an end to that dubious record after 13 years?

List of Australia vs South Africa Test series since 2005-6

2008-09: SA beat Australia 2-1 in Australia

2008-09: Australia beat SA 2-1 in South Africa

2010-11: Australia drew SA 1-1 in South Africa

2012-13: SA beat Australia 1-0 in Australia

2013-14: Australia beat SA 2-1 in South Africa

2016-17: South Africa beat Australia 2-1 in Australia

But can du Plessis, who has returned to captain SA after missing out most of the limited-overs games versus India, match the 1969-70 feat by Ali Bacher who led his team to a 4-0 whitewash of Australia – the best ever scoreline to have gone to SA’s favor at home?

In bowling, Australia and SA are neck and neck

In terms of bowling, the series is expected to be a clash of the bowlers. With each side having a battery of pace bowlers, it will be interesting to see who draws the first blood at Kingsmead on Thursday. While Australia have the likes of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and the prolific Nathan Lyon, the spinner who has been Australia’s most dependable since the Shane Warne era and also the leading wicket-taker in 2017; South Africa will believe their pace quartet of Vernon Philander, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel deliver again after flooring India 2-1 in the Test series.

The veteran Dale Steyn is still injured but his famed partner Morne Morkel, who will hang up his boots after this series, would undoubtedly go for one final killing against the Australian batsmen. He also needs just six wickets to complete 300 Test wickets as the fifth South African bowler after Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and Dale Steyn. South Africa, however, lack a spinner of Lyon’s experience for Keshav Maharaj although is a talented bowler and made an impressive debut against the Aussies in Perth in 2016, he would still have to cover a lot of ground to deliver against a strong Australian batting.

Top 5 bowlers: SA have 668 wickets; Australia has 660 wickets

If we take the total number of wickets taken by the top bowlers from either side, we see that the numbers do not differ much. While the top five bowlers of the Australian squad (Hazlewood, Cummins, Starc, Lyon, and skipper Steve Smith) have taken 660 wickets in all, those from the South African side (Philander, Morkel, Ngidi, Rabada, and Maharaj) have a tally of 668 wickets. The home team will certainly miss Steyn (419 wickets) in this series.

In batting, Steve Smith could make the difference

Australian skipper Steve Smith, who bludgeoned England in the recent Ashes to amass 687 runs in a five-match series, could be the difference between the two sides in the Test series. David Warner, who had an extraordinary series the last time Australia toured SA in 2013-14, could also be another serious threat to the home team.

For South Africa, the batting had been a concern in their recent series versus India as none of them reached a three figure-mark in the three matches, with the highest being 94 scored by the young Aiden Markram. For SA to repeat something along the lines of 1969-70, old guards like AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, and Quinton de Kock would have to rise to the occasion with the bat.

The wickets are expected to be slow since South Africa will be aware that fast wickets could favor Australia eventually as they did in the last series. It will be interesting to see which team adjusts to the wicket conditions faster and better. The four Tests will be played in, besides Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, and Johannesburg.

To end with a little trivia that can boost the South African fans after their heartbreaking experience against Virat Kohli’s India – the last time South Africa played in a Test series versus Australia that featured more than three Tests, the Proteas won them comprehensively (3-1 in 1966-67 and 4-0 in 1969-70).

For more SA v AUS series updates, follow www.crictracker.com