WTC Final: AUS v SA - Matchups

Will Australia collect another piece of silverware? Or can South Africa finally break the drought like many other sports teams have this year?

Most bowlers in South Africa’s WTC final playing XI prefer bowling to right-handers as compared to the southpaw batters - if we are to go by their full careers. But Wiaan Mulder prefers the opposite. And Australia have three left-handed batters in their top seven: Usman Khawaja, Travis Head and Alex Carey. However, Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj have actually done well against batters of this kind in this particular cycle.

On the other hand, a bunch of South African batters - like Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham and Mulder - have never faced this Aussie bowling attack in Test match cricket.

In fact, it is a bit of a shame that we’ve only witnessed two Test series between these sides since the start of 2018. There is little doubt that on paper, Australia have the stronger batting lineup. Their bowling is also more experienced, especially in these conditions. But on their day, South African bowlers can wreak havoc. Ask England about Lord’s 2022 (although they won that series).

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We start with the matchups for the South African batters against Australia's bowlers.

Aiden Markram has a splendid overall record against the pace trio plus Nathan Lyon: 387 runs, 7 dismissals at a strike rate of over 60. We know that he had a special series against Australia in the 2017/18 home series, which is often remembered for you-know-what. However, he was dropped from the team for the 2022/23 tour of Australia because of his poor form.

He’s yet to be dismissed by the veteran offie, but Pat Cummins has taken his wicket four times, while Markram has scored 90 off 123 balls off the current Australian captain. The modes of dismissal were: LBW, caught in slips, caught in gully (though after a fine hundred) and caught at short leg off a short ball at the body. So, there’s no consistent pattern as such.

Temba Bavuma’s numbers against the four bowlers are: 344 runs and 9 dismissals at a strike rate of under 49. He has done a very good job against Starc and Cummins, but Hazlewood hasn’t made it easy for him - 2/46 off 118 balls, so he’s also managed to find a way to keep him quiet. One was a keeper catch off a good length delivery at fifth stump, while the other was caught at second slip. Cummins also gets him out in the slips in that 2018 series. Starc took his two wickets off a bowled and a keeper catch.

His average against Lyon is a bit more than 38, and he’s gotten out four times. In 2016/17, he was out off a catch at short leg and then was caught at first slip by a paddle sweep gone wrong. In the recent series, there was an LBW and a failed attempt at a slog sweep, being caught by the fielder at deep midwicket.

Wicketkeeper batter Kyle Verreynne played in the 2022/23 series. He made 168 runs at an average of 33.2 and a strike rate of over 60. Boland (who isn’t in the playing XI for the WTC final) got him out twice, while Cummins, Green (is playing as a specialist batter) and Lyon once each. Three of his four dismissals against the quicks were catches in the slip cordon, and there was one leg before wicket. Lyon also managed to find the edge of his bat as the ball again went to the slips.

What about Rickelton, Stubbs, Bedingham and Mulder (who has been slotted in at three)?