ODI time as Australia, South Africa switch gears in Cairns

SOUTH AFRICA TOUR OF AUSTRALIA, 2025

ODI time as Australia, South Africa switch gears in Cairns

by Bharat Sundaresan • Last updated on

Labuschagne will feature in his first international game since being left out of the Test side in the Caribbean. © Getty

Australia beat South Africa twice across two different codes and across two different continents in the space of a few hours on Saturday night. Both coming on the back of tremendous come-from-behind performances from the Australian teams in question. Both resulting in tremendous heartbreaks for South Africa and their fans.

If Glenn Maxwell's heroics in Cairns to pull off a staggering run-chase, almost single-handedly, had a familiar and inevitable feel to it, the Wallabies' comeback at Ellis Park in Johannesburg is being heralded as one of the greatest ever in Rugby Union history.

And now the two countries rekindle sporting rivalries again in another different format, one that might struggle to match up with the other two, both in context and hype around the build-up. It's a sign of where 50-over cricket sits in terms of priority currently, both with regards to the cricket calendar and the time of the year this three-match series will be played in Australia.

There was a time a couple of decades ago where ODIs between these two teams had marquee status and would, if anything, be scheduled as a cynosure of the cricket summer Down Under. Instead they'll face each other in northern Queensland, where it always feels like summer, at a time the rest of the country is gripped with footy fever.

Just on that, Maxwell couldn't have timed his inimitable charge towards the target better, considering he orchestrated it minutes after the Adelaide Crows had seen off Collingwood in a nail-biting finish to more or less secure the AFL minor premiership at the Adelaide Oval. If anything, it turned out to be a perfect transition, even if a unique one for this time of the year, which is the business end of the season for both major football codes in the country.

But if the very impressive crowds for the T20I series are anything to go by, there is no lack of interest amongst the locals in a region of Australia, which doesn't get a lot of international cricket. They seemed to lap up with the energy and excitement of the three T20Is, each of which produced a lot of drama, and can be backed to do the same with the singular rhythms of 50-over cricket.

For the South Africans, it'll be about getting one back for their fans and they'll be buoyed by the presence of captain Temba Bavuma, who only two months ago lifted the World Test Championship mace at Lord's. A moment that will go down as significantly as any in the country's rich sporting legacy. And with exactly two years to go for the next ODI World Cup, which South Africa will play co-hosts to, this could be looked at as a starting point for their quest for glory on home soil.

Australia, the defending 50-over champions, will look at it in similar fashion with three more ODIs to come in two months' time against the Indians. What kind of interest these three games will generate for the larger fan base in Australia will come down to the big-name players in both teams, with wunderkind, Dewald Brevis, sure to generate a lot of interest in what will be his debut in this format. It was on the back of Brevis' bat that the Proteas fought their way back into the T20I series before nearly getting themselves over the line in Cairns. And on paper alone, they have a team that will continue to challenge the Aussies over the next week even as the tour shifts from Cairns to Mackay after the first game.

As it turns out, the Springboks next take on the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship on Sunday, August 24, which will kick off a couple of hours after the third and final ODI of this series. And the South African fans will be hoping for double the reversal in fortunes before the start of next week.

When: Australia v South Africa, 1st ODI, August 19, 2025, 14:30 hrs Local Time, 10:00 hrs IST

Where: Cazaly's Stadium, Cairns

What to expect: Cairns is considered an underrated town for travel and tourism in Queensland, and as we witnessed in 2022, so are the perfect conditions for 50-over cricket at Cazaly's Stadium. Three years ago, the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy saw a closely-fought battle between Australia and New Zealand. The same could be said about the one between bat and ball, with the fast bowlers having a decent say on proceedings. But dew did play a role later in the piece, as will be the case on Tuesday, which will make the decision at the toss quite interesting with both teams having the tendency to prefer chasing.

Team News:

Australia

It's a new beginning for Australia in ODIs with Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell having retired from the format after the Champions Trophy earlier in the year. That should mean a bigger responsibility on the shoulders of Marnus Labuschagne, who plays his first international game since losing his Test spot in the Caribbean, and Cameron Green, who has been in scintillating white-ball form. Alex Carey and Josh Inglis will continue to firm up the middle-order while the big questions will be around the all-rounder spot. Cooper Connolly could come in as a like for like in Maxwell's role at No 7 ahead of Aaron Hardie. Even as Xavier Bartlett is likely to get a go alongside Josh Hazlewood with the new-ball.

Probable XI: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Aaron Hardie/Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshius, Nathan Ellis/Xavier Bartlett, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

South Africa

Having confronted the world after Heinrich Klaasen in T20Is, South Africa will now attempt to do so in the other white-ball format. Three other members of their XI in their most recent ODI, the Champions Trophy semifinal against New Zealand in Lahore in March, are not in this squad: Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller - who is at the Hundred - and Marco Jansen, who is recovering from thumb surgery. That could mean opportunities for Matthew Breetzke, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Kwena Maphaka and, considering the likely conditions, Prenelan Subrayen.

Probable XI: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma (c), Matthew Breetzke, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Wiaan Mulder, Prenelan Subrayen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi.

© Cricbuzz

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