Amidst all the controversy and the major fallout from the Cape Town Test match it is easy to forget that South Africa took a 2-1 lead in the series over Australia and they have the chance to claim the series win when the two sides get back on the cricket field in Johannesburg on Friday.
It might be something of a comfort and a relief for Australia to be able to get down to playing cricket and they do so knowing if they are to get any joy from their trip to South Africa they must win the match to level the series.
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South Africa
To be fair to South Africa they did very well to keep their focus and their cool while all the shenanigans were going on in Cape Town and they have now got themselves in a position to control their destiny which is all they will have been hoping for them they went 1-0 down. A positive and dominant performance will see them avoid defeat and land the series.
The key to the two wins has been the bowling attack that South Africa have. There has been no respite in it and you would imagine they will be extra motivated to perform as a unit here as they say goodbye to Morne Morkel, one of their best ever, after this match. It will be unfortunate if they send him into retirement off the back of a defeat.
Australia
The fallout from Cape Town as far as Australia are concerned has been well documented and it remains to be seen what damage can be repaired from the wreckage of this tour. Tim Paine is the man who has been given the task of picking up the pieces and he is really going to have his work cut out given the circumstances.
Australia have their own motivation though. Not only are they looking to show that they can play the game hard but fair, but they will want to send their coach off having won his last game in charge. Clearly all eyes will be on their behaviour throughout the match and their body language but that was going to be inevitable.
Team News
South Africa have already confirmed that they will play an unchanged XI which means that Morne Morkel will play his final Test at the Bullring. Temba Bavuma will play successive Test matches on return from injury.
We know Australia will be without David Warner, Cameron Bancroft and Steve Smith for this match. Joe Burns and Matthew Renshaw have been flown across to replace the first two while Peter Handscomb or Glenn Maxwell will replace Smith. The bowling attack is expected to be unchanged.
The Wanderers
There have been 38 previous Test matches on this ground. As you would expect, South Africa have a winning record in them with 15 wins to 12 defeats. There have been 11 draws here as well. Australia’s record here is good as well. They are 6-3 in their favour with a couple of draws from their 11 battles on this ground.
The batsmen get full value for their shots on this ground with the pace and bounce on offer combined with small boundaries and a fast outfield but the altitude always keeps the bowlers in the game. More often than not it is a terrific cricket wicket at the Bullring which provides excellent match play.
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Betting
I’m going to finish the series with just the one bet and it comes in the form of a player performance as guessing how Australia are going to approach this and what state of mind to play they are in is pointless until we see them in action.
The player in question is Morne Morkel who I’m sure will be doubly motivated to put in a big performance in his final Test match before he retires. He should do that too because his pace and bounce could be very tough to face on this ground. Morkel goes into the match having just snared nine scalps in Cape Town so with that in mind I’m surprised his performance line is only 98.5. I’m more than happy to be on though as I expect him to bag five wickets in the match which covers that total.
Tips
Back M.Morkel’s Performance – Over 98.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Betfair
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