Australia armed for fierce battle

GERALD IMRAY

Normally, a South AfricaAustralia test series is fast and furious.

This one may not play out at breakneck speed, but that’s still unlikely to calm a frequently fierce contest.

Australia arrives with plenty of firepower for the four-test battle starting today in Durban and the presence of quick bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood has South Africa feeling under threat on home ground.

Any other team and South Africa would happily serve up fast, bouncy tracks and allow its own pacemen to wreak havoc. But the damage caused by Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood in Australia’s Ashes rout of England has South Africa thinking again and possibly seeking slower surfaces for this series.

‘‘I’m expecting flatter wickets ... especially with the bowling attacks floating around,’' Australia spin bowler Nathan Lyon said.

‘‘They’re [the two fastbowling attacks] probably the best in the world, in my eyes, going head to head, so it’s going to be one hell of a series.’'

Slower surfaces won’t negate Australia’s trio of in-form fast bowlers, but there’s so much more to the tourists anyway.

Captain Steve Smith is the No 1 batsman in test cricket after a stupendous series against England, the Marsh brothers form a mean middle order to follow the likes of Smith and opener David Warner, and offspinner Lyon provides an additional bowling threat on pitches more suited to spin, like the first three venues for this series.

Lyon took 21 wickets in the Ashes, the same as Hazlewood and just one less than Starc and two less than Cummins.

That recent Ashes form and also nearly 25 years of cricket history both favour Australia. Since South Africa’s readmission to test cricket, Australia have won five of their seven series in South Africa and drawn the other two.

So, South Africa still haven’t beaten Australia at home since the last series they played under apartheid, in 1969-70, when they

whitewashed the Australians

4-0. And yet South Africa have won their last three series in Australia. The results may suggest that the teams have similar approaches, and are therefore adept in each other’s conditions.

‘‘Our previous encounter is a fond memory for us,’' South Africa batsman Dean Elgar said of the 2-1 win in Australia in

2016.

As with Australia in the Ashes, South Africa also used pace to good effect to beat topranked India 2-1 in their most recent series, selecting four outand-out fast bowlers in every test.

But while Australia crushed England, South Africa had to scrap against India, when the policy of four fast bowlers trialled by new coach Ottis Gibson left space for only six specialist batsmen. South Africa survived, but their batsmen underperformed throughout the India series.

South Africa expects captain Faf du Plessis, batsman AB de Villiers and wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock to all return from injuries for the first test in Durban, while Temba Bavuma or the uncapped Heinrich Klaasen may force their way into the 11 to give South Africa the safety of an extra batsman.