SA seek a lift in fortunes

Win in dead rubber against Pakistan ideal preparation for India ODI series

TODAY’S final One-Day International is also the last time South Africa will play Pakistan in a match this year which, frankly, comes as a relief for the two sets of players.

You can’t blame them either. Three series’ spread through the year with 24 matches across all three formats, has left players from each side desperate for something different. For Pakistan there’s a “home” series against Sri Lanka to look forward to, while South Africa have India in their sights next week.

The 33-year-old Davids has played in nine T20 Internationals, but is yet to be capped in the 50-over format. He was one of just two batsmen – the other was his Titans teammate Heino Kuhn – who scored an aggregate of 400 runs in the Momentum One-Day Cup this season.

Amla hinted yesterday that Davids would bat at No 3, which will suit him better than playing in the middle order as was the case in the last couple of T20 matches he’s played for South Africa. Dale Steyn and Jacques Kallis were already withdrawn yesterday as a precautionary measure ahead of the matches against India.

Today’s match starts at 10am.

GALLO IMAGES BRAINS TRUST: Proteas coach Russell Domingo and ODI captain AB de Villiers discuss tactics and ways to roll over Pakistan ahead of the third and final one-day international at Centurion today. SA have already lost the series 2-0.

GETTY IMAGES CONCERNS: Britain is mainly clean but Arsene Wenger warns of a bleak future if match-fixing is not kept in check.