South Africa v Australia, Series Preview

Durban - Hansie Cronje may be embattled on one front but he did not show it on the other at Kingsmead yesterday where South Africa spent a lengthy practice session preparing for the first rematch of the Challenge Series tomorrow.

And with Gary Kirsten seemingly fit again South Africa are likely to tackle the all-important first game with a front five which shows one change to the side which tied with the Wizards of Oz at Edgbaston in Birmingham last June.

Which indicates that Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis will bat in that order while who is going to fill in at four is the all too crucial question. In Birmingham Daryll Cullinan batted at three, Cronje at four and Kallis five. The idea was to give more substance to the middle-order.

Against the current Australian side, however, the order is going to change if what we are told is accurate with Kallis reverting to three and Cronje retaining spot four, where he batted on Sunday night to score 47 in the practice match.

Surprisingly there was no media conference yesterday with Cronje unable to give a hint to what the South African thinking is for the crucial game of the series. It is well known that winning the first match give that side the psychological edge.

The three South Africans missing from this side who played in Birmingham are Cullinan, Allan Donald and Steve Elworthy.

What the South Africans have to make up the minds over are whether Andrew Hall takes over from Elworthy and if Makhaya Ntini the right choice ahead of Mornantau Hayward or Roger Telemachus for Donald. There is also the position of Cullinan and while Neil McKenzie scored a well-rounded and attacking 86 off 95 balls in a century partnership with Jonty Rhodes, there is no more risk using him as an opener against the Pakistan bowling at six as it is at four or six against Australia at Kingsmead.

The three South African and Australia players arrived from Dhaka, Bangladesh around noon yesterday which meant they were able to get in a little practice.

For the visitors Michael Bevan's innings of 185 for the World XI against the Asians in the ICC Week match in Dhaka is the sort of bonus they would expect from the man still thought of as the top batsman on the world rankings at limited-overs level.

On another front South Africa coach Graham Ford said the dew factor in Sunday night's practice match at Kingsmead had not been a problem although, to be fair to the left-arm spinner, Nicky Boje, the five for 24 in eight overs was a good return.

Which is a fair argument if you consider the strength of the opposition batting. As Ford would have no doubt pointed out, Boje would have a far tougher job against Australia batting.

So far continual repeats of the Donald run out incident in the World Cup semi-final in Birmingham last year have been flooding the TV screens, support for South Africa remains high as with the first rematch in the Challenge Series now only four days away.

South Africa and Australia remained locked at 18 wins apiece in limited-overs internationals since the resumption of the Southern hemisphere showdown during the 1992 World Cup at Sydney, the one result which rankles among South Africa supporters is the tied match at Edgbaston last June.

For some poor souls it was when the flame of hope was finally extinguished of winning the World Cup in the last English summer of the century. It was not a defeat though: the tie just signified that Australia, who levelled the scores at 18 each at Headingley in Leeds days before the Edgbaston crunch went through on the strength of that victory.

Now we have a new series and a new competition for the Standard Bank supported event, with both countries viewing three matches in South Africa during the next week and the August three-match bash in the retractable roof arena in Melbourne as two separate series.

'It cannot be anything other than two separate series,' said Dr Ali Bacher managing director of the United Cricket Board when the side was announced last week.

Yet the two sides have done what they can to free themselves of recent engagements to focus on the games scheduled for Durban on Wednesday, Newlands in Cape Town on Friday and the Wanderers in Johannesburg next Sunday.

What is interesting is that in the thick of the so-called alternate events, the Super 12 as well as the NSL matches, the three venues are sold out. As usual the fickle Johannesburg public were not quite sold on the idea, but Ros Golden, in charge of the United Cricket Board Marketing, said the Wanderers was now also 'booked out'. Those supporting South Africa have been told to join the 'green machine' brigade during the three-leg contest by wearing green during the matches.

Which leaves the Australian response completely unfazed by the unusual hype surrounding the games. "It is what we should expect, " said Australia media officer Brian Murgatroyd.

Teams:

South Africa: Hansie Cronje (capt), Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Jonty Rhodes, Neil McKenzie, Mark Boucher, Lance Klusener, Nicky Boje, Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini, Mornantau Hayward, Andrew Hall, Roger Telemachus.

Australia: Steve Waugh, Mark Waugh, Michael Bevan, Shane Warne, Damien Fleming, Adam Gilchrist, Ian Harvey, Matthew Hayden, Brett Lee, Shane Lee, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Andrew Symmonds. Hours of play: 2.30-6pm; 6.45-10.15pm

Umpires: Dave Orchard and Cyril Mitchley; TV: Rudi Koertzen.

TV: SABC 1 and SuperSport 2