Eyes turn to Twenty20 prize
The South Africans and Australians pull on their coloured clothes for the start of the limited-overs component of the heavyweight battle
Match facts
March 27, 2009Start time 18.00 (16.00 GMT)
Big Picture
After another action-packed Test series, the South Africans and Australians pull on their coloured clothes for the start of the limited-overs component of the heavyweight battle. The first of two Twenty20s starts in Johannesburg on Friday and is followed by the second in Centurion on Sunday.Form guide (last five Twenty20s, most recent first)
South Africa LLWLLAustralia WWWLW
Watch out for
AB de Villiers seemed to be warming up for the Twenty20 when he took Bryce McGain apart and launched Andrew McDonald for four sixes in a row during the third Test in Cape Town. The hitting was so strong it is rarely seen in the shortest form of the game, but it's what all the batsmen will be aiming for over the weekend. de Villiers enters the match fresh from his 163.Team news
The hosts have a 15-man squad and plan to give everyone a game over the next three days, including unfamiliar faces such as Yusuf Abdulla, Johann Louw and Roelof van der Merwe. Johan Botha leads the side in the absence of the injured Graeme Smith, who is due to return for the opening of the five-game ODI series in Durban on Friday.Pitch and conditions
Rain was a bit of a problem during the opening Test of the series, but the forecast is for a clear night on Friday. In the past the pitch has hosted world record scores and produced good conditions for fast bowlers.Stats and Trivia
- South Africa have a 6-2 winning record in Twenty20 matches at the Wanderers
- Mitchell Johnson, who scored his first Test century in Cape Town, has the highest batting strike-rate of the Australian squad with 200 (he's only batted three times) while Cameron White's 188.33 has come over 113 runs. JP Duminy is the best for South Africa with 146.87 in eight games
- Morne Morkel is second on South Africa's wicket list with 13, two behind Shaun Pollock, while Nathan Bracken leads Australia with 18
Quotes
"It's about time we started looking ahead to the Twenty20 World Cup as well and started to try to pencil in what we think is going to be our best team for that.''Ricky Ponting
Mike Procter, South Africa's selection convenor
Peter English is the Australasia editor of Cricinfo