South Africa will try to complete a 3-0 one-day series win over Australia in Potchefstroom on Wednesday. The Proteas have already won the three-match series after victories in the first two games.
The hosts won the second ODI at the Wanderers in Johannesburg by 32 runs. That result gave them a 2-0 lead with one match left.
The final game is a day/night match at Senwes Park. It starts at 1:30 pm, SABC Sport reported.
Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj has taken six wickets in the series so far. He said a third win would build confidence before the World Cup in South Africa next year.
“You want to be as clinical as possible in a series of this magnitude; they are the world champions,” Maharaj said, as quoted by SABC Sport.
“It’s always nice to build confidence. Yes, it is almost 12 months away from the actual World Cup, but it’s a wonderful stepping stone and foundation to build on,” he said.
Maharaj said going for a 3-0 result showed character and a “champion mentality”. He said the team was focused on the process and on doing the basics well.
Team management has also started planning for the three-match Test series against Australia that follows the ODIs.
Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada missed the ODI series with a hamstring injury. He has been named in the preliminary Test squad, but his place is not guaranteed.
Coach Shukri Conrad said he would decide on the team after Australia’s two-day tour match. That match will also be played in Potchefstroom.
“Will he be able to match the intensity that’s required of a test match? So we will give it as much time as humanly possible, but we also don’t want to make a call based on desperation,” Conrad said, as quoted by SABC Sport.
Conrad said the two-day match would show where every player stood. He said being free of injury was the starting point for Rabada.
The Test series will be Australia’s first on South African soil since the 2018 tour. That tour was dominated by the ball-tampering scandal at the Newlands Test in Cape Town, known as “sandpapergate”.
Conrad asked South African fans to support the Proteas and to do it respectfully. He said people still remembered what happened eight years ago.
“They did what they did, and they’ve got to own it from a team perspective. We don’t give it any attention,” he said.
“I’d love nothing more for our fans to get firmly behind us and do it respectfully when they give the opposition grief,” Conrad said.
The first of the three Tests starts in Durban on Friday next week.
Source: this article is based on reporting by SABC Sport. Image: SABC Sport. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Sports desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Tiyani Mathebula writes about sport for Tzaneen Voice. Tiyani covers Bafana Bafana, the Springboks, the Proteas and the PSL, along with athletics, tennis and local club sport. Match reports and previews focus on results, team news, fixtures and what each game means for South African teams and fans.