South Africa Cricket

Cobras clinch home final with win

File photo: Robin Peterson picked up 3 for 21, helping
 Cobras to victory 

David Miller's unbeaten 42 helped Dolphins to theirthird win of the season, after their bowlers had done well to restrict Lions on a sluggish surface at Chevrolet Park. Lions, having been inserted, lost wickets at regular intervals during their innings, and their highest run scorer was Chris Morris with 37 down at No.7. Morris struck three sixes and a four during his 22-ball knock, but no batsman stayed long enough at the other end for Lions to string together a significant partnership. Robbie Frylinck and Dwayne Bravo picked up two wickets apiece, while Prenelan Subrayen, Ryan McLaren and Craig Alexander chipped in with a scalp each.

Dolphins lost the openers early in the chase, but Khaya Zondo (28) and Miller led a recovery with a 54-run stand for the third wicket. The team lost two more quick wickets, but Miller stayed not out till the end, and was aided by a useful 19 from Bravo at the other end, as Dolphins eventually won by five wickets with five balls to spare.

A fifty from the opener Richard Levi and a three-wicket haul from Robin Peterson were the cornerstones behind Cape Cobras' eight-run victoryagainst Knights in Bloemfontein. The win meant that Cobras will stay on top of the table, and will host the final at the Newlands on December 12. Opting to bat, Cobras began brightly, as Levi put up half-century stands for the first two wickets with Andrew Puttick and Omphile Ramela (34). Levi stayed on till the penultimate over, striking two fours and sixes each during his 61-ball 64 to guide Cobras to 145 for 4.

Knights began their chase steadily, but were rocked by four wickets in the space of four overs, and fell to 59 for 4 by the 11th over. Rudi Second led a recovery, whacking a 33-ball 50 with three fours and two sixes, and Tumelo Bodibe hit 30, but Knights' run-rate was kept in check by incisive bowling from Dane Paterson, George Linde and Peterson. Knights needed 18 from the final over, but could manage only nine, meaning they lost their third game of the season.

Even sides look for capital gains

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale(cricinfo)

November 18, 2014

Australia and South Africa could hardly have been faced with venues of more differing fortunes for the start of this one-day series. The WACA remains an iconic ground due to its fast and bouncy pitch but appears to be out of favour, having missed out on hosting a Test this summer. It needs upgrading andfaces an uncertain future, with a new Perth stadium set to be built over the next few years.

Josh Hazlewood impressed in Perth but the Australian selectors
 may not want him to play every match of the series

By comparison, Manuka Oval in Canberra is growing in popularity with Cricket Australia as a boutique venue. It hosted Australia's ODI side for the first time in 2012-13, held the Sheffield Shield final last summer when the SCG was unavailable, and has been announced as a neutral venue for the BBL final this season. Significant work in recent years has included the installation of light towers and a resurfacing of the playing area, and it will host three World Cup games. It would not be surprising if it was given the chance to host Test cricket at some point in the coming years.

For now, Canberrans will settle for another chance to see international cricket, this time the second- and third-ranked ODI teams in the world, with the series level at 1-1. South Africa's sloppy fielding in the first game gave lives to Australia's batsmen and a sharper performance in the second match showed that the visitors remain a force to be reckoned with. Australia's batting line-up is deep and capable of big things, but is still prone to collapsing against quality attacks. South Africa also have a strong batting outfit but they lost seven wickets in a small chase on Sunday, so both teams have plenty of batting improvement in them.

Form guide

(last five completed games most recent first)

Australia LWWWW

South Africa WLWWW

In the spotlight

The only other time Australia have played an ODI at Manuka Oval, Shane Watson scored 122 from 111 deliveries. That was against West Indies in February 2013, and it was his first international back in nearly six weeks after hurting his calf in the Boxing Day Test. Again Watson is on the comeback trail, again from a calf injury. Five matches in to his international return and he is yet to post a really imposing score, but with a Test series against India looming he needs some runs to boost his confidence. Being back on a belter of a pitch in Canberra might be just what he needs.

It is rare for Hashim Amla to fail more than a couple of times in a row, so after he was out for 8 and 10 in the two WACA games the Australians will be aware that he might be due a big score, especially on a good batting surface. The absence of Mitchell Johnson will also help; it was Johnson who got rid of Amla in both Perth matches.

Team news

Australia have made some changes to their squad for the remainder of the series, most notably giving Johnson a rest and including a specialist spinner, Xavier Doherty. The 15-man squad gives them plenty of bowling options. Josh Hazlewood impressed in Perth but it remains to be seen whether the selectors will use him in all five games, and James Faulkner offers another all-round possibility besides Glenn Maxwell.

Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch, 2 David Warner, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Steven Smith, 5 George Bailey (capt), 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Glenn Maxwell/James Faulkner, 8 Matthew Wade (wk), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Josh Hazlewood/Kane Richardson, 11 Xavier Doherty

There seems little reason for South Africa to change the winning formula from Sunday's game, although using Farhaan Behardien's medium pace as their fifth bowling option remains a risky strategy.

South Africa (possible) 1 Hashim Amla, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 Rilee Rossouw, 5 AB de Villiers (capt), 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 David Miller, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir

Pitch and conditions

The pitch is expected to be good for batting - last time an ODI was played there, Australia made 7 for 329 batting first against West Indies. The forecast for Wednesday is for a sunny day and a top of 27C.

De Villiers happy with NZ outing ahead of World Cup

There's a distinct difference between traveling and traveling for work. The former is about adventure, discovery and relaxation; the latter about going through a process, ticking a box or achieving an aim. Luckily for South Africa, they could combine the two in New Zealand.

They were victorious in the three-match ODI series, which ended up being only two-and-a-third-matches thanks to the weather, and took more much more out of the trip than just a trophy. "It was important for us to acclimatise to the surroundings - getting used to flying here, the jetlag, the crowds, even the food," AB de Villiers said. "Little things that you get used to are important. If you do it for the first time, it's almost a culture shock.

New Zealand may not immediately seem entirely foreign to South Africans, but it is the furthest place a South African cricketer can travel to. The 11-hour time difference takes a few days to get over and temperatures tend to be few degrees lower. De Villiers wanted his men to familiarise themselves with that because they will play half their World Cup group stage games and possibly a knockout or two there.

"Even though New Zealand is similar to South Africa in the way that people do things here, a few little things are different. It was important for me that the boys experience it so it's not a different thing for them in the World Cup."

Adaptation, in other words, was what de Villiers was after and South Africa managed that seamlessly. They understood conditions at Mount Maunganui - the venue of the two completed games - far better than their hosts, for example.

The Bay Oval had only hosted one ODI before this series and the surface, which was a touch slower than expected, required adjustments particularly from the batsmen. While New Zealand struggled to make them, South Africa showed patience and aptitude when chasing a target and setting one. "We did the basics well, certainly better than New Zealand. That gives us a lot of confidence."

Luke Ronchi led the batting charts with two half-centuries but just nine runs behind him was the only series centurion Hashim Amla. Ten runs fewer than Amla was de Villiers and Quinton de Kock came in fourth.

Amla and de Villiers' capacity to perform in different circumstances is well-known but for de Kock, whose undefeated 80 in the wash-out was his first half-century in six innings, to show the same aptitude was heartening. "In his last few games, he has probably not scored as many runs as he wanted to but that tells a story about where he's at with his cricket. To still keep his head up high and try and work hard at his game, and come through with a decent knock was really important."

De Kock's journey through a patch of poor form confirms for de Villiers that he is maturing well. "At first, I also thought he was a flashy player, going hard at the ball all the time but then I realised he actually has the other side of the game as well. For a 21-year-old to have that in his gameplan is amazing. I certainly didn't have it at his age."

While South Africa have answered that question about their batting, they still have a question mark over the final position in their top six. Neither David Miller nor Rilee Rossouw had any stand-out performances but they will both have opportunities over the next month in Australia to change that. The pair will know that back home, domestic players have been competing in the one-day tournament and a player like Farhaan Behardien has shown promising form and could force his way back into the selectors' minds ahead of the World Cup.

So could some of the franchise bowlers, like Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who is the leading wicket-taker in the domestic tournament. Tsotsobe has made a full recovery after undergoing ankle surgery and his current form will put pressure on the likes of Kyle Abbott and Wayne Parnell for a place in the final XV.

Convener of selectors Andrew Hudson previously said Tsotsobe would be considered when he was "back to his best," and few would argue that time is not looming in the near future, especially as South Africa are also still searching in the bowling department. Although they have confirmed that Vernon Philander can step up in shorter formats - he was the joint-highest wicket-taker with four scalps at 16.25 in New Zealand - South Africa still lack an option at the death. None of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel or Ryan McLaren could find strangling lengths, the kind that Imran Tahir has mastered.

The legspinner had the lowest economy-rate overall and could be South Africa's weapon at the next World Cup, as he was at the 2011 tournament. Tahir hurt his shoulder while fielding but will be back for the Australia series and will, in all likelihood, keep Aaron Phangiso - who is out of action with a finger sprain for now - and Robin Peterson, out of the playing XI.

Tahir encapsulates where South Africa are in their World Cup preparation. They're performing as well as anyone would want them to but they're still working on their fine-tuning. "It's a matter of being more ruthless in certain areas," de Villiers said. "I still believe we can improve, but we're going in the right direction." More travel, more discovery and more box-ticking will ensure that by the time the tournament rolls around, they would have prepared in the best way possible.