South Africa vs. Australia 1st Test, Betting odds, Tips & Preview

The jubilant Australian side crushed England in the recently concluded Ashes 5-0 at home and will anticipate bulldozing South Africa in three Test away series. Michael Clarke led the Kangaroos successfully against Englishmen whereas Graeme Smith and his men won the two Tests home series against India 1-0. The visitors have never lost a series since 1969-70 and they will try to maintain their record while the hosts are already in high spirit.

Players to watch

David Warner was the highest run getter in the Ashes, 2013-14, by plundering 523 runs with 2 hundreds and even fifties. Chris Rogers will play an important role as an opener and Michael Clarke can enjoy his batting as well. Mitchell Johnson along with Ryan Harris once again will be a lethal fast bowling duo for the Australians.

Graeme Smith is always dangerous at home wickets, Hashim Amla will be the run machine for the home side whereas Faf du Plessis, recently has emerged as a solid middle order batsman. Dale Steyn is enjoying his top form with the ball and Vernon Philander will be a difficult customer to handle.

Time & Venue

Wednesday February 12 – Sunday February 16, 2014 @ 10:30 GMT, 10:30 local at Supersport Park, Centurion

Weather

Mostly sunny and temperature around 15-23ᵒ C

Toss

The captain winning the toss will opt to bat first

The Pitch

The surface will be batting friendly for a couple of days and will start assisting the bowlers from day three.

Teams

South Africa : Graeme Smith (captain), Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Rory Kleinveldt, Ryan McLaren, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Robin Peterson, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Thami Tsolekile.

Australia : Michael Clarke (captain), Brad Haddin, Jackson Bird, Alex Doolan, Ryan Harris, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, James Pattinson, Chris Rogers, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, David Warner, James Faulkner.

Prediction

The No.1 Test team, South Africa, is favourite to win the first Test