Mackay is the venue for the second One Day International between Australia and South Africa on Friday and the Proteas are 1-0 up with two to play
Australia won the T20 series at the start of this tour 2-1 and South Africa drew first blood in the ODI's with a convincing 98 run victory in Cairns on Tuesday. This is a 3 match series with the final contest also staged in Mackay on Sunday.
1st ODI Wrap
Australia won the toss and opted to bowl first in the series opener and the Proteas posted 296/8 in their 50 overs. They looked to be heading for a far bigger total after the top order all made runs, Markram (82), Rickleton (33), Bavuma (65) and Breetzke (57). However, from 230/4 with the thick end of 10 overs remaining they came up short of the 300 mark. Travis Head claimed 4 wickets at a cost of 57 runs in his 9 overs.
Australia's openers put on 60 for the first stick when Travis Head was out. Mitch Marsh went on to top score with 88 and our top SA Bowler pick Keshav Maharaj removed Australian batsmen from 3 to 7 for a 5 wicket haul and the MoM award. The Australian innings closed on 198 all out from 40.5 overs.
This was how the teams lined up in the first ODI
Australia: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Aaron Hardie, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
South Africa: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Matthew Breetzke, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Prenelan Subrayen, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi
Note Rabada has been ruled out of the series for the Proteas.
Head to Head
Overall the teams have met 111 times in this format with Australia winning 51 to South Africa's 56 with 3 ties and 1 no result.
The Betting
Australia are 9/20 to win the game and at the time of writing South Africa were trading at 1.55/1
Prices subject to change
The Verdict
Hats off Keshav Maharaj for getting a few of us off to a decent start in the series. He could be worth sticking with here although the venue in the Great Barrier Reef area is a new one on me so a pitch report would be a handy weapon to have.
I'll take my chances in the top bat markets, Travis Head is due a big knock for the hosts and I quite like the price for Matthew Breetzke to top score for the Proteas after his 57 off 56 balls batting at No 4 on Tuesday.
Bet: Top SA Bat Matthew Breetzke at 5/1 with Sportingbet
Top Aus Bat Travis Head at 3/1 with Sportingbet
*Prices subject to change