Markram hopes that his team can put in a better performance today, while admitting that it is a challenge bowling to this power-packed Australian batting unit. Three changes for the hosts – Keshav Maharaj makes his long-awaited return from injury. Matthew Breetzke and Donovan Ferreira also make their T20I debuts.
Marsh says he would have bowled first anyway, reckoning the pitch is still a little tacky. Spencer Johnson, Tanveer Sangha and Ashton Turner come into the XI, with Jason Behrendorff, Aaron Hardie and Adam Zampa missing out.
Australia vs South Africa 3rd T20I Highlights 2023, Sunday 3-9-2023, Australia tour of South Africa 2023, Kingsmead, Durban.
Toss: South Africa chose to bat.
Australia team: 1 Matthew Short, 2 Travis Head, 3 Mitchell Marsh (c), 4 Josh Inglis (wk), 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Tim David, 7 Ashton Turner, 8 Sean Abbott, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Spencer Johnson, 11 Tanveer Sangha
South Africa team: 1 Temba Bavuma, 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Matthew Breetzke, 4 Aiden Markram (capt), 5 Donovan Ferreira, 6 Tristan Stubbs (wk), 7 Bjorn Fortuin, 8 Keshav Maharaj 9 Gerald Coetzee 10 Lizaad Williams, 11 Lungi Ngidi
Head to Head In T20I’s: 24
Australia Won: 16
South Africa Won: 8
Australia T20I Rankings: 6th
South Africa T20I Rankings: 5th
Form guide
(last five completed T20I’s, most recent first)
Australia WWWWW
South Africa LLLWL
Match Timings: 4:00 PM GMT | 6:00 PM Local
Umpires – Allahudien Paleker, Bongani Jele
TV Umpire – Lubabalo Gcuma
Match Referee – Richie Richardson
Reserve Umpire – Stephen Harris
Match number – T20I no. 2230
Aiden Markram:
(On the dropped catches today) Thought we were slightly better today. Not where we want to be but better. We have to see where we can improve and take it moving forward as a white-ball unit. Have to give credit to someone like Donovan on debut. To get to 190, I suppose you always take it. We were pretty much happy with it at the interval. (On switching on to the ODI series) It is quite big for us. A series before the World Cup is important to get your combinations (right). Looking forward to it and hopefully we can take some momentum into the World Cup.
Mitchell Marsh is the Player of the Series:
I do enjoy this country, a great place to tour. Looking forward to a few days off now. This particular tour, we had a great team effort. We took the game on, had a little bit of luck at times but we had a positive mentality. (On his captaincy) Learnt a lot. When I was younger, captaining the Scorchers, I was struggling a little. Have a great coaching group and leaders around to help us prepare. It was not just me and it was a collective effort. (On where this team is headed and the young talent) We are building towards next year’s World Cup. Really pleased with the players that have come in and have stepped up. Winning in South Africa is very hard to do and to be a part of this series has been very special.
Travis Head, Player of the Match:
(On his knock) Nice to be back contributing. Limited opportunities in this format for me. Struggled a little to find my tempo and was nice to contribute tonight. In this team, the power we got, it puts pressure on the attack. Once I was settled in, I tried to pick the right moments and wanted to be as aggressive as possible. Guys are getting opportunities in the Big Bash and various leagues. Four or five guys are not here and it shows the strength we have. Nice to have that depth.
