adminChallenge triangular tournament at Harare Sports Club today.
Australia, who are unbeaten in three games, have already sealed their place in the final while South Africa could take the other slot if they win today, rendering tomorrow’s clash against Zimbabwe A a dead rubber.
The Australians have been the dominant team in the series and would want to finish the round robin stage on a high note.
But with the final beckoning the Australia A side could be tempted to rest their best performers like John Hastings and Nathan Lyon who have almost proved their worth in the games played so far during the tour.
It has been a good excursion for the duo who currently top the charts with the most individual wickets after sharing 16 scalps between them in the last three matches.
Off-spinner Lyon had a great start on his international debut after setting the tournament’s benchmark with the best figures of 4-22 in seven overs against Zimbabwe in the opening match. Australia A bowlers have played a crucial role in the team’s success in this short tour and they are set to continue with their good form this morning.
They managed to bowl out their opponents in all three matches and have made it a lot easy for their batsmen who have not chased anything above 161 runs.
Aaron Finch has been one of the most consistent performers with the bat at the top of the order but his opening partner David Warner is still to impress as he is struggling to get the runs. Finch has scored the most runs in the tournament after his 47 runs against Zimbabwe XI on Sunday took his total tally to 127 in three innings.
Vice-captain Callum Ferguson whose classy 57 runs helped to seal victory in their last match is also another player to watch.
Australia made two changes to their team against Zimbabwe XI, bringing in Mathew Wade and Trent Copeland, while batsman Mitchell Marsh and strike bowler Luke Butterworth were rested after playing two games.
They could get a tougher test today against a South Africa A side that is determined to redeem themselves after two unimpressive shows.
The South Africans will also be playing for a spot in the final and they have in mind that a victory today will certainly hand them the remaining ticket for Friday’s decider.
South Africa A, led by Jacques Rudolph, have met with mixed fortunes and on Saturday they narrowly edged home to a one run victory over Zimbabwe XI to earn their first points.
They had lost their first match to Australia by 60 runs on Thursday but came back much improved to put on 238 runs on the board with skipper Jacques Rudolph leading from the front against the hosts.
South Africa A are second in the table with four points from two starts while Australia A have a massive 14 after maintaining a 100 percent winning run in three games.
Zimbabwe are still winless and they will be hoping South Africa A lose today, and they win against them tomorrow, to enhance their chances of making the final.
Fixtures
Today
Australia A v South Africa A (Harare Sports Club)
Tomorrow
Zimbabwe XI v South Africa A
Friday
Final (Harare Sports Club)
Log Table
Teams
P
W
L
Tie
N/R
Pts
Net RR
Australia A
3
3
0
0
0
14
+1.299
Sth Africa A
2
1
1
0
0
4
-0.590
Zim XI
3
0
3
0
0
0
-0.917
Online Reporter