Meister der Farbe » his season and is a deserving winner of the 2

Match factsOctober 5, 2016 Start time 1330 local (1130 GMT)Big PictureSouth Africa are a victory away from sealing their first bilateral ODI series win against Australia in seven years. They have already put on two perfect performances to get to this point. South Africa will be particularly pleased with its batting line-up, which had been hit by the absence of AB de Villiers, but has found other superstars. Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis have gone big, Rilee Rossouw has supported them strongly, JP Duminys finishing ability is being fine-tuned and the allrounders have not had to do much. But, they will be aware that those showings came against a side missing its frontline, and even some of its second-choice seamers, and on surfaces made for big totals.Daniel Worrall, Chris Tremain and Joe Mennie have endured a tough introduction to international cricket, but can expect things to relatively ease off as they head to the coast; on slower surfaces and in thicker air, the ball may not fly off the bat or to the boundary as quickly. More subtle skills will be required, and Adam Zampa could become even more of a factor, but for Australia to begin challenging in this series, they need their batsmen to come to the party in a big way. Converting starts will be one challenge for them, dealing with a varied South African attack that has found its focus is another.The home teams greatest luxury is the number of options at their disposal, and that is without even taking into account those sitting on the bench. Kyle Abbott, a Durban home-boy, Dwaine Pretorius and Aaron Phangiso have not made an appearance yet, and while South Africa may not want to tinker with a winning XI, they will also understand the importance of looking at what everyone can offer.Durban may not be the place for that, and you would be forgiven for wondering if it is the place for cricket at all. The good news is that the outfield saga that resulted in no play on three of the five days of the New Zealand Test in August has been resolved, and Kingsmead is set to show off as much as it can to repair any reputational damage. The best way for it to do that is not even in its control. Fans will seek an engaging contest, and the neutrals would want the side that has struggled so far to turn things around. Effectively, every match from here is a final for Australia, which they will have to win to take the series, but as history would remind us, Australia are pretty good at finals.Form guideSouth Africa: WWWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)Australia: LLWWWIn the spotlightRilee Rossouw , who has reeled off two fifties in succession, kept Hashim Amla out of the XI in Johannesburg, and could do so again in Durban. Rossouw was made to front up before the media on match eve, a sign that he could play the third fixture. Rossouws form, which has been particularly pleasing to the selectors after he had spent the last two months recovering from a shoulder problem, is not in question, but how both he and Amla will fit into the team is. Stand-in captain Faf du Plessis explained that the selectors made the decision to stick with Rossouw after Amla recovered from illness even though team policy is that the incumbent should get his place his back. Rossouw may be under pressure to keep proving himself, especially if Amla has to carry drinks again.Although Australias young attack has appeared their weaker suit, former wicketkeeper Brad Haddin said he expects Australias batsmen to step up. I think the batters were a little disappointing, to be honest, Haddin told the Big Sports Breakfast radio. Steven Smith is likely to come under the most scrutiny. The Australian captain has scored just 22 runs in the first two matches, but seemed it good touch before the series. Aaron Finch, who has scraped together 34 runs, will also want to offer more at the top of the order.Teams newsThe Amla-Rossouw debate will be in focus. Faf du Plessis has indicated he wants Amla back, which could see Rossouw pushed down the order at the expense of one of David Miller, JP Duminy or Farhaan Behardien. South Africa may want to give Dwaine Pretorius or Kyle Abbott an opportunity. They could do that by resting Dale Steyn, but may want to wait until the series is decided before experimenting.South Africa (possible): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Rilee Rossouw/Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 JP Duminy, 5 David Miller, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 Dwaine Pretorius/Andile Phehlukwayo, 9 Kyle Abbott/Dale Steyn, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Imran TahirAfter twin false starts, Aaron Finch may make way for Usman Khawaja while Australia will keep rotating their young seam attack. Joe Mennie took a pasting on debut and may be allowed to lick his wounds with Daniel Worrall coming back into the XI.Australia: (possible): 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch/Usman Khawaja, 3 Steve Smith (wk), 4 George Bailey, 5 Travis Head, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Mathew Wade (wk), 8 John Hastings, 9 Adam Zampa, 10 Chris Tremain, 11 Daniel WorrallPitch and conditionsMore eyes will be on the outfield than the pitch, especially after it received some rain on Monday. It has been dry since, and should stay that way for the match, which will prevent the problem of August from recurring. The surface itself will be slower than what was available upcountry, which could mean lower totals and more opportunity for bowlers, especially the spinners, to have their say.Stats and triviaThe last time South Africa won a bilateral ODI series against Australia was in April 2009David Miller is 131 runs away from completing 2,000 runs in ODIsQuotesIts really important that we dont, for one second, become complacent because we know we are very far away from winning this series.Faf du Plessis warns South Africa not to expect things to be easy over the next three matchesAustin Hedges Jersey . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session. Eric Hosmer Jersey . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. http://www.padressale.com/padres-franmil-reyes-jersey/ . LOUIS -- St. Dave Winfield Jersey .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. Hunter Renfroe Jersey . -- Stanford squashed Oregons national championship hopes again, schooling the Ducks in power football.Young Essendon AFL star Zach Merrett is the runaway winner of the Bombers best-and-fairest award, the Crichton Medal, at the clubs end-of-season awards ceremony.Merrett, who was widely considered unlucky not to make the All Australian squad, finished 105 points ahead of joint runners-up Joe Daniher and James Kelly on Wednesday night to claim the clubs highest individual award.The 20-year-old played every game of a difficult season for the Bombers, who managed just three wins and finished bottom of the ladder without the 12 experienced players serving doping suspensions.He averaged 30 possessions a match and became the clubs third-youngest captain in history when he stood in for the injured Brendon Goddard in rounds 21 and 22.Zach was our most-consistent performer this season and is a deserving winner of the 2016 Crichton Medal, coach John Worsfold said.Zach played some exceptional football this season, and that was built off the back of his professionalism, living elite standards and a hunger to improve and develop with each game.dddddddddddd(He) showed tremendous leadership in a season, which challenged our playing group on a weekly basis.Zach is an exciting young player and hes really determined to work hard over the summer in order to come back ready for another big season in 2017.Merrett also claimed the best club man and best defensive player awards and Daniher won the leading goal kicker award with a season tally of 43 majors.2016 CRICHTON MEDAL TOP 10:1. Zach Merrett: 3782. Joe Daniher: 273; James Kelly: 2734. Brendon Goddard: 2695. David Zaharakis: 2576. Mitch Brown: 2457. Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti: 2368. Orazio Fantasia: 2299. Matt Dea: 22810. Darcy Parish: 224 ' ' '