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Arthur Turner
The Test match at the Wanderers is the beginning of the battle for South Africa to be crowned the world champions of Test cricket. If South Africa win the series they will be on top of the ICC standings in both the Test and ODI arenas. They will then take over the mantle from Australia as the super power of world cricket.
The expectations of both teams will be vastly different for this series because of where they currently find themselves as international teams. Australia will fight all the way in the series to retain their number one spot on the ICC standings and to avenge their defeat in Australia, but their expectations will be realistic.
After the defeats in India and against South Africa in Australia they are under no illusion that the Australian dominance of world cricket the last 15 years is over.
If one listens to the comments made by Australia coach Tim Nielsen in Potchefstroom, it is clear that they accept they are the underdogs. They have come to terms with reality that they are currently in a rebuilding phase. The retirement of many great players over the last 18 months and injuries to Brett Lee and Stuart Clark have left them with a very inexperienced team. Also, the loss of Andrew Symonds for personal reasons has compounded their problems further.
Their main objective will be to build a team for the future and the South African tour provides a great opportunity for this. The priority for Australia in 2009 will be to successfully defend the Ashes in England. Winning the Ashes for the Australians is a priority even bigger than winning the Cricket World Cup. They will also have an eye on building a limited over team for the Cricket World Cup in India in 2011.
South Africa on the other hand will have a totally a different expectation after the success they enjoyed in Australia. They will expect to beat this inexperienced Australian team on home soil for the first time in 39 years. This would not only make them the number one Test nation in world cricket, but will also ensure that history will record them alongside the great South African teams of 1967 and 1970 who defeated Australia in South Africa. Graeme Smith and his team certainly have a lot to play for.
This is the first time that any South African team will start a series against Australia as favourites. Also, the South African public expectations are that the Proteas will do a demolition job on the Australians and will not accept anything less. It will be interesting to see how Smith and his team handle these very high expectations as it will be new territory for them.
There is no such thing as a weak Australian team, but it is difficult to see this team stopping the Proteas being crowned the number one Test team in world cricket come the end of March. This South African team has too much firepower for a young and inexperienced Australian team and they could easily embarrass them 3-0.
Arthur is a former cricket administrator and current player agent.
Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
The Test match at the Wanderers is the beginning of the battle for South Africa to be crowned the world champions of Test cricket. If South Africa win the series they will be on top of the ICC standings in both the Test and ODI arenas. They will then take over the mantle from Australia as the super power of world cricket.
The expectations of both teams will be vastly different for this series because of where they currently find themselves as international teams. Australia will fight all the way in the series to retain their number one spot on the ICC standings and to avenge their defeat in Australia, but their expectations will be realistic.
After the defeats in India and against South Africa in Australia they are under no illusion that the Australian dominance of world cricket the last 15 years is over.
If one listens to the comments made by Australia coach Tim Nielsen in Potchefstroom, it is clear that they accept they are the underdogs. They have come to terms with reality that they are currently in a rebuilding phase. The retirement of many great players over the last 18 months and injuries to Brett Lee and Stuart Clark have left them with a very inexperienced team. Also, the loss of Andrew Symonds for personal reasons has compounded their problems further.
Their main objective will be to build a team for the future and the South African tour provides a great opportunity for this. The priority for Australia in 2009 will be to successfully defend the Ashes in England. Winning the Ashes for the Australians is a priority even bigger than winning the Cricket World Cup. They will also have an eye on building a limited over team for the Cricket World Cup in India in 2011.
South Africa on the other hand will have a totally a different expectation after the success they enjoyed in Australia. They will expect to beat this inexperienced Australian team on home soil for the first time in 39 years. This would not only make them the number one Test nation in world cricket, but will also ensure that history will record them alongside the great South African teams of 1967 and 1970 who defeated Australia in South Africa. Graeme Smith and his team certainly have a lot to play for.
This is the first time that any South African team will start a series against Australia as favourites. Also, the South African public expectations are that the Proteas will do a demolition job on the Australians and will not accept anything less. It will be interesting to see how Smith and his team handle these very high expectations as it will be new territory for them.
There is no such thing as a weak Australian team, but it is difficult to see this team stopping the Proteas being crowned the number one Test team in world cricket come the end of March. This South African team has too much firepower for a young and inexperienced Australian team and they could easily embarrass them 3-0.
Arthur is a former cricket administrator and current player agent.
Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
