INTENSE RIVALRY FILE. The rivalry between South Africa and Australia at ICC events is unmatched, and Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma will fancy his side's chances at the Champions Trophy on Tuesday. Picture: Arun Sankar / AFP
Image: Arun Sankar / AFP
There’s nothing quite like an Australia-South Africa cricket match to get the blood boiling for an Mzansi sports fan, and it will be no different when the sides meet once more at the ICC Champions Trophy on Tuesday.
With the clash in Rawalpindi, starting at 11am SA time, expected to be another high-scoring affair, the Proteas may feel the possible absence of Heinrich Klaasen even more.
Temba Bavuma and his fellow batsmen will feel the expectations placed on their shoulders, as the pitches in Pakistan and the UAE are something of a batting paradise.
While the Proteas may be missing Klaasen, Australia are already without the services of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood for the tournament.
The last meeting between the sides at a 50-over competition, came in the 2023 Cricket World Cup semi-final. Though that result went the way of the Aussies, it was not before the Proteas knocked seven of their batsmen over in pursuit of a meagre 213 for victory.
Tensions normally intensify when the two nations meet on a cricket field, and the best example in recent memory was the infamous ‘sandpapergate scandal’ in the third Test in Cape Town in March 2018.
Young buck in the Aussie side Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera illegally roughing up the ball with sandpaper, and it later emerged senior players David Warner and Steve Smith played their part in the act.
The scandal rocked Australian cricket and its reputation, and it remains a prickly issue in the history of the meetings between the sides.
The most notable Cricket World Cup meeting though, came in 1999 in Birmingham. Back then, the Lance Klusener-led Proteas side were probably the best team at the tournament. That was until they met Australia in the semi-final, and with ‘Zulu’ at the wicket chasing a score of just over 200 when things fell apart for the Proteas.
A terrible mix-up in the running between the wickets by Klusener and Allan Donald saw Australia tie the match in the final over and progress to the final which they would later win comfortably.
Meetings in ICC events between South Africa and Australia have since always seemed like they were about revenge, maybe not for the players but certainly the supporters. At the Champions Trophy on Tuesday, it remains to be seen if South Africa produce a dish best served cold.
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