The Proteas against Australia in a major ICC tournament.
Considering everything has gone before it’s enough to send shivers down the spine of even the most ardent South African cricket fan.
Fortunately, Tuesday’s encounter in Rawalpindi is not of the knockout kind that invariably goes the way of the world champions. Both the Proteas and Australia won their opening matches of the competition which gives them a bit of breathing space, but that does not mean this Pool B encounter will be any less rousing.
There is also, of course, the small matter of an ICC World Test Championship final to be played at Lord’s later this year when Shukri Conrad’s team will be aiming to dethrone the current champs.
But that’s still 103 days away, and the Australian attack will look remarkably different to the one Rob Walter’s side will be encountering. The Aussies are without their entire frontline trio of seamers, including inspirational skipper Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitch Starc.
Their absence was evident when England, through a splendid Ben Duckett century, bashed a record 351/8 last Saturday in Lahore. While the replacements of Spencer Johnson, Ben Dwarshuis and Nathan Ellis were economical enough, they did not have the strike power of the legendary trio which put the part-timers Glenn Maxwell and Marnus Labuschagne under pressure.
Proteas captain Temba Bavuma is hoping his team can take similar advantage of Australia’s inexperienced bowling unit, although he is fully aware that anyone that pulls on the canary yellow jumper is capable of producing a match-winning performance.
“I think that within a team there are opportunities. And like you rightly said, probably within the bowling there are opportunities,” Bavuma said. “And I think if that presents itself on the day, we will definitely be looking to make use of that opportunity.
“But, yes they don't have their mainstay bowling attack, but look, I think any Australian outfit that comes together from the ICC event is always one that you can’t take lightly.
“I think they still have enough to be successful as a team. It could be a case of everyone doing a little bit more than what they are accustomed to.”
And even though Australia are still “doing Australian things” by chasing down that record 351 against England and pose a formidable batting challenge on these friendly Pakistan surfaces, Bavuma is backing his team to get the job done to take them one step closer to a semi-final spot.
"We're quite bullish about our chances," he said. "Our confidence is good, so we're quite optimistic about our chances and how far we can go in this competition," he said.
The Proteas have in the recent past played two specialist spinners against Australia, but having experienced dew during their training session on Sunday evening, they may stick with the sole specialist spinner in Keshav Maharaj with Aiden Markram chipping in with a few overs of his off-spinners.
A call has also yet to be made on middle-order powerhouse Heinrich Klaasen’s injured elbow that kept him out of the tournament opener with the Proteas awaiting clearance from the medical team pending a fitness test.
Opening batter Tony de Zorzi would be the likely casualty should Klaasen be passed fit with Ryan Rickelton expected to keep his place at the top of the order after his maiden ODI century in the last match against Afghanistan.
FULL SQUADS FOR RAWALPINDI
Proteas: Temba Bavuma (c), Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, Corbin Bosch.
Australia: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa.
Start: 11am (SA time)