On Sunday, Australia took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series by beating South Africa by 17 runs at the Marrara Cricket Ground in Australia’s northernmost city.

After struggling at 75/6 after 7.4 overs, Australia fought back with the bat to post 178 in their allotted 20 overs, with Tim David leading the charge, scoring a brilliant 83 off 53 balls.

Ryan Rickelton and Kwena Maphaka. Photo: Cricinfo

Teenager Kwena Maphaka was outstanding with the ball for South Africa, claiming a career-best 4/20 in his full quota of four overs.

In response, South Africa struggled with the bat again. Although they were 120/4 in the 15th over, they were eventually restricted to 161/9 in their chase.

Ryan Rickelton, who top-scored for South Africa with 71 off 55 balls, said he’s confident the team can fix what needs to be addressed ahead of Tuesday’s second game at the same venue.

“I thought we bowled really well – they came out playing their shots and we created plenty of opportunities,” said Rickelton.

“I think if we had taken that one chance on Tim when he was on about 40 or 50, we could have bowled them out for around 120, and that would have been a completely different game and a different conversation altogether.

“But the exciting thing is that they came out guns blazing, and we managed to create a lot of chances. That’s encouraging for us as a group – the fact that we could pin down such a formidable batting line-up a bit.

Tim David. Photo: Cricinfo

“There are one or two things we’ll probably tweak in the batting – just be a bit smarter and hopefully build a stronger platform from the start. 

“But I think the guys are pretty confident in what we’ve got in the changeroom, and hopefully we can replicate or even improve on that performance on Tuesday.”

Tuesday’s second T20 International between Australia and South Africa at the Marrara Cricket Ground is scheduled to start at 11:15.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cvs