Australia will be up against South Africa in the second of the three-match ODI series. This article provides details about Australia’s Playing 11 vs South Africa for the second match of the series.
Australia Playing 11 vs South Africa- 2nd ODI, South Africa Tour of Australia 2025:
Openers: Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head
Australia would be disappointed with the way they performed with both bat and ball in the first ODI and would look to make a strong comeback in the second game to keep the series alive.
The responsibility will be on the batters to put on an improved effort while chasing or while batting first, something they failed to do in the previous match.
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The captain of the team, Mitchell Marsh, would want other batters to support him as he was the lone warrior in the first match, courtesy of a half-century, but was unable to take his team over the line.
Travis Head will play an important role in ensuring that the batting doesn’t go through a collapse in back-to-back games by playing a match-winning innings in his usual attacking manner.
Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Cameron Green, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Aaron Hardie
As far as the middle order is concerned, it is relatively inexperienced with the retirement of a couple of senior players in the form of Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell.
The onus will be on Marnus Labuschagne to guide the team to a challenging total while batting first through his measured approach in the middle overs.
Labuschagne would expect to get good support from Josh Inglis and Alex Carey, both of whom can shift gears according to the situation.
The Aussies would also want Cameron Green to be in full flow, given that he is now batting in the top four across formats.
Aaron Hadie would also look to put on a strong performance with both bat and ball to prove his credentials as an all-rounder in international cricket.
Bowlers: Nathan Ellis, Ben Dwarshuis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Like the middle order, the team’s bowling lineup is also quite inexperienced, with only Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa being the two bowlers with a great deal of experience in ODI cricket under their belts.
Irrespective of the amount of experience, Australia would bank on their bowlers to come good in what happens to be a do-or-die game for the home side to keep their good record in their backyard across formats in check.
Other than inexpertise on the bowling front, the Mitchel Marsh-led side can also think of playing five specialist bowlers plus an all-rounder, considering that Cameron Green is playing only as a batter.
It won’t be a bad decision if Australia tweaks their team combination to give a little bit of cover to the likes of Ellis, Dwarshius, and Hardie.
Having said that, the Aussies might not be too worried about their performance in the opening game of the series and would back themselves to bounce back strongly in the upcoming match.
