Team news, likely XIs, form guide, players to watch, odds, TV and streaming information, weather forecast, umpire appointments and everything else you need to know
Australia take on South Africa in the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup.
The game is scheduled for 3pm local time (11am BST) on Saturday, October 23, 2021.
The game will be held at the Sheikh Zayad International Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Sheikh Zayad Cricket Stadium: Ground guide
Two outsiders for the title meet in the opening game of the Super 12s.
Australia have on paper a well-balanced side for the conditions but by Aaron Finch's own admission have seen their preparations heavily disrupted by the pandemic.
They have lost their last five bilateral T20 series in a row and won six of the previous 21 20-over games. That includes defeats in the West Indies and perhaps more worryingly in Bangladesh, where conditions might mirror those seen at stages in this competition.
Since being thrashed by England last year, South Africa have fared somewhat better and have won their last three series in a row, all away from home.
Success last time out in Sri Lanka, where they came away with a whitewash 3-0 win, is a decent indicator of how they may do over the next three weeks.
That said, with AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and Imran Tahir watching on from the sidelines, it is indisputable that coach Mark Boucher doesn't have the best 15 eligible players available to him.
Dafabet have installed Australia as favourites at 7/10, with South Africa available at 19/20.
David Warner is the leading contender to be the Aussie's highest run-scorer at 13/5.
The Proteas are led by Quinton de Kock, who is 23/10 to be their leading batter.
Much of the focus, perhaps inevitably, is on Glenn Maxwell who comes into the competition ready to make it his own. The T20 Player Index
No.3 returned to the IPL to hit four half-centuries in seven innings for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Australia will be desperately hoping he can bring that form into the World Cup.
Quinton de Kock is as consistent as they come in 20-over cricket and is very much the linchpin of this T20 side, his shackles eased since the captaincy issue was resolved.
Tellingly, he enjoyed a fine tour of Sri Lanka - the series was played at Colombo - hitting half-centuries in the second and third T20s. Not in the best touch during the warm-up matches, don't be surprised to see that change when the competitive cricket begins.
Very little of Australia's starting XI remains unknown, with allrounder Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, and Marcus Stoinis, who is over a hamstring issue, all set to play.
Four specialist bowlers are set to play which means that alongside Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar there is only one slot alongside the first-choice Mitchell Starc.
Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, and Kane Richardson are set to battle it out for that last remaining berth.
Tabraiz Shamsi has come through a fitness test ahead of the game and will feature after recovering from a groin injury.
They are likely to go with six specialist batters, with Temba Bavuma fully fit after a broken thumb.
The following umpires and match referees have been named by the ICC to officiate in the T20 World Cup 2021:
Referees: David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Javagal Srinath
Umpires: Chris Brown, Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nitin Menon, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Rod Tucker, Joel Wilson, Paul Wilson
The following officials have been allocated to this fixture:
On-field umpires: Gough, Menon
TV umpire: Rusere
Fourth umpire: Raza
Referee: Srinath
Full T20 World Cup officials appointments: Click here
Sweltering conditions are anticipated in the UAE again, with temperatures hitting 33 degrees Celsius.
Follow the Met Office forecast here.
Yes, though Covid protocols including the wearing of face masks will be in place.
Click here to visit the ICC's ticketing site.
Team balance will be key and Australia might have the edge here with their clutch of impressive allrounders. South Africa just to be beaten.
T20 WORLD CUP TEAM GUIDES
Sky Sports Cricket (Sky 404, Talk Talk 404, BT TV 423, Virgin 504) will broadcast the series in the United Kingdom, with the content available online via its streaming platform Sky Go.
BBC Radio Five Live Sports Extra will have live ball-by-ball radio commentary of all tournament matches, accessible through the BBC Sport website, BBC Sounds or DAB radio.
The Star Sports network is showing the tournament in India. Matches can be streamed via Disney+ Hotstar
Other broadcasters by territory:
Australia - Fox Sports, Channel 9, Kayo Sports
New Zealand – Sky Sport New Zealand
Pakistan - PTV Sports, Ten Sports
Bangladesh - Ghazi Tv (GTV)
Sri Lanka – SLRC (Channel Eye)
South Africa – SuperSport
Caribbean – ESPN
Middle East and North Africa – eLife TV, StarzPlay, Switch TV
USA – ESPN+
Singapore - Star Cricket, Star Hub and Singtel
Malaysia - Fox International Channels
Hong Kong - Star Cricket
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins (vc), Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade (wk), David Warner, Adam Zampa
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen,, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen.
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
South Africa: Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma (c), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Wiaan Mulder, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi
T20 World Cup Hub: News, features, stats, live scores
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