Australia vs South Africa
Dubai, 6pm local time
Team Australia: Alyssa Healy (capt & wk), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Heather Graham, Tayla Vlaeminck (eliminated)
The South African team: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Sune Luus, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Seshnie Naidu, Tumi Sekhukhune , Chloe Tryon
Tournament form guide: Australia are unbeaten in this T20 World Cup, winning all four of their matches so far. In their final group game, they beat India in a high-octane fashion by nine runs. The local team has a record of 3-1 as they lost in the second game of this tournament in England.
Short stories: Australia were without captain Alyssa Healy for their match against India. He arrived at the match in Sharjah on crutches with a foot injury when he scored 37 against Pakistan on Friday. Tahlia McGrath led the team in her absence, with Ellyse Perry taking the reins and Beth Mooney keeping wicket. Fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck, who suffered a shoulder injury while returning from the T20 World Cup against Pakistan, has been ruled out of the tournament as Heather Graham has been named as her replacement. Grace Harris and Darcie Brown came into the playing XI as substitutes for India.
South Africa have no injury concerns and are unlikely to make any changes to their winning streak. Their record against Australia is not good, as they have won one of the 10 T20Is they have played against each other. Their first win came in Canberra in January this year in a bilateral series. South Africa has never won a single World Cup match against Australia by any means. Thursday will be a rematch of the T20 World Cup final, where South Africa lost badly in front of the home crowd in Cape Town.
South Africa have played three matches in Dubai in this tournament while Australia have played one match – against Pakistan – at this venue. The average first innings score is 126, India posted their highest total of 172 against Sri Lanka last Wednesday.
Player to watch: He uses paceman Megan Schutt who has experience with missy spells that have been crucial in all of Australia’s victories. He started the tournament with 3 for 12 against Sri Lanka on a spin-friendly track, finished with impressive figures of 3 for 3 against New Zealand and followed it up with 1 for 7 from his three overs against Pakistan in Dubai. Against India, he conceded 24 runs in his first three overs but turned the game on its head in the 17th over by conceding one run, leaving India 40 off 18 balls.
Tazmin Brits’ strong start has been among the best in South Africa. After not out for 57 to start the tournament, he crossed 40 runs in each of his last two matches. Against Bangladesh, on a slower track, he played a patient innings of 42 off 41 balls to help South Africa to a comfortable win. He also played a key role in South Africa’s first and only win against Australia earlier this year, scoring 41 runs off 28 with eight fours in a chase of 143.
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