Be interested to see who they bring in for Kallis. They are losing two plays, firstly one of the finest batsmen of the modern era, but also a 4th seam option and someone who has near on 300 Test wickets to their name. For team balance I can't see the replacement being just a straight batsman. Whoever it is won't be anywhere near as good as him, so that weakens the Proteas side somewhat. He's also a very good slipper with 200 catches, so that's another aspect to think of too. I can see a re-shuffle of their batting order, either one of Du Plessis or Duminy will have to move to #4, keep AB at #5 and Duminy/Du Plessis at 6 with the new all-rounder at 7. I don't know enough of Sth African domestic cricket to tell who the Kallis replacement will be, but they have massive shoes to fill.
On Australia, it will be a big challenge, far bigger than the "effort" England have shown, in some ways this has been a soft series and maybe not the most ideal preparation to take on the #1 side in the world. I'm very keen to see how Johnson goes and whether he can back up this stellar summer. Also will be interesting to see how the likes of Rogers and Bailey will go there. I think Buck will do his job, as he has done since his recall, but for George failure here against Steyn and co. will spell the end of him as a Test player.
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Topic: South Africa vs Australia and Marcus North. (Read 2885 times)