Big guns return for both sides as Mitch Marsh wins the toss and asks South Africa to bat first in Bloemfontein
Australia bowl first as World Cup prep begins
Australia captain Mitch Marsh has won the toss and chose to bowl first in the opening one-day international against South Africa in Bloemfontein.
Marsh's men are coming off an emphatic 3-0 sweep of the Proteas in the recent T20I series and will look to continue that strong form by making early inroads on a dry-looking strip.
South Africa XI: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
Australia XI: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (c), Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Josh Hazlewood spearheads the attack for Australia, who opted to go with dual spinners in Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar.
David Warner, who was rested from the T20 series, returns to open the batting with Travis Head, who belted 91 in the third game of that series to be named player of the match.
In-form Marsh, named player of the T20 series after averaging 186, will bat at first drop and continue as captain with regular skipper Pat Cummins (fractured hand) still unavailable.
Emerging allrounder Cameron Green is listed to bat at No.4 in the absence of Steve Smith, who is recovering from a wrist injury.
Temba Bavuma, South Africa's 50-over format captain, takes back the reins from T20 skipper Aiden Markram and will lead a far more formidable looking team than the one obliterated in the 20-over format last week.
Pace ace Kagiso Rabada, hard-hitting David Miller and classy wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock – who has announced he will be retiring from ODIs at the end of the upcoming World Cup – headline the Proteas' additions.
South Africa have won 11 of the last 12 ODIs between the two traditional powerhouses and lead 51-48 overall but the teams haven't played in the format since early in 2020.
2023 Qantas ODIs v South Africa
September 7: First ODI, Bloemfontein (D/N), 9pm AEST
September 9: Second ODI, Bloemfontein (D/N), 9pm AEST
September 12: Third ODI, Potchefstroom (D/N), 9pm AEST
September 15: Fourth ODI, Centurion (D/N), 9pm AEST
September 17: Fifth ODI, Johannesburg, 6pm AEST
Australia ODI squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Tanveer Sangha, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa
South Africa ODI squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Brjor Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Sisanda Magala, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada, Rassie van der Dussen