All you need to know: Australia v South Africa T20Is

T20 series facts  

Who: Australia v South Africa

What: Three-match T20I series

When and where: January 27 and 28 at Manuka Oval (10.45am AEDT) and January 30 at Blundstone Arena (7.05pm AEDT).

How to watch or listen in Australia: Channel Seven, Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports and ABC radio

Live scores: Match Centre  

Highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au, the CA Live app, the Scoop Podcast  

The squads

Australia: Alyssa Healy (c), Darcie Brown, Heather Graham, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris*, Jess Jonassen, Alana King**, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham *T20s only | **ODIs only

South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Mieke de Ridder (wk), Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Suné Luus, Eliz-Mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Chloe Tryon, Delmi Tucker

Alyssa Healy will lead an experienced Australian group into their first-ever multi-format series against South Africa, with selectors naming a 15-player squad for the white-ball legs of the series, which is unchanged from the one that has just returned from India.

There will be 14 players available for the T20I leg, which includes Grace Harris, while she drops out of the mix and is replaced by Alana King for the ODIs.

Fans in Australia will be familiar with South Africa’s biggest names, who are regulars in the Weber WBBL.

Laura Wolvaardt and her trademark exquisite cover drives will arrive ready to play a critical role for the Proteas with the bat across all three formats, and Marizanne Kapp and Chloe Tryon are both dominant all-round forces while Nadine de Klerk has uncovered new levels to her game in the last 12 months.

There is depth beyond the Big Bash regulars. Left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba is ranked among the world’s top T20 bowlers and will be eagerly looking forward to her first opportunity to play in Australia. Then there’s Tazmin Brits, a former junior javelin world champion who became a breakout star for the Proteas at the T20 World Cup. A horror car crash ended Brits’ Olympic dreams in 2011, but having found her way into cricket following her recovery, the 32-year-old late bloomer is now a mainstay at the top of the order.

Possibly the biggest weakness for South Africa is the players who are not part of this series. Shabnim Ismail retired from international cricket following the T20 World Cup, while the leadership nous and all-round skills of Dane van Niekerk, who also retired in early 2023, is another loss. They join Lizelle Lee and Mignon du Preez as superstars of the game who have walked away from the Proteas in recent years, handing recently appointed captain Wolvaardt the task of helping her team to navigate a new era in South African cricket.

Recent form

Australia are in T20 mode, having recently returned from their all-format tour of India which concluded with a 2-1 T20I series win in Mumbai.

The Aussies were forced to fight their way back into that series after being thrashed by nine wickets in the first game, and did so in style, chasing 131 and 148 to secure the trophy.

South Africa were last in action in December, when they hosted Bangladesh in three T20Is and three ODIs.

They split the 20-over matches 1-1 with the second game washed out, while Bangladesh stunned the Proteas in the first 50-over game, winning by 119 runs, before the hosts recovered to claim the series 2-1.

The multi-format tour

Australia and South Africa are set to meet in three T20Is, three ODIs and the first ever Test between the teams over the course of then next few weeks. It will feature the same overall points system that is employed in the Ashes, with two points on offer for each white-ball win and four for victory in the Test.

Last time they met

The last time Australia played South Africa it was at a sold-out Newlands in the T20 World Cup final. That was last February, when Meg Lanning raised the trophy above her head in triumph after her team defended 6-156 to seal a 19-run win. This time, the Proteas have arrived in Australia determined to create history and spoil the world champions on their own turf.

Local knowledge

The teams have never met in a T20I at Manuka Oval, and their sole T20I on Australian soil was the 2020 T20 World Cup semi-final at the SCG, which saw the hosts claim a thrilling five-run rain-affected win.

South Africa have played Australia twice in ODIs at Manuka Oval, with the hosts winning on both occasions in 2016. The Proteas have played on T20I at the ground, thrashing Thailand by 113 runs during the group stage of the 2020 World Cup.

Australia have, perhaps surprisingly, only won four out of nine T20Is at Manuka Oval, with all five defeats coming against England. They have won their last two completed games at the venue, against India and Bangladesh in 2020, while last summer’s fixture at the ground against Pakistan was washed out.

The forecast

Canberra looks set for a warm and sunny weekend with tops of 29 and 30 degrees Celsius forecast for Saturday and Sunday.

Hobart is currently expected to be 25 and overcast for Tuesday’s series finale.

Head-to-head in T20Is

Overall: Australia 7 wins, South Africa 0 wins

In Australia: Australia 1 wins, South Africa 0

Most runs: Trisha Chetty (125), Beth Mooney (122), Laura Wolvaardt (121), Alex Blackwell (115), Meg Lanning (96)

Most wickets: Shabnim Ismail (11), Shelley Nitschke (6), Marizanne Kapp (5), Ellyse Perry (5), Sunette Loubser (5)

The bigger picture

Australia may have won a T20 World Cup just last February, but planning is well underway for the next edition, to be held in Bangladesh in September-October. For both teams, this is an ideal chance to finetune their plans for that tournament against quality opposition.

Rapid stats

• Australia have won seven of their last eight home T20Is at home, with their only defeat in that span a seven-wicket loss to West Indies last October
• South Africa have won only one of their last nine women’s T20Is away from home, defeating Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in August 2022
• Australia held 100 per cent of catching chances in their last T20I against India, ending an eight-match streak in format where they had dropped at least one catch each game
• Georgia Wareham is one game away from becoming the 15th player to reach 50 appearances for Australia in women’s T20Is. The leg-spinner is also won wicket away from becoming the seventh woman to take 50 T20I wickets for Australia
• Sune Luus is one wicket away from 50 in T20Is, but has never taken a wicket against Australia
• Laura Wolvaardt has scored 463 runs at an average of 66.1 across her last nine T20I innings, including five half-centuries in that span.

Women's CommBank T20I Series v South Africa

January 27: First T20, Manuka Oval, Canberra 10.45am

January 28: Second T20, Manuka Oval, Canberra 10.45am

January 30: Third T20, Blundstone Arena, Hobart 7.05pm

Women's CommBank ODI Series v South Africa

February 3: First ODI, Adelaide Oval, 2.10pm

February 7: Second ODI, North Sydney Oval, 2.40pm

February 10: Third ODI, North Sydney Oval, 2.40pm

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Darcie Brown, Heather Graham, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris*, Jess Jonassen, Alana King**, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham *T20s only | **ODIs only

South Africa squad (T20Is & ODIs): Laura Wolvaardt (c), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Mieke de Ridder (wk), Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Suné Luus, Eliz-Mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Chloe Tryon, Delmi Tucker

Women's CommBank Test Match v South Africa

February 15-18: Only Test, WACA Ground, Perth 11.00am