Proteas batting under the microscope as Australia appear stronger in that department

South Africa’s batsmen look like no match for their Australian counterparts on paper, but a deeper look reveals it’s closer than it initially appears.

South Africa’s and Australia’s bowlers are fairly evenly matched, so the battle for the World Test Championship (WTC) mace is likely to come down to whose batters perform best. On the face of it, Australia’s batters are far superior.

The Proteas are in the process of a hit-out against Zimbabwe in a warm-up match in Arundel in Sussex in preparation for the WTC final.

All of the batters got a chance to be out in the middle and face a red leather ball for the first time since their New Year’s Test at Newlands.

Three batters passed 50 before retiring — Ryan Rickelton (62), Temba Bavuma (58) and Tristan Stubbs (58). The only batters to be dismissed were Aiden Markram (13) and Wiaan Mulder (26) as the team posted 313 with nine players padding and facing up.