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Allan Donald believes Australia’s batting is vulnerable, and even if Kagiso Rabada misses the three-match Test series for South Africa, the rest of the Proteas bowling unit can run through one of the weakest batting units Australia has produced in recent memory.“That top six is vulnerable,” the former Proteas spearhead, who faced Australia in 14 Tests and took 53 wickets against them, said of the current crop of batters.“That is the most exposed I’ve seen an Australian batting lineup,” Donald added.Australia will name its squad for the Test series next week, with much of the debate set to be about the composition of the batting unit, which in the past two years has relied heavily on Steve Smith, Travis Head and Alex Carey.The retirement of openers David Warner in 2024, followed last season by Usman Khawaja, highlighted the lack of young top-order talent coming through the domestic system.Those concerns have been further worsened by Marnus Labuschagne’s struggles at No 3.The 32-year-old, Klerksdorp-born batter was this week omitted from Australia’s One-Day squad for their series against Zimbabwe and the Proteas, which precede the Tests. His Test place is also under scrutiny after more poor returns against Bangladesh recently, where he scored 1, 31 and 4.That led to calls, among others from former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, for him to be dropped.Labuschagne has averaged 25.43 in the past 22 Tests he has played since 2023.That period included three knocks as opener, an illustration of the problems Australia has had in solidifying the top order.Donald acknowledged that the probable absence of Rabada from the series will be welcomed by the Australian batters but added that Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi and whoever the Proteas choose as a third seamer will be good enough to put pressure on Pat Cummins’ team.Rabada picked up a hamstring injury in preparation for the series, with Cricket South Africa confirming he will miss the ODI series against the Australians that starts on September 24, but that his readiness for the Tests will be determined by how his rehabilitation progresses.Donald, who had been working with Rabada in his role as DP World Lions bowling coach, with the aim of including him for the Lions’ opening First Class Series match next week, told Rapport that the extent of Rabada’s injury meant he would also miss the Test series.“KG brings an extra edge, and I know Australia fear and respect him a lot. If he is missing, that will be a big blow. But I do think, even with KG maybe out, that our bowling attack is good enough to expose that Australian lineup,” said Donald.The Test series, which starts in Durban on October 9, is the first time the teams have met since South Africa beat Australia in the World Test Championship final last year.The sides are in the top two spots on the current World Test Championship points table but both face tricky schedules as they target a rematch at The Oval in June next year.
