australia cricket
Usman Khawaja is a key player for Australia in the absence of David Warner Getty

Australia take on South Africa in the seventh match of the tri-nation series at Kensington Oval, Barbados on 19 June (Sunday).

Where to watch live

Match starts at 6pm BST/10.30pm IST. Live coverage of the game is available on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports 2 HD in the UK.

Overview

The first leg of the West Indies tri-Nation tournament saw some exciting cricket being played, despite the surfaces at St Kitts and Guyana in particular being on the slower side, which helped the spinners and slow bowlers to dominate.

The series now moves to Barbados where the conditions are expected to favour the batsman and with the series delicately poised it is sure to make for an exciting contest. The Australians come into this clash in second place on the points table with nine points from four games played. In fact both of their losses have come against hosts West Indies, which is not good news for their opponents on 18 June.

The World Champions have not been at their best in the competition; the consistency that we come to expect from them is missing, with them oscillating between good and ordinary performances. The absence of opener David Warner due to injury has hurt them immensely, but they still have enough firepower in the batting department to cover for him.

Their bowling has been good to watch, with all the bowlers contributing at crucial moments. The star though has been leg-spinner Adam Zampa, who has picked up nine wickets in just four games at an average of 19.33 with a strike rate of 21.6. Zampa has been compared to the legendary Shane Warne, and though he is still at the start of his career, the control and variations at his disposal are exciting to watch for the audience.

Their opponents South Africa find themselves on top of the points table after a convincing win against West Indies on 15 June. The Proteas riding on Hashim Amla's knock of 110 thrashed the hosts by 139 runs to claim a bonus point in the process. Amla provided the platform but the damage was done by spinner Imran Tahir who claimed figures of 7/45, his best figures in ODI cricket and the best by a South African in the one-day format.

The discussion on inclusion of cricketers of colour has been debated widely in South Africa and actions to make it better have been seen in this series, with seven cricketers of colour taking the field in their last game.

Pace bowler Morne Morkel, who surprisingly is yet to play a match, might get a game with Kagiso Rabada most likely to give way.

Prediction

South Africa to win

Betting odds (888sport)

  • Australia to win: 14/19
  • South Africa to win: 11/10

Team news

Australia

Possible XI: Usman Khawaja, Aaron Finch, Steve Smith (c), George Bailey, Mitchell Marsh, Travis Head, Mathew Wade (wk), James Faulkner, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazelwood

South Africa

Possible XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers (c), JP Duminy, Farhaan Behardien, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Imran Tahir, Morne Morkel.

South Africa Australia