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South Africa have won their past two Test series in Australia. But the loss of champion batsman AB de Villiers now leaves them as outsiders to win the three-Test series which starts in Perth this month.
The Proteas had shaped as extremely tough opponents and that series still is unlikely to be easy for Australia, with South Africa boasting a fearsome pace attack. But it is impossible to overstate the importance of the loss de Villiers, who was this week ruled out of the tour to Australia, needing surgery on an injured elbow.
The South African skipper is as good as any batsman in the Test format. He has a wonderful Test record against Australia, with 1641 runs at 48, including five centuries. In South Africa’s consecutive series wins in Australia, De Villiers was phenomenal, cracking 519 runs at 58 across the six Tests.
A fantastically versatile batsman, de Villiers is able to change gears seamlessly within an innings or a match. He can switch from stonewalling to slaughtering as if it is the simplest thing in the world.
This is a truly rare ability and one which has made him even more valuable to his team than his career Test average of 50 would suggest.
Never was this unique talent highlighted better than across his past two Tests in Australia. In his most recent Test down under, de Villiers went ballistic at Perth, thrashing 169 at nearly a run-a-ball as the Proteas rolled over Australia to win the series.
The previous week he had dead batted for hour after hour, crawling to 33 from 220 balls to help save the Adelaide Test. They were two astonishing yet oh-so-different innings. I cannot think of another batsman in Test cricket currently who could produce such displays back-to-back.
In this way he adds amazing balance to the South African batting line-up. Few players are better at shoring things up after a collapse or, alternatively, laying waste to an attack.
Australian spearhead Mitchell Starc will have most of the South African batsmen worried after his remarkable returns in the past 12 months.
Fresh from hoarding 24 wickets at 15 in the Test series in Sri Lanka, Starc is arguably the most intimidating bowler in the world. He wouldn’t have worried de Villiers though. When Mitchell Johnson was bowling at a level rarely seen in cricket history back in 2014, de Villiers played him with ease.
As Australia beat the Proteas 2-1 in South Africa early in 2014, Johnson ran roughshod over the home batsmen, snaring 22 wickets in three Tests. He bullied every South African batsman apart from de Villiers, who looked in complete control.
The Australian pacemen will be very relieved they don’t have to bowl to the South African legend this summer. It leaves the Proteas with a vulnerable batting line-up. It places a huge burden on the shoulders of his teammate Hashim Amla, who also has a dominant Test record against Australia, with 1280 runs at 51.
Beyond Amla, however, the South African batting looks thin. Rookie Stephen Cook is likely to open with Dean Elgar, who floundered against Australia last time around, averaging 18 with the bat from three Tests.
Veterans Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy both had great starts to their Test career but have underachieved for several years now in the Test format. After Amla, South Africa’s next best batsman is wicketkeeper Quentin de Kock, who carted for a magnificent 178 in the first ODI on Friday. The problem is that de Kock typically bats down at six or seven.
The hole left at four by de Villiers is massive. If Australia are able to limit the influence of Amla it is hard to imagine how the Proteas can win their third Test series on the trot in Australia.