Can South Africa's bowling attack challenge Australia's batsmen?

With the cynical preparation of pitches to suit and accentuate the skillset of home teams, incompleteness characterises Test cricket in this era.

Such wallpapering over the cracks often leads to team weaknesses being exposed in foreign confines.

Figures show Australia’s batting is the poster child of this.

In the last ten home Tests, Australia has managed 6777 runs for the loss of 127 wickets, at an average of 53.36.

However, in the last ten away Tests, Australia has managed 5025 runs for the loss of 163 wickets, at an average of 30.82 – a gaping disparity of 22.54 runs per wicket.

The team itself has averaged 419.46 runs at home and just 239.88 runs away from home.

That’s a difference of 179.58 runs per innings.

The career home-and-away splits of the team’s top six batsmen make for difficult reading.

On the eve of the first Test against South Africa, much of the intrigue revolves around whether the vaunted Protea bowling line-up can challenge Australia’s batting excellence.

It was thought the New Zealand attack of last year would prove a threat, only for the Australians’ bats to blast them into oblivion. The Kiwi pacemen had the skill but lacked the penetration that pace provides, and were bereft of a viable spinner.

The South African trio of Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel have undoubted talent, and all are capable of getting the ball through at over 140km/h, with the young firebrand Rabada occasionally approaching 150km/h and beyond.

This should leave the advantages of the pitches neutralised, setting up a more tantalising traditional battle between bat and ball.

The duo of Steyn and Rabada stand out in the South African attack, with the ageing legend Steyn looking primed for one last epic performance, coinciding with the new boy Rabada, who is set to fully announce his arrival as a superstar.

Despite Steyn identifying Steve Smith as the pillar of Australia’s batting in the press, the obvious target is Dave Warner, given the pivotal role he fulfils at the top of the order. The cavalier opener routinely sets the summer ablaze by butchering opposition bowling attacks and priming the rest of the batting line-up to thrive.

This sets a trend for the series and pushes a tidal wave of momentum in Australia’s favour.

The South Africans have memories of torment at the hands of Warner and how they try to limit him will be intriguing. They must attack him from ball one with the intimidation of either Rabada or Morkel, coupled with the peerless calibre of Steyn.

Any thoughts of the new ball being given to Vernon Philander will be a grave mistake, as it will merely facilitate Warner.

If they can collar Warner, it will make limiting the impact of the other high-calibre batsmen in the line-up, such as Smith, easier.

The Aussie captain is an irresistible force at home, yet his quirk of stepping across his stumps always makes him an obvious LBW candidate. Smith’s eagle eye and trust in the trueness of home pitches counters his obvious flaw, but when facing a bowler like Steyn, who makes the ball talk at pace, it will not be so easy.

It will be interesting to see whether spin can play a role too, given Australia’s obvious weakness against the turning ball.

The pitches make it difficult, but the left-arm chinaman Tabraiz Shamsi could be a joker in the deck, with his hard to read variations and control. With three left-handers in the Australian top six and Shamsi spinning the ball away from them, it would not surprise if he were to have an impact in the series.

Let’s hope he is selected and given a chance to impress.