South Africa v Australia 1st T20 International betting preview, tips

Australia are heavily favoured to defeat South Africa in the first T20 International at The Wanderers on Friday, but the Proteas have a great chance to catch them cold.

This is WGL’s odds update and tips for the first South Africa v Australia T20 International at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, on February 21.

South Africa are coming off an intense limited-overs series against England and will have raucous support as always at the infamous “Bullring”.

Much of the action could take place off the field with Australian batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner playing in South Africa for the first time since being banned for a year for their roles in the Sandpapergate controversy.

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Warner and Smith could not have picked a worse ground to return to in South Africa and can expect plenty of heckling from the stands which make it a cauldron-like atmosphere. But the star pair have been toughened up by the ICC World Cup and Ashes series in England in 2019 when they were subjected to plenty of abuse.

“South African fans are very passionate, they are very vocal,” Australian captain Aaron Finch told AAP. “Our guys are expecting that. David especially loves that banter coming from the crowd and it gets him into the game.”

But to the cricket and South Africa will certainly be competitive and we see little value in betting on Australia at the $1.62 quote. T20 cricket is an unpredictable game at the best of times.

Read on for our South Africa v Australia tips and odds update for the first T20 International at The Wanderers being played on Friday.

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South Africa v Australia series schedule

T20 Internationals
Friday, Feb 21: South Africa v Australia, 1st T20I, The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, 6pm (local time), 3am (February 22) AEDT
Sunday, Feb 23: South Africa v Australia, 2nd T20I, St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth, 2.30pm (local time), 11.30pm AEDT
Wednesday, Feb 26: South Africa v Australia, 3rd T20I, Newlands, Cape Town, 6pm (local time), 3am (February 27) AEDT

One-day Internationals
Saturday, Feb 29: South Africa v Australia, 1st ODI, Boland Park, Paarl, 1pm (local time), 10pm AEDT
Wednesday, Mar 04: South Africa v Australia, 2nd ODI, Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein, 1pm (local time), 10pm AEDT
Saturday, Mar 07: South Africa v Australia, 3rd ODI, Senwes Park, Potchefstroom, 10am (local time), 7pm AEDT

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Squads for South Africa v Australia

South Africa squad
Quinton de Kock (captain, wk), Temba Bavuma, Faf du Plessis, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Pite van Biljon, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Jon-Jon Smuts, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi, Bjorn Fortuin, Anrich Nortje, Dale Steyn, Heinrich Klaasen.

Australia T20I squad
Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (vice-captain), Mitchell Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’arcy Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

Australia ODI squad
Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (vice-captain), Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Kane Richardson, D’arcy Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

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South Africa v Australia 1st T20 odds

Head to head odds: South Africa $2.25, Australia $1.62

Man of the match odds:
$8 David Warner
$8.50 Quinton de Kock
$9 Aaron Finch
$10 Steve Smith
$11 Faf du Plessis
$13 Mitchell Starc, D’Arcy Short, Jon Jon Smuts
$15 Rassie van der Dussen, Pat Cummins
$17 Adam Zampa, Kagiso Rabada, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi
$21 Alex Carey, Andile Phehlukwayo, Jhye Richardson, Heinrich Klaasen, Sean Abbott, Dwaine Pretorius, Pite van Biljon, Kane Richardson
$26 Ashton Agar, Anrich Nortje, Dale Steyn, Tabraiz Shamsi
$34 Bjorn Fortuin

Top batsman South Africa odds:
$3.25 Quinton de Kock
$4.50 Faf du Plessis
$5 Rassie van der Dussen
$5.50 David Miller, Jon Jon Smuts
$8 Heinrich Klaasen, Pite van Biljon

Top batsman Australia odds:
$3.50 David Warner
$3.75 Aaron Finch
$4.50 Steve Smith, D’Arcy Short
$7 Matthew Wade
$8 Alex Carey
$9 Mitchell Marsh

Top bowler South Africa odds:
$4 Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
$4.50 Dale Steyn, Anrich Nortje
$5 Bjorn Fortuin, Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabraiz Shamsi

Top bowler Australia odds:
$3.75 Mitchell Starc
$4 Pat Cummins
$4.50 Adam Zampa
$5 Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson
$5.50 Sean Abbott
$6 Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Agar
$9 D’Arcy Short

* Full odds available at Betway.com.

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South Africa v Aus 1st T20 betting tips

Here are the WGL’s betting tips for the SA v Aus T20 on Friday, February 21. For more information check out our guide to betting on cricket.

Aaron Finch top scorer for Australia at $3.75

Finch won’t have to put up with the heat that his opening partner Warner will face. They are both among the world’s premier T20 batsman and they will get first crack at an attack that struggled a little to contain the English hitters in the recent T20 and ODI series. Finch is usually good out of the gates too, so we are happy to be on him to top the charts for Australia.The Victorian is paying 3.75 to top the runs for the Aussies.

Lungi Ngidi most wickets for South Africa

The paceman carried the attack against England and is developing all the time as a high-class bowler. He has overcome a bad run of injuries and the continuity is really helping him blossom. South Africa regain Kagiso Rabada, who was rested from the England matches, and they could form a formidable duo. Ngidi’s odds are at 4.00, the same as Rabada, but we favour him in this market because he has more overs under his belt recently and bowling in T20s can take a few matches to reach top form.

Quinton de Kock to top-score for South Africa

There is not much more the captain could have done in a wonderful summer against England in all three formats. With his regular opening partner Temba Bavuma sidelined for this match, we think he will again rise to the extra responsibility. De Kock is a wonderful player now, truly world-class. De Kock is the short-priced favourite at 3.25 to top the runs for South Africa, but we’re jumping on anyway. South African can bet on De Kock at the top ZA betting sites.

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South Africa v Australia predictions – 1st T20, Feb 21, 2020

We are predicting a high-scoring game. Both teams are stacked with big hitters, and the ground is conducive to big scores. It should be a wonderful spectacle and while we expect Australia to win, we have focused our bets on the player markets. Good punting.

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