South Africa won the toss and decided to bat on Friday in the fourth and final Test of a series against Australia dominated by the ball-tampering scandal.
Soon-to-depart coach Darren Lehmann addressed his players in a huddle before play started as Australia tried to return to the normal business of cricket after a dramatic week in which their captain Steve Smith was banned for a year and Lehmann has said he will quit too after this match.
There were smiles as wicketkeeper Tim Paine was congratulated on becoming Australia’s 46th official Test captain.
Former Test batsman Adam Voges then spoke to the group and handed over a new baggy green cap to fast bowler Chadd Sayers, which was followed by a round of hugs.
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Leaders of both teams have spoken about the difficulties of preparing properly
Paine, who took over as Australian captain after a turbulent week, admitted: “It’s been a really difficult week. We’ve spoken internally and we’ve got a Test match on the line and a chance to level the series.
“It’s been a challenging week for the guys. We’ve spoken about looking after each other and keeping each other up for the contest. It is a privilege to be playing for Australia.”
Australia made four changes for the match at Wanderers Stadium. Joe Burns, Matt Renshaw and Peter Handscomb replaced banned batsmen Smith, Cameron Bancroft and David Warner while fast bowler Chadd Sayers, 30, came in for Mitchell Starc.
Paine said he would have preferred to bat. “It looks like a terrific wicket but there is a little bit of grass.”
“It looks a little different to a normal Wanderers wicket,” said South African captain Faf du Plessis.
“It’s a bit browner and a few cracks are starting to appear. Hopefully by the fourth day the cracks will open up and it starts to go up and down.”
South Africa named an unchanged team after winning the third Test in Cape Town to go 2-1 up in the series.
“Mitchell has been battling some injuries throughout the tour so we’ve decided to give him a
for the match in the wake of the events that have shaken world cricket and dragged the Australian team’s reputation through the mud.
“We’re not a hundred percent mentally right but we’re representing our country and we’ve got to get the ball rolling by playing the best cricket we possibly can,” Lehmann said before the match.
South African captain Faf du Plessis said the drama had affected the South Africans as well. “You actually feel drained. It’s important you don’t lose your mental edge,” he said.
South Africa lead the series 2-1.
With inputs from AFP