SOUTH AFRICA TOUR OF AUSTRALIA, 2025
A ton from Brevis helped South Africa force a decider in Cairns. © Getty
Tim David’s 52-ball 83 lit up the first T20I. Dewald Brevis’ 125 not out off 56 shot the lights out in the second. But the circus has moved from Darwin in the Northern Territory – where both of those games were played – to Cairns in Queensland, and that might make all the difference.
The venue for the series’ deciding match comes with an interesting backstory. It will be played at Cazaly’s Stadium, which honours Roy Cazaly, a much loved Aussie rules footballer from the pre-AFL Victorian Football League days.
“Up There Cazaly!” A song by The Two-Man Band, or Mike Brady and Peter Sullivan, that was created in 1979 as part of the VFL’s marketing campaign has become something of an unofficial anthem for the sport itself and is played at AFL grand finals.
For your edification, here’s the first rendition of the chorus: “Up there Cazaly! In there and fight! Out there and at ’em! Show ’em your might! Up there Cazaly! Don’t let ’em in! Fly like an angel! You’re out there to win!”
The song’s title was taken from an old phrase that, when yelled with the right kind of gusto, is meant to cheer someone on. Australian soldiers used it as a battle cry during World War II.
So will it be “Up There David!” or “Up There Brevis!” in Cairns on Saturday? Maybe neither. Runs haven’t come easily in white-ball cricket at Cazaly’s, as detailed below. Indeed, Cairns itself is known as the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. Might it also be the barrier to the kind of free-flowing run-scoring that has become central to T20 cricket? Maybe not. As Aiden Markram suggests further below, the modern approach to batting boldly goes where older iterations of the game have feared to tread.
What’s a bowler to do? Take the pace off, for a start. The series might have been over as a contest already had the South Africans not reverted to a slew of slower balls in the second game. That robbed the wind from the Aussie batters’ sails, and helped seal victory by 53 runs.
For similar reasons, spin is likely to be a telling factor in the decider. Expect to see more slow poison than we have so far.
Even so, given what we’ve seen in the series so far the bowlers might need some encouragement. Here it is in the shape of a verse from “Up There Cazaly!”:
“Now there’s a lot more to football,
“Than really meets the eye,
“There are days when you could give it up,
“There are days when you could fly,
“You either love or hate it,
“Depending on the score,
“But when your team run out or they kick a goal,
“How’s the mighty roar?
When: August 15, 2025; 6.45pm Local Time (11.15am SAT, 9.15am GMT, 2.45pm IST)
Where: Cazaly’s Stadium, Cairns
What to expect: This is the first T20I at a ground that has hosted five ODIs. The most recent of them came in a three-match series between Australia and New Zealand in September 2022. Australia’s 267/5 in the third game was the highest first innings and New Zealand were bowled out for 82 in the second.
Team news:
Australia:
Mitchell Owen was concussed by a delivery from Kagiso Rabada that he edged into the grille of his helmet in the second match in Darwin. That might mean Aaron Hardie gets a go. Josh Inglis should return after missing the same match because of flu. Josh Hazlewood could earn a break if Matthew Kuhnemann is picked as a second spinner.
Possible XI: Mitchell Marsh (capt), Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Tim David, Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Matthew Kuhnemann.
South Africa: The venue and thus the conditions have changed, but the visitors might stick with the XI who levelled the series in Darwin. Or include an extra spinning option in George Linde.
Possible XI: Aiden Markram (capt), Ryan Rickelton, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, Corbin Bosch, George Linde, Kagiso Rabada, Nqaba Peter, Kwena Maphaka.
What they said:
“It’s such a hard team to crack into. I’ll be trying to take my opportunity when it comes.” – Aaron Hardie on life as a fringe player at international level.
“You see the ball flying around and you’re like, ‘I’m not sure I want to be a bowler.’ But there’ll be occasions when you feel the pitch might be on the slower side or might offer something and you take that punt. But the other way I try to operate is to go on my gut feel, run with that and reflect on what could and should have been after the game.” – Aiden Markram captures the essence of T20 batting, bowling and captaincy.
© Cricbuzz
