Aus vs SA 2022-23 – Festive season comes alive as cricket’s most abrasive rivalry resumes

In the home corner, in the off-white with yellow trim, with the leading two batters and top-ranked bowler in the long format, the World Test Championship table-toppers Australia, await their next bout.

In the away corner, with pristine white shirts and no team sponsor, with only one superstar in their squad whose shine has dimmed somewhat, are second-placed South Africa, tiptoeing into the ring.

Prior to Sandpapergate, South African players had been caught tampering three times in as many years, Faf du Plessis twice (in 2013 and 2016, the latter as captain) and Vernon Philander in 2014, and were defended, not punished, by their board. In du Plessis’ cases, CSA mounted the everybody-does-it-defence strongly; in Philander’s, they threatened the broadcaster not to air footage of him gouging the ball with his thumbnail. It was shown anyway and Philander was fined 75% of his match fee but there was no contrition from South Africa. To see the Australians launch an investigation, to hear their prime minister speak on the matter and to discover the sentences handed out to the guilty was bemusing for South Africans. There are actual criminals in this country that get off lighter.

That may seem surprising because, on the face of it, Australians and South Africans would appear to be quite similar. They’re both from sunny, outdoorsy places with the best beaches the world has to offer, and they both regard the ceremony of cooking meat over open coals (the Aussies say barbecue, the Saffers say braai) as a social occasion. Their cricket teams are built on big, bad fast bowlers and a crew of steady batters, with the occasional sensational one. They are the teams that made fielding as much a discipline of the game as batting and bowling and put emphasis on fitness before others did. But, like oil and water, though South Africa and Australia’s cricket teams have obvious similarities in structure and consistency, there’s some things about them that just don’t mix.

Australia have always had more bite and bark than South Africa. They are the inventors and masters of the sledge. Over the years, South Africa have tried to match them but until they started beating Australia, their words had little effect. And then in 2018, they had maximum effect, but we’ve already covered that ground. Similarly, South Africa have attempted to match Australia’s body language, and again, in 2018 it went too far.

There’s some irony in all this because Australia is a place where South African cricketers have reported being racially abused, and a place that became a popular immigration destination for mostly white South Africans as Apartheid was being dismantled. Australia are also a step ahead when it comes to recognising indigenous rights. Australia’s players stand in a barefoot circle before all home matches, in acknowledgment of the indigenous land which they occupy. In South Africa, discussions around the recognition of the Khoi and San people (the First Nations’ people of the geographic areas of the Western and Northern Cape) remain in their infancy.

All that may sound like too much intellectualising, but take it as a palate-cleanser before what we could see plenty of over the next few weeks: emotion. This series is going to be full of it. Recent history means it’s unavoidable and the current context makes it inevitable. On paper, this is Test cricket’s closest rivalry – No.1 plays No.2 in a championship race – and even though in reality, the Ashes and series involving India could be considered bigger for both sides, the context to this series means it will be the headline act of the summer.

Labuschagne against Rabada and Anrich Nortje is the kind of story that could define the series. And there will be others. Smith and Warner’s comeback against the team who witnessed their lowest moment nearly five years ago is a must-watch; the contest between Cameron Green and Marco Jansen is as much about height as allrounder ability; and whether the spinners on either side, Nathan Lyon and Keshav Maharaj, will have a say is an interesting subplot. Whatever you’re doing this festive season, this series must be on your to-do list.