Australia won the toss and opted to bowl against South Africa in the series-deciding fifth and final one-day international at the Wanderers Stadium on Sunday.

Even though Australia had lost two games in a row after putting South Africa in, captain Mitchell Marsh said he decided to bowl in the only day game of the series because he thought the weather would be good early on.

“It’s an early start and a little bit tacky underfoot,” said Marsh.

Asked about his message to the team, he said: “It’s a big one. Let’s compete and trust our game plan.”

South Africa’s captain, Temba Bavuma, was back in charge after missing Friday’s 164-run win in Centurion in the fourth match because of a strained thigh.

“There might be a little assistance (for the bowlers) in the morning but we have a job to do with the bat. We have spoken about being bold and fearless and it’s another opportunity for us to challenge ourselves,” said Bavuma.

Travis Head, Australia’s first batter, couldn’t play because he broke a bone in his left hand when he was hit by a ball from Gerald Coetzee in Centurion.

Cameron Green, an all-rounder, came back to the Australian team after missing three games due to a concussion he got in the first game.

Teams:

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (capt), Quinton de Kock (wkt), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Andile Phehlukwayo, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi.

Australia: Mitchell Marsh (capt), David Warner, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (wkt), Cameron Green, Tim David, Sean Abbott, Michael Neser, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa.

Photo by Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix