Cricket-Slow Newlands wicket will test Australia in 288 chase, says Rickelton

Oct 30 (Reuters) - Australia will have to ⁠overcome South Africa’s vaunted pace attack and the guile of spinner Simon Harmer ⁠on a slow wicket at Newlands on Saturday if they are to clinch ‌the three-match series, RyanRickelton said.

South African wicketkeeper-batsman Rickelton scored his third test century on Friday to go with Wiaan Mulder's 115 as the home side set Australia a daunting 288 for victory on a deteriorating wicket on the final ​day.

Adding to tourist's task is the fact that scoring ⁠with the older ball is hard.

"It definitely ⁠felt quite slow, and when the ball was soft it was difficult to beat the ⁠infield,” ‌Rickelton told reporters at the close of the fourth day. "With the new ball, there are runs available, but there are wickets available as well.

"The bounce was a little ⁠two-paced, although we didn't see too many balls staying low, unfortunately ​from our point of ‌view.

"I think it's going to be a grind. For Australia to score at three ⁠runs an over ​throughout the day would be a big ask on a slower, lower and deteriorating wicket."

Harmer will be key to the South Africa's chances with rough patches outside the off-stump for the right-handers.

"It was a lot ⁠easier for me as a left-hander because there wasn't ​much turn from the straight areas of the pitch,” Rickelton said.

"When the off-spinner went wider and bowled into the rough, trying to lure me into playing outside off stump, there was a much ⁠greater chance of an edge or a dismissal.

"I'm actually surprised there isn't more turn from the straight, considering the (hot) weather we've had in Cape Town over the last few days. For the right-handers, though, that ball turning back in can be vicious.”

The series is level at 1-1 ​after Australia won the first test in Durban and South ⁠Africa bounced back in Gqeberha.

"It's been a special series. It's ebbed and flowed across all three games,”Rickelton ​said. “Both teams have got ahead at different stages, only ‌for the other to fight back. There have been ​mistakes and some really good cricket as well.

“Hopefully it comes down to a really good day for South Africa tomorrow.”

(Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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10 月 30 日（路透社）——瑞安·里克尔顿表示，如果澳大利亚想要赢得这场三场系列赛，他们必须在周六新地球场的慢速球场上克服南非强大的快速进攻和旋转投手西蒙·哈默的狡猾投球。

南非击球手兼守门员里克尔顿周五打出了他的第三个测试赛世纪，加上维安·穆尔德的 115 分，主队在最后一天球场状况恶化的情况下，为澳大利亚设定了 288 分的艰巨胜利目标。

雪上加霜的是，用旧球得分很困难。

“感觉球速确实很慢，球很软的时候很难攻破内场，”里克尔顿在第四天比赛结束后告诉记者。“用新球的话，虽然有机会得分，但也有机会拿下三柱门。”

“球的弹跳有点不均匀，虽然从我们的角度来看，不幸的是，我们没有看到太多球保持低弹跳。”

“我认为这将是一场苦战。在场地速度较慢、坡度较低且不断恶化的情况下，澳大利亚队想要全天保持每局3分的得分速度，将是一个很大的挑战。”

哈默尔对于南非队来说至关重要，因为右撇子击球手在外侧球门柱附近会遇到一些困难。

“作为一名左撇子，这对我来说容易得多，因为球的直道区域旋转幅度不大，”里克尔顿说。

“当右旋球投手将球投到外侧粗糙区域，试图引诱我击打外侧球门柱时，击球边缘或被淘汰的几率就大得多。”

“考虑到开普敦这几天炎热的天气，我其实挺惊讶直道上的球旋转幅度不大。不过，对于右撇子击球手来说，这种内旋球可是相当棘手的。”

在澳大利亚赢得德班的第一场测试赛后，南非在格贝哈扳回一城，系列赛比分变为 1-1 平。

“这是一场特别的系列赛。三场比赛跌宕起伏，”里克尔顿说。“两队都曾在不同阶段取得领先，但又都被对方反超。比赛中既有失误，也有精彩的板球表演。”

“希望明天对南非来说是个好日子。”

（Nick Said报道，Pritha Sarkar编辑）

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