Australia’s one-day side opens a three-match series against South Africa at Kingsmead today, before moving to The Wanderers on Sunday and Potchefstroom’s JB Marks Oval next Wednesday. The Proteas go in with the edge. They lead the ODI head-to-head 57 to 52 and have won the last five bilateral series between the sides, including a 2-1 win in Australia in August 2025. 

So who have been the best one-day players in this rivalry since it began at the 1992 World Cup? Arguments about all-time players usually come down to reputation and nostalgia. This one comes down to a single number: what each player averaged against the other side in ODIs.

The rules are simple. Batters need at least 1 000 ODI runs against the opposition, and bowlers need at least 30 ODI wickets. Batters are ranked on runs per dismissal and bowlers on runs conceded per wicket. The six best batting averages and the five best bowling averages make the list, regardless of country.

The result is a group of players with a strong South African flavour. Seven of the 11 are South African, including four of the six batters and three of the five bowlers, while Australia's picks come from their golden era of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Of the 11 players, only David Miller could play this week.

The team, one to 11 

1. Faf du Plessis (South Africa)

Right-handed batter | Average: 54.00 | 1 080 runs in 22 ODIs (2011 to 2019) 

Du Plessis made five ODI centuries against Australia, more than any other South African. The best remembered came at Hobart in November 2018, where he made 125 and shared a stand of 252 with David Miller to set up a comfortable win. He averaged 54 against them at better than a run a ball in his later years.

2. AB de Villiers (South Africa)

Batter and wicketkeeper | Average: 59.52 | 1 250 runs in 26 ODIs (2006 to 2016) 

De Villiers has the best ODI average against Australia of anyone with 1 000 runs, and he got there at a strike rate of 99. Ten 50s in 25 innings tells you how rarely Australia got him cheaply. He kept wicket in plenty of these games, so he takes the gloves here too.

3. Hansie Cronje (South Africa)

Right-handed batter | Average: 47.03 | 1 364 runs in 39 ODIs (1992 to 1999) 

Cronje was South Africa's most reliable batter against Australia in the years after readmission, with two 100s and nine 50s. He captained the side in the tied 1999 World Cup semi-final at Edgbaston. His career ended in disgrace in 2000, when he admitted taking money from bookmakers and was banned for life, but on the numbers, he earns his place.

4. Steve Waugh (Australia)

Right-handed batter | Average: 42.72 | 1 581 runs in 47 ODIs (1992 to 2002) 

Waugh's 120 not out at Headingley in the 1999 World Cup Super Six stage is one of the great one-day innings. Australia needed to win to stay in the tournament, and after Herschelle Gibbs spilled a catch off Waugh while celebrating too early, Waugh took them home. Four days later the sides tied the semi-final, with Australia going to the final because they had finished higher on the table in the previous stage, going on to beat Pakistan.

5. Michael Bevan (Australia)

Left-handed batter | Average: 44.73 | 1 163 runs in 35 ODIs (1994 to 2002) 

Bevan was the original ODI finisher, and South Africa saw plenty of him. He made 106 in the first match of the August 2000 series at Melbourne's Docklands stadium, the first ODIs ever played indoors, and also scored 103 in South Africa in 1997. He was not out in five of his 31 innings against them.

6. David Miller (South Africa)

Left-handed batter | Average: 57.38 | 1 033 runs in 28 ODIs (2011 to 2023) 

Miller is the only player in this group who could play in this week's series. His 139 at Hobart in 2018, alongside Du Plessis, and his 101 after South Africa were 24 for four in the 2023 World Cup semi-final at Eden Gardens are two of the best South African innings against Australia. He has three 100s against them at a strike rate of 104.

7. Dale Steyn (South Africa)

Fast bowler | Average: 26.89 | 49 wickets in 27 ODIs (2006 to 2018) 

Steyn took 49 ODI wickets against Australia, second only to Shaun Pollock among South Africans. He struck every 30 balls, a rate that only Kagiso Rabada and Brett Lee beat among bowlers with 30 or more wickets in this fixture.

8. Kagiso Rabada (South Africa)

Fast bowler | Average: 25.50 | 30 wickets in 16 ODIs (2016 to 2023) 

Rabada takes a wicket every 25.6 balls against Australia, the best strike rate of any bowler in the fixture with 30 or more wickets. His best is four for 54 in 2018. He misses this week's series through injury, which is a significant loss for the Proteas.

9. Brett Lee (Australia)

Fast bowler | Average: 23.65 | 40 wickets in 20 ODIs (2000 to 2006) 

Lee has the best ODI bowling average against South Africa of anyone with 30 or more wickets. His best figures are five for 22, and he took his 40 wickets at one every 28 balls, with pace and swing that South Africa's top orders of the early 2000s never quite solved.

10. Allan Donald (South Africa)

Fast bowler | Average: 25.97 | 45 wickets in 30 ODIs (1992 to 2002) 

Donald's four for 32 in the 1999 World Cup semi-final at Edgbaston should have been enough to put South Africa in the final. Instead, the match is remembered for the last-over run-out that left him stranded mid-pitch with Lance Klusener and ended in a tie. Australia went through on their better Super Six record.

11. Glenn McGrath (Australia)

Fast bowler | Average: 23.79 | 58 wickets in 41 ODIs (1993 to 2007) 

McGrath's economy rate against South Africa, 3.67 runs an over, is the lowest of any bowler with 30 or more wickets in the fixture. Only Shane Warne has taken more ODI wickets in these games. He was part of the Australian side that won the 1999 World Cup after beating South Africa twice in four days.
 
The Players at a Glance 

Unlucky to Miss Out 

David Warner (41.83), Jonty Rhodes (40.25), and Ricky Ponting (39.97) were next in line with the bat. Ponting has scored more ODI runs against South Africa than anyone, 1 879, and made 164 in the famous 438 game at The Wanderers in 2006, but just missed the cut. Rhodes, of course, would walk into any side for his fielding alone.

With the ball, Shaun Pollock (27.72) and Shane Warne (28.63) just miss out. Pollock has the most ODI wickets of any South African against Australia, 55, and would have been the obvious all-rounder pick. Warne has the most of anyone, 60, including four for 29 in the 1999 semi-final.