SOUTH Africa have a chance to knock Australia off the top of the world Test rankings, but Ryan Rickelton is looking beyond the immediate prize. For the visitors, the priority is more urgent: finding a way to stop their batting from letting them down.

The sides meet at Newlands on Tuesday for the third and deciding Test, with the series level at 1-1 after Australia won the opener in Durban by 214 runs before the Proteas responded with an innings-and-31-run victory in Gqeberha.

Victory would give South Africa a second successive home Test series win over their rivals and dislodge Australia from the No.1 position in the Test rankings. The Proteas, who beat Australia in last year’s World Test Championship final at Lord’s, would also strengthen their position in the current WTC cycle.

Yet, according to a report by IOL Sports Zaahier Adams, Rickelton, South Africa’s wicketkeeper-batter, is wary of allowing the bigger picture to distract the team from the task in front of them.

“When we won the WTC, Temba (Bavuma) spoke to us. It’s not just about this game. It’s about trying to leave a longer-lasting impression and trying to back that up. And to back that up, you have to beat some of the best teams in the world,” Rickelton said.

For Australia, the immediate concern is the batting unit’s inability to turn promising starts into substantial scores.

The tourists were dismissed for 99 in their second innings in Gqeberha, handing South Africa a commanding victory and exposing a pattern of top-order fragility. 

An IANS report on IOL Sport reveals that wicketkeeper Alex Carey believes the solution lies in building partnerships rather than relying on isolated individual performances.

Marnus Labuschagne is among those under scrutiny after six of his last nine scores fell between 30 and 49. Rickelton suggested the Proteas would be ready to put the Australian batter under pressure, with Marco Jansen having previously engaged in competitive exchanges with him.

“Marco will always look to exploit that (run of starts). The first highlight for him is they can chat in Afrikaans with each other. And the crowd also jumps in on that as well. 

Obviously, Marnus isn’t the only one under a bit of heat on both sides. All of us are in various ways. With Marco’s aggression, they have had a good contest in the past,” Rickelton said.

The stakes are clear, but neither side can afford to get ahead of itself. South Africa must back up their Gqeberha performance, while Australia need a more collective effort with the bat. 

At Newlands, the team that best handles that pressure will have the bragging rights of finishing the series on top of the rankings.