Australia edged out a thriller against South Africa in Cairns winning by 2 wickets with a ball to spare to clinch the T20I series 2-1. While there were multiple heroes for Australia more so in Glenn Maxwell with the bat, let’s not forget the man who picked up wickets through the middle and the end to peg South Africa back. Nathan Ellis had a huge role to play in Australia pegging South Africa back to 172. Nathan Ellis who does not bowl with the new ball comes to do a job in the middle and more so at the death overs as well.
Nathan Ellis managed to get 3 wickets and keep his economy at a decent level and he got two of the top -order batters out as well. He bowled in the powerplay as the fourth bowler introduced and got rid of Lhuan dre-Pretorius. But the big wicket he took was off Dewald Brevis. Yes, it is true that Maxwell took the catch and it was a great catch, but Ellis set him up and got his man. He later got Muthusamy in the final over showing his versatility getting a wicket in powerplay, middle overs, and then death overs as well.
Nathan Ellis’ 3-Wicket Haul Floors South Africa
Australia won the toss and elected to bowl as they expected dew to play a part later on in the game. While Josh Hazlewood got rid of Aiden Markram early, Nathan Ellis as is the norm is not given the new role as his role is to bowl largely through the middle overs and more so at the death overs. He was called onto bowl an over in the powerplay and got rid of Lhuan-dre Pretorius who had got a start of 24 off 15 balls. But Ellis found a way by deceiving him and getting him dismissed.
The biggest wicket that he could possibly take was off Dewald Brevis the form batter. He scored a century in the previous game and got another fifty in this game. But he dismissed him for 53 off 26 balls with Glenn Maxwell taking a blinder of a catch. But the wicket was key as if Brevis would have hung around, South Africa may well have gone close to 200, so his wicket was all the more crucial. He also got the wicket of Muthusamy in the final over showing his versatility bowling in all phases.
Nathan Ellis has shown his versatility and if he can keep up these performances in the coming games, then it will be hard for the Australian selectors to ignore him from T20 World Cup 2026. He stood tall with the ball when Australia needed it the most.
Nathan Ellis pushing himself to be permanent member for T20 World Cup 2026?
Nathan Ellis has been a consistent performer in T20I cricket and is behind the trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins in the pecking order in T20Is. When the trio or in this case two of them does not play, he becomes one of your certainties for sure. Ellis bowls really well and is known for his death overs bowling. He had a decent series in the Caribbean while he did not play the second T20I in Darwin against South Africa.
He has a decent record in T20Is having taken 41 wickets in 27 games at an average of 18.80 and economy of 7.84. He is yet to pick a 5-wicket haul in T20Is but is more than a capable bowler. Nathan Ellis was part of the T20 World Cup squad in 2024 and played the preliminary rounds doing decently. But when the bigger matches came, he was left out and the big 3 played as Australia failed to make the semi-finals.
Many experts have earmarked Ellis to be in the T20 squad and replace Mitchell Starc to give the Aussie veteran a breather from one format. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen as that World Cup is still 6-7 months away. But Ellis is doing his case no harm with his recent performances and we believe he will be in the reckoning and on the bus to India and Sri Lanka for the T20 World Cup 2026. If he stays fit, he will definitely be in the squad and remains to be seen whether he is in the XI. Other contenders for him include Ben Dwarshuis as well.
What Lies Ahead
After a highly competitive T20I series between the two teams, the stage is set for a 50-over series now as the ODIS are set to get underway at Cairns on 19th August, 2025 at 10AM IST. The first ODI will be played on this day. Temba Bavuma is set to lead South Africa while Mitchell Marsh will continue leading Australia.
Who will get the bragging rights in this series? Will Australia continue their winning momentum or will South Africa hit back and win a bilateral series in Australia after some time? Only time will tell as action heats up soon.
Also Read: AUS vs SA: Glenn Maxwell Pulls Off A Heist & Clinch T20I Series