Roll up, roll up, laydeez and gennelmen, for the heavyweight championship of the cricket world. Australia v South Africa, for the big prize - top place in the ICC Test Championship. We're talking Lewis v Tyson here … and that ain't Tony and Frank. There have been series billed as world championships before. West Indies overwhelming Australia in 1964-65, and almost everybody in the 1980s. Australia beating West Indies in 1968-69, and losing to South Africa in 1969-70. England in Australia in 1974-75 (4-1 to Australia, since you ask). But top position then was only a matter of opinion. This time it's official.

Since ICC adopted the Wisden World Championship, Australia have been top. But South Africa have been closing, thanks to a home record to die for – and helped by a weird ruling that conveniently counts a one-off victory in Zimbabwe as a home Test (maybe ICC were using a very old map).

It's so tight at the top now that Steve Waugh has to win this series, and the return one in South Africa that follows, if he wants to keep the trophy bolted to his kitchen table. Australia won both series the last time they were played, in 1997-98, which means they're on a hiding to nothing: they have to win to stay in the same place. South Africa only have to avoid defeat in either series to take over the No. 1 spot.

Australia have just had a Lennox Lewis-type wobble against New Zealand. In a series they were expected to dominate, the Aussies nearly lost on a declaration at Brisbane, and nearly went down fair and square at Perth.

That 0-0 result has woken Australia up. Writers here are wondering if the team is too old (mind you, they said the same before the Ashes series after the shock defeat in India). The waning of Warne has been trotted out again, along with the fact that all the top seven in the batting order, apart from Ricky Ponting, are over 30. Yes, even the boyishly jug-eared Adam Gilchrist turned 30 in November.

For the first Test against South Africa at Adelaide, it's even been suggested that Glenn McGrath might be dropped, after a disappointing time against New Zealand (five wickets at 65.40). When he was asked about this in the Adelaide nets McGrath said he thought the suggestion came from a newspaper in Illawarra (Brett Lee's home town), and reckoned his own Narromine News might have different ideas.

The more likely Australian 12th man is Stuart MacGill, the big-turning legspinner who missed the New Zealand series. MacGill was called up after veteran leggie Peter McIntyre, who played against England at Adelaide in 1994-95, took six wickets for South Australia against the touring New Zealanders. However, Les Burdett, Adelaide's canny curator [groundsman], has suggested that was a bit of an aberration and that the Test pitch won't be so conducive to spin. The Adelaide Oval has never been a happy hunting ground for Warne, anyway: his best return there is a modest 4 for 31 in 1993-94. Mind you, that was against South Africa.

The South Africans have been talking the talk pre-match. Jacques Kallis has declared that as a batsman none of the Australian bowlers is good enough to get him out, while as a bowler he's good enough to get all of them out. Expect some lively mid-pitch discussions about that. Even Gary Kirsten, usually about as quotable as the phone-book, has been pressing Button B with his two-penn'orth.

There was a long Aussie pow-wow yesterday, from which the smoke-signals revealed that they wanted to target Shaun Pollock, South Africa's captain and main strike bowler. Pollock has the best average of anyone with more than 200 wickets, and attacking him could be a high-risk policy. Better, surely, to see him off and go for the other bowlers, who aren't fit to lace his boots. That includes, for the time being, Allan Donald, who isn't even fit enough to lace his own. It's unlikely that South Africa will risk Donald here, even if his best Bloemfontein boots do turn up in time.

South Africa have one other injury worry. Herschelle Gibbs, who was in top form in the recent series against India, has a troublesome groin strain. If he doesn't make it, Jacques Rudolph will make his official Test debut from the top of the order.

Unless the rain returns one result is unlikely: a draw. After a run of six successive score-bores in the 1980s, Burdett relaid the pitches, and nine of Adelaide's last ten Tests have had a positive result. Fast bowlers who attack the stumps do best here, because any width is usually punished to the shorter square boundaries. That's likely to be Jason Gillespie for Australia and, for all the talk, Pollock for the South Africans. It sounds as if both teams will be coming out swinging, so it should be quite a bout.

There will be one man missing. This will be the first Adelaide Test for years with no Sir Donald Bradman. Players on both sides will probably be casting the odd sideways glance at the huge red-brick stand that bears his name. There are no special plans to mark his passing, though, as it's nearly a year since he died, aged 92. But there will be one pre-match presentation. This will be the 100th Test that the Waugh twins have played together. That's exactly 100 more than any other pair of twins has managed.

Probable teams
Australia 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Justin Langer, 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Mark Waugh, 5 Steve Waugh (capt), 6 Damien Martyn, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Jason Gillespie, 11 Glenn McGrath.

South Africa 1 Gary Kirsten, 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Neil McKenzie, 5 Jacques Rudolph, 6 Lance Klusener, 7 Shaun Pollock (capt), 8 Mark Boucher (wk), 9 Claude Henderson, 10 Makhaya Ntini, 11 Nantie Hayward.

Steven Lynch will be sending exclusive bulletins on the play from Australia for Wisden.com throughout the series against South Africa. And Ian Healy, the former Australian wicketkeeper, will be delivering his authoritative Session by Session reports at lunch, tea and the close on each day of the series.

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