Zimbabwe vs South Africa Prediction: Bennett could blunt Proteas’ bowling attack

World Test Championship winners South Africa make the short trip to Bulawayo to take on Zimbabwe in Saturday's first Test (09:00 BST).

The Proteas have rested several of the players who starred in this month's WTC final triumph against Australia as they prepare to face their neighbours in a two-match series. Below are my Zimbabwe vs South Africa predictions, supported by team news and match odds.

Team News

Zimbabwe opener Ben Curran is sidelined with a broken finger, so Prince Masvaure should return to the top of the order. Fast bowler Richard Ngarava (back) is also injured, and all-rounder Sikander Raza is playing Major League Cricket in the USA.

Cricket Odds

Keshav Maharaj will captain South Africa as Temba Bavuma suffered a hamstring injury in the WTC final. Aiden Markram, Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Tristan Stubbs and Ryan Rickelton have been rested for this series, and fast bowler Lungi Ngidi is only available for the second Test.

Zimbabwe vs South Africa Odds

South Africa's victory over Australia at Lord's extended their winning run in Test cricket to eight matches, and they are 1/5 to beat 6/1 hosts Zimbabwe, with the draw priced at 6/1.

With South Africa's senior pacemen rested, Corbin Bosch is 13/5 favourite to be the Proteas' top first-innings bowler. He took 4-63 in the first innings of his only previous Test match, against Pakistan last December.

Brian Bennett to be top Zimbabwe batter @ 4/1

Zimbabwe lost to England by an innings and 45 runs in last month's one-off Test at Trent Bridge, but it was a memorable match for young opener Brian Bennett.

He made an excellent 139 off 143 balls in Zimbabwe's first-innings total of 265 and looks a good bet to top-score for the hosts against South Africa.

The Proteas have named a second-string bowling attack for this series after winning the World Test Championship final against Australia earlier this month.

The absences of Rabada and Jansen boost Bennett's chances of surviving against the new ball, and he showed off his range of attacking shots against England in Nottingham.

He made an unbeaten 110 against Afghanistan in Bulawayo last December in only his second Test appearance and could enhance his reputation at the same venue this week.

David Bedingham to score over 36.5 first-innings runs @ 5/6

David Bedingham finished unbeaten on 21 as South Africa completed their run-chase in the WTC final, and the middle-order man also top-scored with 45 in their first innings at Lord's.

Those knocks came against a world-class Australian bowling attack in testing conditions, so Bedingham should be backed to make at least 37 in the first innings against Zimbabwe.

He was the leading runscorer in last season's County Championship, amassing 1,331 runs for Durham at an average of just under 80.

The 31-year-old right-hander has made a solid start to his Test career, scoring 56 on his debut against India in December 2023 and following up with knocks of 32, 87, 39 and 110 on last year's tour of New Zealand.