PERTH, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 18: Steve Smith and David Warner of Australia celebrate in the changerooms after Australia regained the Ashes during day five of the Third Test match during the 2017/18 Ashes Series between Australia and England at WACA on December 18, 2017 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Australia and South Africa will get their three-Test series underway at the Gabba on Saturday, with the number one and two ranked sides in the world playing for pivotal points in the World Test Championship.
Not only that, but the rivalry between the two sides has reached fever pitch in recent years following the controversial 2018 ball tampering scandal.
South Africa have won their last three series down under, but will bring a different-looking side to this year's challenge, while Australia are facing their own questions.
Here are the five players who could decide the series.
Dean Elgar
The South African veteran and captain is vastly experienced and has batted against Australia on 19 occasions.
His efforts against Cricket Australia XI were solid, top scoring with 109 from 186 and 26 from 78. He has scored a century twice against Australia and has scored three half-centuries.
However, his batting average is the second worst against Australia with a 33.55 average. Only against Pakistan does he have a worse average (25.84).
His worst strike rate is against Australia with a 38.59, with his figures even lower when playing Tests in Australia. Elgar has an average of just 23 runs with a strike rate of 37.01. The key is not only his leadership skills for his side but setting the tone with the bat.
Going at a slower strike rate is not a problem if he is there for the long run although he is yet to really do that in Australian conditions. Other international players who have succeeded that way include Cheteshwar Pujara of India who has an average of over 47 runs in Australia playing this very way.
So, the key for Elgar is maintaining that form from the warm-up game, keeping a steady pace and not throwing his wicket away cheaply by edging a shot he doesn't need to play.
The Australian opener has been under fire for his recent performances as he has failed to convert decent starts into big runs.
Warner will be desperate to impress and make a ton. As, against the West Indies in the most recent Test series, he managed just 102 runs in total for the series.
Weather he goes about this in the right way is the main question to be answered. If he tries to bat with significant aggression to try and disprove people who criticise him, it could be spectacular or shocking.
The good news for Warner is he has a 52.26 average against South Africa with four centuries to his name. Ensuring he doesn't lose his wicket early and giving momentum to South Africa could determine the results of this series.
The three names up for Josh Hazlewood's place were Scott Boland, Michael Neser and Lance Morris. Losing someone with the quality of Josh Hazlewood, means finding a replacement is difficult. With the shoes to fill even more difficult.
With Mitchell Starc just coming off playing two Tests and Pat Cummins overcoming a slight injury, Boland's job could be even harder.
Good news for Australian fans is all the replacement options are all very capable of filling the biggest of shoes. Boland and Michael Neser have shown their quality as replacements, with Boland recording a 10.33 average at an economy of 2.02 so far in his test career, while Neser has recorded an average of 16.71 with an economy of 2.49.
Lance Morris is uncapped and was always unlikely to get called up over Boland and Neser, but he has great pace hitting over 150 kilometres per hour and is currently topping the Sheffield Shield for wickets.
Scott Boland seems to be the most capable candidate to be the main replacement, and he will look again to justify his selection with his consistency and accurate economical bowling.
Once ranked the ICC number one Test bowler in the world, Rabada now finds himself as the world's number 7.
He performed well in the warm-up against Cricket Australia XI, notching 1/33 and 2/22. In Australia Rabada has a great record with the ball, taking 15 wickets in six innings at an average of 22.40.
Rabada was also suburb in South Africa's last Test Series against England, winning Player of the Series despite South Africa losing.
He won Player of the Match in the first Test taking 5/52 and 2/27, he took 2/110 in the second Test and took 4/81 and 1/57 in the third Test. His only problem is he was often expensive with England players scoring over a run a ball at some stages.
He will be the main man for Dean Elgar to call on to get wickets and stepping up this series with aggression and consistency will be key for South Africa. Bowling to Steve Smith and David Warner will definitely be interesting with some ferocity expected.
South African bowling coach Charl Langeveldt has recently admitted South Africa will look to target Smith and will make him play the ball especially early on in his innings.
With the animosity towards Smith, it is likely Rabada and other pace bowlers will look to bowl short and direct to him. However, Smith loves a challenge and has recently refined his batting technique.
Smith only has a worse batting average against Bangladesh, and averages 41.53 against the Proteas. With the likes of Travis Head, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne all scoring runs recently, Smith will love to get amongst the runs.
How Smith will handle potentially hostile bowling will be a great test of character and ability. How he chooses to play will be a fascinating watch.
The three-match series begins December 17 at 11:20am AEDT.