South Africa vs Australia: In battle of world-class attacks, tough runs and off-field drama helped Proteas register historic win

It was earmarked as a pace bowling shoot-out between two teams that boasted one of the finest cartel of fast bowlers in last the decade. Australia with Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins pitted against the South African trio of Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel. For over the month, the ball seamed past the bat on a numerous occasions, stumps were sent cartwheeling, slip fielders were kept busy, there were stares, glares, a few words and even a clash of shoulders. But at the end, it took just 30 minutes on the final day of the fourth Test to sum up the series. Those 30 minutes belonged to Philander and South Africa as they wrapped up the four Test series 3-1 . Nicknamed the ‘The surgeon’, Philander bisected the Australian batting with a bowling spell of 6-12, to lead the Proteas to their first series win on home soil against Australia since 1970. [caption id=“attachment_4417133” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  South Africa registered their first Test series victory over Australia on home soil since 1970. Reuters[/caption] Philander’s heroic spell on the final morning once again reinstated the Australian batting struggles against the seaming and the swinging ball. None of the Australian batsmen managed to score a century, there was not one hundred-run partnership, and the defensive techniques that look impregnable on the benign pitches at home were once again exposed by a bowling unit that simply outwitted the Australian trio. Before the first Test in Durban, Australia had scripted their plans around ‘reverse swing’ which was always going to be prominent in Durban and Port Elizabeth. Led by the best reverse swing exponent, in Starc, the visitors had decimated the middle and lower order of South Africa to register a comprehensive victory. In the second Test, with the score reading 0-98 on stroke of lunch, it seemed inevitable that Australia will post a healthy total, but after an inspired spell of bowling by Rabada, South Africa finally had a sniff for the first time in the series. Rabada had given his team a glimpse and AB de Villers ensured a golden opportunity was not missed. His series-changing century changed the course of the four-Test affair. In between was a gritty four-hour stand by Hashim Amla and Dean Elgar. It was not pretty to watch, but a partnership that laid the platform nevertheless. It was a partnership that Australia lacked during the whole series. With the series tied at 1-1, Australia probably felt a golden chance had been missed on the opening day in Port Elizabeth. Similarly, last year in India, they were on a cusp of going 2-0 up in Bengaluru, but failed to win that crucial moment. Then in the third Test, on a pitch that was resembled a traditional Australian attack, Hazlewood and Starc were slightly below their best. Elgar played a knock that any Australian batsmen would have loved to replicate. His unbeaten innings was perhaps the time the bubble had burst for the visitors. The frustration was starting to boil over and Australia had started to falter mentally, as evident in David Warner’s T20’s like approach with the willow on second day in Cape Town. One by one, the batting that was so resilient against England three months ago, started to wilt under pressure against perfectly scripted plans. Khawaja’s misery against spinners continued. Smith pushed lifting balls to gully twice in a match. Mitch Marsh, who had played the reverse swinging ball so well, looked completely as sea against the seaming ball, a sign that he could not adjust his batting according to the conditions. Three batting collapses on the trot (two in Port Elizabeth and in Cape Town) had the alarm bells ringing and it called for some desperate measures. The ball-tampering incident on day three in Cape Town was the point Australia had realised that the Proteas were streaking away in the series. On and off the field, poor decisions were made as Australia was feeling the effects of a longm, gruelling summer of cricket. The team was mentally scared and no-one knew it better than Faf du Plessis. Morkel raised his game to take the burden of Rabada and Philander in the second innings in Cape Town, as he bounced the Australian batsmen out with a ferocious spell of fast bowling to give South Africans the lead. Perhaps that was the difference between the two highly skilled bowling units. While Starc and Cummins had their moments in the sun, they failed to build that pressure as a bowling unit. With no reverse swing, Starc seemed to be lacking venom, Hazelwood beat the bat, but his length was a yard shorter than all the South African pacers. Above all South African batsmen had found a way to scrap and score the tough runs. They occupied the crease, wore the blows and grinded Australia into the dust. For the visitors, Bancroft tried, but lacked support. Australia had landed in South Africa to continue their phenomenal record in the Rainbow nation, but by the end of the third Test, their captain, vice-captain, opening batsmen had departed the country before the fourth Test began. It was an accumulation of errors, desperation, skills and fatigue that led to poor decisions. By the time the fourth Test started, the South African was aware that two good sessions were sufficient to drain the Australians. Aiden Markram, the man that started the fight back, ensured he started the degrading process for the visitors with a stunning century, his second of the series and one that prompted experts to state ‘the best upcoming batsman in world cricket’.

Du Plessis knew the impact the gruelling series and the off-field drama had on his opposition, so he made them suffer for that extra bit longer by delaying the declaration. Experts criticised him, but in hindsight it was the right move, as Australia collapsed in an emphatic manner on the fifth day to give South Africa a resounding win.

This was possibly the last time the ‘golden generation’ of South Africa had played against Australia in Test cricket. They were desperate to finish on a high and they did. Tim Paine summed it up the best by saying ‘they had outplayed us in every aspect’. This was Australia’s series to lose and unfortunately they have lost a heck of a lot. The implications of the loss are catastrophic and might take long time to forge. It was a series that will be etched in our memories for a long time.