You never know what might happen in the game of cricket. It’s like a box of chocolates, especially the longer form of the game (read: Test Cricket, the real cricket as the longer form).
All the talk in the Newlands press box on the fourth morning was about the possible relocation of the Twenty20 IPL circus.
Would it come to the delightful Republic of South Africa where this current absorbing contest between the ‘top two’ Test nations was being carried out, or would the carnival pull the caravan all the way to England?
How would the logistics work with so many people, and how would all their playing and broadcasting equipment be transported and arranged?
Security arrangements and venues would be prepared hastily. So many questions that had the locals’ interest piqued.
Yet when the real drama unfolded, when the crowd stood to their feet after biting nails for a couple of hours of Australian raucous resistance, when Paul Harris came back from a mauling from the flashing willow of Mitchell Johnson and the fine and previously undiscovered smooth stroke of “Ronnie” McDonald to challenge Bryce MacGoo McGain on a hat trick in his first Test – with Johnson 5 short of a maiden ton – there was NOTHING, absolutely nothing that any reduced form of the game could match in terms of heart wrenching real emotion.
The inevitable result had no relation to the drama.
The partisan crowd wanted both the hat trick and the century. They may have even wanted the game to go into the 5th day (with the home team winning of course) just so they could enjoy some more action, with tension. The sort of tension you just don’t get with the vacuumed sealed versions.
Sadly the Australian tail withered in the weak late afternoon Western Cape sun and the ‘Table Cloth‘ of mist that shrouds the looming Table Mountain made the gloom only relevant to the visitors in green and gold and not the Proteas in similar garb.
The game was lost a few minutes from close of play, not that the weather forecast gave any glimmer of hope on the next (fancy talking about Australia being saved by rain!!).
It’s hard to think of a comparable innings played by an Australian lower order batsmen as Johnson’s, certainly the methods remind me of Gary Gilmour “wielding his axe“, as the old World Series promo’ went.
If there was a silver lining to an innings defeat in Capetown for the Australian team then it would be Johnson’s batting.
The spin bowling question is further away from resolution and Andrew McDonald has only served to tease the selectors with his innings when his bowling is tight at best but lacks penetration for a number eight genuine bowler.
The six match series finished 3-3, a fair indication of South Africa’s rise and Australia’s decent on the world pecking order.
The next Test match is in Cardiff in July, first class cricket has finished in Australia so the candidates for the spin and pace spots must find a circus to perform in order to impress the wise men.
Stuart Clark and Chris Rogers must be certainties but the selectors’ option of bringing only 6 batsmen to Africa must be challenged especially as this series was touted as the contest to become number one.
Let’s hope the squad is well manned for the Ashes because England could deliver a repeat of 2005 if prudent decisions are not made.
Could a spin bowler please put up his hand.
This series’ twelfth and final team has a distinct West Indian flavour at the top of the order, and a domineering captain.
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