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In my 60 years of watching cricket I have not seen a day’s play when wickets toppled so fast, literally like ninepins.
I am referring to the Australia v. South Africa Test at Cape Town last night. In all 23 wickets fell for 294 runs in a day. At one stage 18 wickets tumbled for 68 runs!
Australia resumed at 8 for 214 and were dismissed for 284, skipper Michael Clarke scoring a fluent 151 with 22 fours.
At lunch South Africa were 1-49. Typical good, honest Test cricket, three wickets for 119 runs in a session.
That all changed in a hurry after lunch. Shane Watson was given the ball and it was mayhem for the home batsmen. His figures were 5/17 off five overs.
Ryan Harris also joined in the fun with a 4-22 devastating spell and South Africa was all out for 96. The home team had lost nine wickets for a measly 47 runs.
Was I dreaming I asked myself?
But that dream turned into a nightmare as Australia started losing wickets too. At tea they were 3 for 13, openers Watson, Phil Hughes and number three Ricky Ponting back in the pavilion, Ponting for a duck.
Incredibly, 12 wickets had fallen for 60 runs in two hours of appeals and reviews.
But wait, the worse was round the corner for the Aussies post tea. They were 9 wickets down for 21 runs, about to make the lowest total in the 134 years of Test history.
Was the pitch that bad? I don’t think so. Although it had swing and bounce, it was a combination of superb accurate bowling and pathetic batting. The Australians were culpable for their shot selection.
That “honour” belonged to New Zealand who had managed a total of 26 runs against England at Auckland in 1954-55.
Australia’s lowest total was 36 against England at Birmingham in 1902.
The visitors avoided this ignominy as the last pair of Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon added 26 runs, more than doubling the score for the final wicket.
They were the only Australians to reach double figures, number nine batsman Siddle making 12 and last man Lyons top-scoring with 14.
Debutant fast bowler Vernon Philander had marvellous figures of 5-15 and quickie Morne Morkel 3-9. What a debut for Philander with match figures of 8-78!
That there was no devil in the pitch was proved by the South Africa batsmen as they scored 1-81 at stumps last night, chasing a win target of 236. Experienced batsmen skipper Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla are unbeaten overnight with 36 and 29.
Now the home team needs 155 more runs to win this topsy-turvy Test on day-3.
One wishes Australian bowlers bowl with similar intensity and accuracy they did in the post lunch period yesterday to make the Test a thriller.
Else the Remembrance Day (11/11/2011) will be a day to forget for Clarke’s men.
The Cape Town pitch proved that batsmen today are good wicket bullies. But little juice in the pitch and they panic.