Australia mutate from frightening to frightful within a week

Atawai... i think its fair to say that man for man the Proteas have proven over time to be a better side - their player ratings and averages say it all. This last Test result is quite simply the Proteas applying themselves.... they are known to be slow starters and need to get cranked up a bit first. The Question is will they maintain their focus ? will they still show the will to wear one of Mitchs bouncers instead of fending and therefore negate him ? Siddle and Harris are decent bowlers but neither should be compared to either Philander or Morkel and therein lies the rub. You can hope Steyn has an off day but still get hurt by the other two. Australia's advantage lies with Lyon... if batsmen attack him it can be a mistake.

apparently it rained a bit on Monday, but not a lot.

With a name like Marsh its no wonder he has so many Ducks.. Quack! Quack! :)

Would have loved a Watto 20 in the second innings mind you!

But the one ball that did not get him out he played beautifully, absolute class!

I think Smith and Clarke in the middle order is fine, we are struggling to field a solid top 4. Warner is a good bat, but his aggressive style is difficult to accommodate in a balanced team. Our fast bowling looks strong, but we won't be a consistently decent team until we have a consistently decent top order. Rogers won't last long, and may not be around long enough for a Silk or someone else to mature to the point they should be in the team, I'd love to see North given a chance as an opener, he has been immense at the top of the order this season.

We simply must place Watto back at three. I miss those great moments of Watson legend - in the third test I look forward to him: - Wafting three boundaries over cover and mid-wicket then planting his BigFoot down the pitch, LBW for 19. And then a bewildered Watto moping off the park wondering how did this happen. Second innings, lost cause, game all over, Australia heading to defeat, Watson cutting and pulling with the daring do of Errol Flynn. Racing to 52. Then a drinks break. Soft catch to point. How I miss those days...

Is this the same Hashim Amla whose "honour" Warner was defending when he punched Joe Root?

Watto in for Marsh, Bird in for Siddle. Patto hasn't had enough good quality performances since his return, whereas Bird was fantastic in the BBL with his line and length. I hate Marsh being in the team, so I will take any chance to get him out of there. Either for Watson or Hughes. Doolan hasn't had a revelatory start but doesn't have the lengthy record of flakiness that Marsh does, keep him in for the last test. Next series however bring in North, or Cooper, or even Voges) The cream of this years sheffield shield batting! I want Klinger in the team but he just had a sparse patch. ALSO get Wade out of all AUS representative cricket! Whiteman or Ludeman in the T20 team. Cheers.

You're overlooking Bird's performance in England (4th test) where he took 2-58 and 0-67. having said that his accuracy may have been handy last test but I'd prefer a more attacking bowler if the next pitch is anything like past pitches at Newlands.

Yes, a first innings ton would have changed the match dynamics dramatically. Something I've felt since the peak of the Australian team is that our batsmen need to become more judicious in their perennial choice to "attack from anywhere". We no longer have the cattle to always having an attacking frame of mind and this test highlights it.

Don't blame Warner - when he grew up he saw Steve Waugh's team doing it all the time.

AD, spot on re Warner. I have been lucky enough to meet Amla on a few occasions and a nicer bloke you couldn't find. Quiet, humble, softly-spoken and an absolute gentleman. Warner's behaviour continues to disappoint - he is a boofhead, pure and simple and his sledging is a blight on the Australian side. I cannot understand why he has not been taken aside and had the riot act read to him.

The loss wasn't the issue for me as the Proteas fully deserved victory, however it was the manner of defeat with the collapse that was galling. Had we fought tooth n nail and still lost, no problem. However the Chester Le Street like collapse brought back the bad memories of the Ashes in blighty. Here we bloody go again with the spineless batting as a group. We are great front runners scoring quickly however when it comes to grinding it out and constructing a long batting spell, forget it. I don't want to take too much away from the Proteas bowlers particularly Steyn who was magnificent. However to lose 9 wickets for 64 runs is absolutely pitiful. I'm glad not many, if any Roarers bought into the new golden age discussion on Kersi's piece last week, we are not remotely close. As for changes for Cape Town, Watson in for Doolan or Marsh ( flip a coin ) and Patto or Bird in for Siddle. Siddle has had a quiet series and looks knackered. He is bowling in the low 130's and is easy pickings for the in form Proteas batsmen. Patto is a risk as he hasn't played much however is it the gamble the selectors have to take ? Bird is the safer option and bowls a very consistent length. Two changes for mine, Wato and Patto or Bird in.

Harris and Siddle have been over bowled this Summer and they looked it in the last Test. Johnson has obviously got to stay. Jackson Bird won the man of the match in his last test and has not been given a go since. He is fresh and had recovered fully from his back problem more so that Pattinson. Even if you put Bird and Pattinson in the third test you would come up with a totally fresh attack which you will need to reduce the South African batting. Has our Coach become so dependant on the winning combination against the P:ons he refuses to change anything. These bowlers have to be big enough to be dropped if it warrants it and the Coach has to be aware that despite them not saying it his bowlers have lost their edge. Cav

Classic match Ata and Buk. Peter ( or was it John? ) Lever cleaned up Australia taking 6/38 on a lively wicket. Mighty Max Walker filled the substancial breach getting 8/143 as much maligned Deness and Fletcher cashed in with 188 and 146.

Atawhai, I seem to recall that in the Ashes in 74/75, Thomson was injured and did not play in the last test, and Lillee got injured and only bowled a few overs ? So suddenly the fiercest and fastest bowling attack in the world at that time was reduced to average, plus as you have mentioned, the Ashes was already decided.

I don't think any one team is so far out in front that they'll consistently dominate everyone else, so it's small things seem to reverberate so much more. The attack definitely looks tired. In the Ashes when MJ wasn't breaking through and the English were focusing all their efforts not to get out to him, then in crept Harris and Siddle and took them out. In this last Test they lacked that dangerous edge. Whether they push on through, hoping with a bit more life in the pitch they get enough zing to energise them for the final push, I'm not sure. But this to me is the biggest selection dilemma leading in to the Test, given the preparation status of the replacements. The batting is fragile and whoever comes in for whoever goes out, it's not going to change it all that much. You need the mainstays to fire. As for Roger's effort in the last Test, it would of made a huge difference to the mindset of of both teams if he'd scored that century in the first innings. In the second innings it was diluted by the psychological pressure of chasing over 400 across two days. I think it tarnishes his recent record of run scoring a little, as so many of them are in the second innings.

Nor would I panic at the result, mds. But losing 9 for 64 after Hashim Amla had completed an unbeaten century and the Australian openers had put on 126 for the opening wicket on the same day IS A CAUSE FOR CONCERN. Surely the 4th day wicket was not a minefield.

Define "Bad Mitch".