To lose a Test match or series is disappointing. But for Australia to lose to South Africa – without their best batsman, AB de Villiers, and best bowler, Dale Steyn – by huge margins is humiliating.
Steve Smith’s jittery team was thrashed within eight days: by 177 runs in the first Test in Perth and by an innings and 80 runs in the next Test in Hobart (within two and half days of playing time).
And that too on home soil, favouring both batsmen and bowlers.
A catastrophe, no less!
Australia lost 8 for 86 in Perth last week, then 10 for 85 and 8 for 32 in Hobart. Thus they lost 26 wickets for 203 runs, a shameful 7.8 runs per batsman.
Meanwhile, South Africa scored a total of 242 and 8 declared for 540 in Perth, and 326 in Hobart.
These two heart-breaking defeats reminded me of the trouncing Australia received from the touring West Indies team under Clive Lloyd in the first two Tests in 1984-85.
Do you remember Kim Hughes tearfully resigning as Australia’s captain on 26 November 1984, at the conclusion of the second Test in Brisbane?
It was a divided Australian team, with Hughes being roundly criticised by the World Series Cricket supporters Rod Marsh and Ian Chappell, among others.
Despite Hughes’ brave words, Australia lost the first Test to the mighty Windies by an innings and 112 runs in Perth. In reply to the Windies’ total of 416 (Larry Gomes 127, Jeff Dujon 139, Terry Alderman 6-128) Australia collapsed for 76 (Michael Holding 6-21) and 228. Kim Hughes made only 4 and 37.
The second Test in Brisbane was just as disastrous, as Australia lost by eight wickets, with Hughes scoring 34 and 4, then resigning as skipper.
In an emotional post match press conference he said, trying to hold back his tears, “The constant criticism, speculation and innuendo by former players over the last four or five years have finally taken their toll.”
Hughes continued as a player under Allan Border but scored a first ball duck and 2 in the next Test in Adelaide, which Australia lost by an innings and 191 runs, and a pair in the drawn Melbourne Test, his final match. What a tragic farewell!
As a consolation, Australia under Border won the final Test in Sydney by an innings and 55 runs, highlights being Kepler Wessels’ 173 and a ten-wicket haul for spinner Robert ‘Dutchy’ Holland (6-54 and 4-90).
Will Australia turn it around in 2016 as they did in 1985?
Kersi Meher-Homji
Guest
This is what Rod Marsh had said about Kim Hughes in 1982: "Kim is a bloody good company but he's always liable to do silly things whether he has a bat, golf club or cards in his hands... Many times he has walked out to bat and the rest of the players have looked at one another as if to ask :'What's he going to do today?' "
Kersi Meher-Homji
Guest
My sentiments exactly, Anindya.
Amrit
Roar Guru
I would say this, that even without De Villiers and Steyn they are quite formidable. It's about the captaincy, and Du Plessis has his natural art.
Amrit
Roar Guru
You call them average, really. They played some of the smartest and finest cricket anyone has played on your backyard.
Anindya Dutta
Roar Guru
Great parallel drawn between the two situations Kersi. Was a pleasure reading it. But to pick up on Junior Coach's point, that was a fearsome Windies Bowling Attack and a magnificent batting line up to match. Notwithstanding the Kum Hughes situation, there was no shame in those losses. But this is sheer capitulation to a team that is missing its best batsman and best bowler. And an Aussie team that shows no spirit. How will a turnaround happen? I get the feling we are in store for more of the same for a few mo this to come unfortunately.
bigbaz
Guest
Agree, all 3 of the big 3 tainted their legacy with their carryons in their last couple of seasons.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
Marsh's last 2 or 3 years were pretty ordinary. A batsman would not have survived that long.
John Erichsen
Roar Guru
Perhaps it's fitting that Rod Marsh fell on his sword yesterday. I would be checking Rod's sword for Hughes' dna from all those years ago. Sutherland, Howard and the excessive numbers in the 'support' team should feel very sick in their stomachs, knowing they now have blood on their hands too.
bigbaz
Guest
yes , agree with that, was hoping at the time that Hughes could have scored big under Border but by then he was a broken man. I would have thought that Marsh and his fellow selectors are their own men and would be uninfluenced by the likes of Sutherland and Howard, but maybe not. If they and the board are influencing the selectors the there is no need for a selection panel.
sheek
Roar Guru
Bigbaz, Ordinarily the treatment of Hughes was unjustified. But in the snakepit politics of the time, it was understandable if, as I say, unjustified. Hughes, as vice-captain, was the appointment of the ACB thrusted upon the dominant WSC test playing team post-WSC. In this regard, Hughes was not seen to have earned his position from the crusty old heads. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but obviously the ACB threw Hughes to the wolves. Hughes, being ambitious, wanted the position anyway, believing he would outlast the crusty old heads. Which he did, but barely by a season. It was a brutal time, the WSC, which destroyed friendships & pitted family members against each other. The players themselves merely reflected their times. To a large extent Hughes can be seen as an innocent victim whose problem was initially created by others. It is much the same today. Rod Marsh falls on his sword, & the players are pilloried but the real culprits remain Sutherland, Howard & the board as they obsessively chase commercial interests over sound domestic structures. But of course, they won't look inward.
bigbaz
Roar Guru
Hughes, of course was undermined from within, don't reckon that is the case now although Marsh is common to both crisis.
Junior Coach
Guest
The only problem Kersi is that Hughes side was beaten by one of - if not the- greatest test teams of all time. The Saffies team is a fairly avaerage team with the possibility of becoming a good one.
Tim Holt
Roar Guru
Very reminiscent of the Hughes era with me half expecting history to repeat with the roasting of another 'Golden Child'- in terms of Smith being made the scapegoat for this malaise as Hughes was back in the day. Thankfully the wolves baying for Smith's blood have been muzzled with attention being diverted to more deserving culprits who have created this mess by their denial of obvious issues that have existed for a while