At least we got a four-day Test this time, I much prefer them to a two-day affair.
Day four of the second Test at the MCG with Australia polishing off South Africa highlighted the enormous gulf in class between these two sides.
For the Aussies they were clinical and a few of their player managed to bring up some significant milestones.
But for the Proteas, there’s not much to write home about.
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Anrich Nortje can hold his head up high with his fast bowling spells, Marco Jansen continues to show promise and Kyle Verreynne and Temba Bavuma displayed some fight but that was about it.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
The run-outs they coughed up to Australia were just basic stuff, junior level errors.
Backing up at the non-striker’s end, turning blind, being precise with your calling – these are what we’re taught in the under 12s but they were terrible in these areas.
Theunis De Bruyn was drifting out of his crease and given a warning twice but it wasn’t like he was trying to steal a massive head-start, he just didn’t look to be switched on.
Bavuma turned blind in the run-out with Keshav Maharaj, these are the basics.
I’d be making it a focus of their training all week in the lead-up to the Sydney Test, not just in running between wickets but in batting and bowling.
Stuff like racking up some maidens which is not just down to the bowler – the captain can’t always plonk a fielder out at point or square leg as a sweeper to allow the Aussie batters to pinch an easy single whenever they get a chance.
There has been a huge drop-off in their batting compared to the past teams that have toured Australia but in some ways their lack of impact with their bowling has been more significant in the first two Tests.
Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi has been under par and Maharaj hasn’t done much for a spinner with a lot of Test wickets and has suffered from negative field settings.
For the Aussies, this win by an innings is significant given that it’s been 17 years since we’ve beaten the Proteas in a series in Australia.
Nathan Lyon of Australia appeals. (Photo by Graham Denholm – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
There were plenty of highlights with some key milestones.
David Warner’s 200 in his 100th match was a standout and Alex Carey’s first Test hundred will be the first of many judging by the way he conducts himself at the crease.
Cameron Green getting his first five-wicket haul and adding an unbeaten half-century was the first time he’s put together an all-round contribution with bat and bowl rather than just a wicket here or there.
He’s racked up some big scalps in his Test career so far but he’d only ever taken three in an innings before this match.
Poor old Mitchell Starc battled through the pain of his finger injury and he will probably take a lot more wickets and bowl worse than his 1-60 in the second innings.
If he hadn’t been able to bowl, the South Africans would probably have been able to take this into a fifth day.
This pitch didnt break up stump to stump, it played pretty well for a day-four wicket. There was not much seam or turn for Nathan Lyon so Starc’s 18 overs were important in the context of getting the match over and done with.
I really do hope we get a traditional turning pitch in Sydney next week and Australia play two spinners. I love pitches like the old days that test everybody in the different cities in Australia.
It’s looking like they’re going to play Lance Morris as a like-for-like replacement for Starc with Josh Hazlewood playing ahead of Scott Boland.
That’d be a bit harsh on Boland but he’s enhanced his reputation yet again these past few Tests so he will get more opportunities in the near future if he isn’t given a run in Sydney.
Morris would love to make his debut on a fast, bouncy pitch like Optus Stadium in Perth but with his ball speed and reverse swing capabilities, he can still make his mark at the SCG even though it might not totally suit him.
I’d go with Ashton Agar as the replacement for Green and bump Carey up to No.6. Just with the Indian tour coming up it’s so important to have everyone in form so the best way to make sure Agar’s up to the task in India would be to play him in Sydney.
Mike
Guest
@Frank, I think that Head's 90+ innings in the first test was far from average and was achieved against Rabada and Nortje on a hell of a green top. It was an exceptional innings. Head may seem ordinary at times but he is capable of playing an extraordinary innings great counter-attacking quality. Nobody is claiming Boland is amazing, however he has had an amazing start to his Test career. That surely cànnot be denied. No need to be a curmudgeon about it all.
Short Arm
Roar Rookie
Thanks for that info JN. If only the Proteas had a Rassie? Plus, he wouldn’t be so controversial & his blood pressure wouldn’t be so high with all the reviews available in cricket to keep those refs/umpires honest.????
badmanners
Roar Rookie
I feel he really hasn't done much wrong, but possibly the selectors are looking to the India tour and need to identify a left armer so as to attack the stumps more. Leggies need a very particular skill set to prosper over there.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Its a complex concept . We can actually debate it for days on end here and not be any wiser for it . But its been around for 30 years now and its outcomes sketchy at best . In any other context that would be seen as a failed idea. Rabada incidentally has publically opposed quotas , saying they diminish his achievements . I can literally be in favour of it one day and oppose it the next . In rugbys case aggressively selecting players of colour has not cost them their old support base while same time recruiting new converts . Excepting of course the ultra right and left minded. In cricket they have not only lost their traditional support base but failed to attract new recruits either . So it boils down to how they are handled .
The Knightwatchmen who say Nii
Roar Rookie
Would appear so to the trained eye yes. Cummins is not lacking courage there. Only needs to learn that sometimes it is absolutely imperative to enforce follow on and that personal milestones have no say in determining when a declaration should be made.
Barb Dwyer
Roar Rookie
Social engineering has happened over the millenium in virtually all societies through religion. The reasons behind the quota are important in the context of South African society.
Barb Dwyer
Roar Rookie
The way you worded it was good - "their performance was poor," honest, accurate but not putting the team down. If someone walks into my house and immediately tells me that they hate the decor and that the garden is a mess and they don't like my family - it serves no purpose, other than a power trip. It's the sort of stuff that Pauline Hanson, Sky News and Donald Trump want to be applauded for, whereas it is the behaviour of a 5 year old. 'How' we do things reflects the complexity of language.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
I've got into a lot of trouble for telling it like it is. I've even been arrested applying for work.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Did respond but my post went for policing :angry: . Maybe it still gets out here . Wasn't controversial just factual . Let's see.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
This conversation and article is mostly about the Proteas shortcomings but we must not lose sight of the potency Australia brought to the party . It goes a long way to explain the proceedings . Last series SA won , Steve Smith was indisputably your best batsman . Now he is questionably only your 3rd best . This is as good a batting lineup as I've ever seen . Can and did make a very good attack look ordinary . The way Nortje bowled this match he would have run through most other teams .
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Yes it most certainly is still in place and its a top question . Its oddly almost never a discussion anymore and you can specifically thank one person for that which is the infamous ( certainly on these pages ) , Rassie Erasmus .He has managed to turn it vey publically from a negative into a positive . He has embraced it , supported , selected and clearly values the black African players . Who in turn idolise him . Also however demanding in return no less a commitment than he does the white players . Walk through our malls , city streets and you will see any day of the week multitudes of Africans all hues wearing Bok shirts . It's noticeable . The only other you see are a smattering of European Soccer Club shirts , no Cricket ones or National football either .Its a great story because rugby was always seen as the most racist sport of all . The bastion of Afrikanerdom but interestingly instead of window dressing they behind the scenes put all the right structures in place to allow black players to excell. Today the likes of Am , Kolisi , Nche , Mapimpi , Kolbe etc. are seen generally by all excepting the most hardcore right wingers as the best in the land and possibly the world in their positions . So quotas are no longer a sore point . For the time being at least .
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
If the SCG is as slow as it apparently has been, then yeah it could work. Sort of taking the air out of the ball. It could definitely work in India.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Would have been my choice too if they were looking for an extra spinner. Can't be doing a lot for Swepson's confidence.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Maharaj was doing that sort of job for SA at the MCG and he was very innocuous. I think I'd rather having someone who threatens to take a wicket. But then again AB and Michael Clarke have ripped through sides at the SCG in the past when here has been a bit of spin on offer. It could work. Horses for courses.
matth
Roar Guru
Swepson is being left out undeservedly. What leggie dies t need a period to develop at test level. If Shane Warne was given the same set of chance as Swepson - then no test career.
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
I think they are looking to have him bowl stump to stump and keep things tight, with a view to him doing a similar job in India. It could work.
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
Through example yes, but I don’t think Dean Elgar commands anywhere near that level of respect.
matth
Roar Guru
Made the bowl first decision a very good one.
matth
Roar Guru
But it can come from a captain. Graeme Smith bred mental toughness.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Am I missing something with Agar - very good T20 and ODI player where he bowls tightly and can bat - but are his left arm tweakers at Test level seriously a threat? I can't see him ripping through a side at the SCG or India. He only has 9 wickets from 4 Tests @ 45.6 and hasn't played since 2017. 'Wild thing' Morris deserves a spot - replacing Starc - but not so sure about Agar. Can't even see his name in the shield bowling averages. Swepson has 12 shield wickets @ 39.7 this season. Maybe we can get by with Smith and Marnus bowling their leggies. I suspect they may replace Scotty Boland with Hazlewood.