Leggie Cameron Boyce was man of the match at the MCG last night as the Australians regained their mojo to thump South Africa by seven wickets to level the three-match Twenty20 series.
The decider will be at Stadium Australia on Sunday, which promises to be a cracker.
The 20-year-old Boyce took 2-15 off his four overs, both snappy stumpings by keeper Ben Dunk, whose glove work was as superb as Boyce’s loop and spin control on a belter of a track.
It’s too early to predict how far Boyce will go, but the youngster has all the ammunition to fire at any batsman.
Australia has not had a world class leg spinner since Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill, but fingers crossed, Cameron Boyce will be one.
Skipper Aaron Finch and paceman Pat Cummins would also have been a worthy man of the match.
Finch crunched 44 off 30 deliveries with eight fours, while Cummins, on the comeback trail, took 1-11 off his four that were at a constant 140 kilometre-per-hour pace, and accurate.
South Africa could only manage 7-101, and Australia replied with 3-102 with a massive 44 deliveries remaining. If the two teams were racehorses both would be swabbed.
South Africa won by seven wickets in Adelaide in the opener, outplaying the Australians in every department.
Last night the Australians did exactly the same to the visitors, led initially by Doug Bollinger snaring a wicket in his first over and James Faulkner repeating the dose in his first.
South Africa never recovered from 2-14, with skipper JP Duminy top-scoring with 49 from 51, but it was a lone hand. The only loss Australia suffered last night was the toss. From then on it was one-way traffic.
Australia didn’t make the same mistake as in Adelaide by opening the batting with Ben Duke and dropping Cameron White down the list. The pair added 48 in 28 deliveries to set the tempo, and it was just a matter of when.
Shane Watson continued his comeback with a well compiled 30 off 23, adding 49 in a hurry with Finch. With the score at 2-99, and needing just three runs to win, showboating Glenn Maxwell played the worst of cow shots to be back in the pavilion with a duck against his name.
Maxwell will never reach his potential until he grows up. He is the most frustrating of cricketers, blessed with huge talent, but no cricket brains. He was the only blemish in an otherwise flawless performance by the Australians.
In the curtain-raiser, the Australian women’s Twenty20 side won a nail-biter over the West Indies off the second last ball. Set 150 to win, Australia won by four wickets.
Eight men and a dog watched a great game with Australian keeper Alyssa Healy’s intelligent and powerful batting, cracking 25 off 12 deliveries when all appeared lost.
The win gave the Australians the series 3-0 with the final game on Sunday, again as the curtain-raiser to the men.
So get out there early and watch two Australian teams do battle. You won’t be disappointed.
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