Aussies, Proteas square up once more
17 February 2009
The Australian cricket team arrived in South Africa on Monday for a two-month tour that includes three tests, two international Pro20 games and five one-day internationals.
South Africa go into the showdown as the number one-ranked one-day international team in the world, after beating Australia 4-1 in the recent ODI series Down Under, but the position as the world's top test team is still up for grabs, and whoever wins the Castle Test series gets to claim that title.
Zoopy TV: The people of Cape Town voice their opinions on the Proteas' historic test series victory in Australia. Click arrow to play video.
Shortly after arriving with his team at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport, Australian captain Ricky Ponting addressed the media, and posed with the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship Mace, much to the delight of the awaiting photographers.
'Battle of the giants'
Gerald Majola, CEO of Cricket South Africa, said: "Cricket South Africa welcomes Ricky Ponting and the Australian team to South Africa to what is going to be a battle of the giants.
"Graeme Smith and the Proteas have just returned from a historic and victorious summer tour of Australia, and now we have the visitors here intent on revenge.
"South African cricket is very pleased to host this great cricketing nation because over the past two decades the Australians have set the benchmark for international standards, and we know this will be the case again on this tour.
He continued: "While there is going to be much fun and excitement, we South Africans also remember with much sadness the tragic deaths that have occurred in the wildfires in Australia. Our condolences go out to the families of the victims of these terrible events."
First matches
The first Castle Test starts at Liberty Life Wanderers on 26 February 2009. Before that, Australia will play one warm-up match when they face South Africa "A" in a three-day tour match at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom, starting on Friday, 20 February 2009.
The expectations of South African cricket fans have been raised after a very successful tour of Australia from December 2008 to January of this year.
After equalling the record for the most test wins in a season, the Proteas rose to the challenge of facing the world's top ranked team by handing the Australians their first series loss on home soil since 1992/93.
The saying goes: "it's not what you say, but how you say it" and, for the SA team, it was a case of "it's not what you do, but how you do it." Not only did Graeme Smith's side beat the Aussies 2-1, but they comfortably chased down the second highest victory target in test history in the first test and fought back from a seemingly dire position to score another convincing win in the second test.
Wilting
After Australia claimed a two-nil win in the Twenty20 series, some thought the South African side had run out of steam. That assessment proved to be far off the mark as, after sharing the first two one-day internationals, the Proteas ran off three victories in succession. By the conclusion of the series it was clear that it was the Australians who were wilting.
As important as the victories were for South Africa, so too was the emergence of the younger players as cricketers of substance who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the proven veterans of the team in the toughest of situations.
The most obvious symbol of this emergence of talent was JP Duminy who, when given an opportunity to play because of an injury suffered by Ashwell Prince, took his chance with both hands. He made an unbeaten fifty in his first test innings to guide SA to a sensational win and followed that up with a crucial 166 in the second test to help the Proteas to a series victory.
Men to watch
The silky-skilled left-hander recently emerged as one of the hottest properties in the bidding at auction for the Indian Premier League. He was put up for $300 000 but far surpassed that as the Mumbai Indians claimed his services for $950 000, which was indicative of his rapid elevation to that of a superstar in the cricketing world.
Other players, such as Dale Steyn, showed that they were fully capable of performing with similar success against Australia as the success they had previously achieved against the likes of Bangladesh; despite Duminy's outstanding 166 in the second test, it was Steyn who was named man of the match after scoring 76 and picking up 10 wickets.
The case of Paul Harris was also interesting. Maligned in the Australian media before the test series as an average player that offered little threat to the Aussie batsmen, he finished the series with the fourth most wickets and enjoyed success against the home team's top order.
Now, the Proteas have the opportunity to prove they are undoubtedly the better team than Australia at home. If they do that, they will own the top rankings in both test and one-day international cricket.
That is more than enough motivation for Graeme Smith and company, and it will no doubt be a huge carrot for cricket fans to flood South Africa's grounds for a chance to finally see the Proteas put one over the Aussies in South Africa.
AUSTRALIAN TOUR ITINERARY
February
20-22: 3-day match vs South Africa "A" – Senwes Park, Potchefstroom
26-2 Mar: 1st Castle test – Liberty Life Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
March
6-10: 2nd Castle test – Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban
19-23: 3rd Castle test – Sahara Park Newlands, Cape Town
27 Mar: 1st Standard Bank Int Pro 20 – Liberty Life Wanderers, Johannesburg
29 Mar: 2nd Standard Bank Int Pro 20 – SuperSport Park, Centurion
April
3: 1st MTN ODI (D/N) – Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban
5: 2nd MTN ODI (D/N) – SuperSport Park, Centurion
9: 3rd MTN ODI (D/N) – Sahara Park Newlands, Cape Town
13: 4th MTN ODI (Day) – Sahara Oval St. George's, Port Elizabeth
17: 5th MTN ODI )D/N) – Liberty Life
Wanderers, Johannesburg
SAinfo reporter and Cricket South Africa
