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SA vs Australia: new stars emerge

25 March 2009

After two enthralling series, played home and away, South Africa and Australia finished with three wins apiece in the showdown of cricket's two highest ranked teams. New South African stars emerged in Australia and, back in South Africa, that trend continued, while some of the older players also made their mark.

After the high of winning a test series in Australia for the first time, the Proteas were expected to dominate a comparatively inexperienced Australian team in South Africa, but Ricky Ponting's men had other ideas. Playing disciplined and aggressive cricket, they won the first two tests, by 162 runs at the Wanderers and by 175 runs at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead.

Those two victories meant that Australia had won three tests against South Africa in succession. The Proteas were desperately in need of a win in the third test at Newlands in Cape Town, and they achieved it with a huge victory by an innings and 20 runs.

First innings defeat since 1998

It was the first time that Australia had lost by an innings since they went down to India by an innings and 219 runs in Calcutta in 1998.

"Although the Proteas lost this home Castle test series two-one, they halved the home and away test series three-all against the world champions, and finished the international season first and second in the ODI and test logs respectively," Cricket South Africa CEO Gerald Majola said in a statement afterwards.

"This is a remarkable achievement, coming on top of the Proteas' best season ever in 2008, when they won in all conditions at home and abroad.

"The six-match home and away series between South Africa and Australia has proved that test cricket is here to stay, with brilliant performances coming from both teams playing in the true spirit of test cricket, led by captains Graeme Smith and Ricky Ponting," Majola said.

'Emergence of new world test stars'

"Both test teams are in a transitional period, and this has produced the emergence of new world test stars, such as Dale Steyn, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Phil Hughes."

Majola also said the enthralling cricket played and success of the Proteas had done wonders for the popularity of the game.

"Recent independent surveys have shown that South African cricket has never been so popular," said Majola, "and all indications are that this trend will grow even further."

Newlands test

South Africa went into the Cape Town test without captain Graeme Smith, who had suffered a broken finger in the second test in Durban. Smith's regular opening partner Neil McKenzie was also dropped after a poor run of form.

In place of the pair, the selectors went for the top run scorer in the SuperSport Series, Imraan Khan, and recalled Ashwell Prince in an unfamiliar position as an opener.

History will show that things worked out well for the Proteas. While Khan contributed 20 in his first test innings, Prince made a superb 150. It should be recalled that before he was dropped from the side after picking up an injury while on the tour of Australia, Prince had scored 162 against Bangladesh in his last test innings.

The toss

However, before South Africa made it to the crease, they had to try and bowl the Australians out; incredibly, for the sixth time in six tests against SA, Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat.

Speedster Dale Steyn, with 4 for 56, and left-arm spinner Paul Harris, with 3 for 34, put the skids under the Australian batting effort as the visitors slid to a disappointing 209 all out.

South Africa, with Prince to the fore in the early going, then put Australia’s bowlers to the sword. Captain Jacques Kallis scored his thirty-first test century, making 102, while AB de Villiers top scored with a stylish 164.

Highest ever total against Australia

Four Australian bowlers conceded over 100 runs as the Proteas went on to record their highest score ever against Australia, 651, which was also the third highest in the history of South Africa in test cricket.

Trailing by 442 runs on the first innings, the Aussies fell to 218 for 6, but ended up making a fight of it as Andrew McDonald and Mitchell Johnson put on 163 for the seventh wicket, before McDonald was out for 68.

Johnson went on to score his maiden test century, reaching it with a sweetly struck six over midwicket off Dale Steyn. He finished unbeaten on 123 as Australia were bowled out for 422, which left South Africa the victors by an innings and 20 runs.

Star of the show

Steyn claimed another three wickets, but Harris was the star of the show, snaring 6 for 127 on a wicket that offered the bowlers little assistance. Later, he was named man of the match for his career best figures of 9 for 161.

Harris enjoyed an excellent series. Described as "under-rated" in many circles – which suggests he is starting to be given the recognition that he deserves – he finished the three-match series on as the second leading wicket-taker, trailing only Australia's Johnson and the Proteas' Steyn.

He impressed with his ability to not only slow the scoring rate, but also to remove top order batsmen. Suddenly, by the end of the series, the "under-rated" Harris found himself ranked eighth in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test rankings for bowlers!

Three bowlers in the top 10

An indication of the healthy state of the South African bowling attack is that he is one of three Proteas in the top-10; no other country has as many as three bowlers in the top-10.

The excellent Steyn, who was again the leader of the SA attack, is in second place, only 11 points behind the leader, Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan.

Steyn finished the series with 170 wickets, a figure which was for many years the most test wickets taken by a South African, namely spin bowler Hugh Tayfield. It has taken Steyn only 33 tests to get there, with a stunning strike rate of a wicket every six-and-a-half overs.

The third of the South African bowlers in the top-10 is veteran paceman Makhaya Ntini. Only Shaun Pollock, with 420 test wickets, has claimed more victims than Ntini, who has 388 to his name.

Getting better with age

Backing up the trio of top-10-ranked bowlers is Jacques Kallis, who occupies 17th place in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test rankings. His bowling average has in recent times come down, which indicates that he is bowling as well as he has ever done, if not better.

Two South Africans are present in the top-10 of the batting rankings. Captain Graeme Smith, who missed most of the home series, is SA's highest rated player in eighth place.

Jacques Kallis, far and away the world's leading test all-rounder according to the rankings, is in tenth place among the batsman. He is closely followed by Ashwell Prince, in eleventh, and AB de Villiers, in twelfth.

Batting in a healthy state

With four of the top 12 batsmen, it is clear that the Proteas' batting is in as healthy a state as the side's bowling.

Hashim Amla holds down 23rd position, Neil McKenzie 35th place, and JP Duminy 53rd position. Duminy's position will no doubt improve as he plays more tests and thus accumulates more rankings’ points.