Australia vs South Africa Final Test Archives

South Africa hold out for rare draw to deny Australia series sweep

SYDNEY: South Africa were untroubled as they batted out for their first draw in almost six years on the final day of the third Test in Sydney on Sunday, denying Australia a series whitewash.

Australia went into the fifth day of the rain-ravaged Test requiring 14 wickets for an improbable victory, but the Proteas comfortably negotiated their way through to earn a first draw in their last 47 Tests going back to New Zealand in 2017.

The teams shook hands with five overs left and South Africa at 106 for two in their second innings with Sarel Erwee unbeaten on 42 and Temba Bavuma 17.

Australia enforced the follow-on after Josh Hazlewood led the way with four wickets to dismiss the Proteas for 255 — 21 runs short of their target, but their highest innings total of a dismal series.

“We tried different things, kept putting balls in good areas and hoped the luck would turn,” Australia skipper Pat Cummins said.

“We were up against it, we had 150 overs to take 20 wickets on a good surface.”

Australia could only muster two wickets in South Africa’s second innings with skipper Dean Elgar yet again failing along with Heinrich Klaasen.

Elgar fell for the fourth time in the series to a leg-side catch by wicketkeeper Alex Carey for 10.

Cummins peppered him with a rising delivery and targeted Elgar’s technical batting flaw off his hips for yet another cheap dismissal.

Elgar finished a miserable series with just 56 runs from six innings at an average of 9.33, raising yet more questions about his future as South Africa’s Test skipper.

“Touring Australia is never easy,” Elgar said. “The message to the group yesterday was to fight it out on day five.

“Only three or four guys have played here before, so there are a lot of learnings. It is a tough place to tour, maybe the toughest in the world.

“Test cricket teaches you resilience. When things aren’t on your side, you still have to wake up and try again.”

Australia opener Usman Khawaja was named man-of-the-match for his unbeaten 195 in Australia’s first innings declaration of 475-4.

Fellow opener David Warner was man-of-the-series, based largely on his double century in Melbourne.

Lyon distraught

Asked about his feelings on being stranded short of his first Test double-century by the declaration, Khawaja said: “I would have loved to get a double ton.

“But this is what cricket is about. You play for milestones but you also need to do the best for the team.”

Australia had some chances on the final day and leading spinner Nathan Lyon was left distraught when two contentious reviews involving Klaasen went against him.

Klaasen survived a strident leg before wicket appeal and subsequent review on 27.

A run later a low catch by Steve Smith was given not out after a review with the third umpire Richard Kettleborough ruling that part of the ball was touching the grass when it went into Smith’s fingers.

Smith was adamant he took the catch. “I was pretty certain I caught it, but it was deemed the other way. It’s the umpire’s call and you move on.”

But Klaasen didn’t last much longer and was bowled by Hazlewood for 35.

Hazlewood had earlier made a crucial double-wicket breakthrough to help wrap up South Africa’s first innings.

He removed the stubborn Keshav Maharaj leg before wicket for 53 off 81 balls, ending a 85-run partnership with Simon Harmer.

Hazlewood struck again removing the stoic Harmer, bowling him off an inside edge for 47 from 165 balls.

Lyon wrapped up the Proteas first innings with a superb diving caught and bowled off Kagiso Rabada for three.

Hazlewood finished with four for 48 while his pace partner Pat Cummins took three for 60. Cummins finished as the series leading wicket-taker with 12 wickets at 16.91.

Australia missed out on a series clean sweep after winning the opening Test by a six-wicket rout in Brisbane inside two days, then hammering the Proteas by an innings and 182 runs in Melbourne.

The final Test draw means Australia have yet to mathematically seal a place in the World Test Championship final in London in June ahead of next month’s series in India.

Khawaja on cusp of double ton as Australia punish South Africa

SYDNEY: An imperious Usman Khawaja was on the verge of a double century when rain interrupted Australia’s run plunder against South Africa in the third Test on Thursday in Sydney.

In another dominant day for the hosts, Khawaja peeled off an unbeaten 195 for his highest Test score while Steven Smith passed a Don Bradman landmark with his 30th hundred.

At the rain-enforced close on day two, Australia were 475-4 with Matt Renshaw — who tested positive for Covid at the start of the match — five not out.

Australia are 2-0 up in the series and chasing a clean sweep.

Khawaja and Smith shared in a 209-run stand and Travis Head rammed home the initiative with a blistering 59-ball 70 to leave the visitors yet again facing an uphill task.

The red-hot Khawaja surpassed his previous highest score of 174, made against New Zealand in Brisbane in 2015.

Smith more than played his part, passing Bradman’s 29 Test tons with a majestic pullshot off Anrich Nortje to the boundary ropes to claim a hometown hundred off 190 balls.

He was out two balls later for 104 when he innocuously chipped back a catch to Keshav Maharaj for the left-arm spinner’s first wicket of the series.

Along the way Smith also overtook Michael Clarke to become Australia’s fourth-highest Test run-getter with 8,647, behind Ricky Ponting, Allan Border and Steve Waugh.

Only Ponting (41) and Waugh (32) have scored more Test centuries for Australia than Smith, who is second only to the immortal Bradman (99.94) with a current Test average of 60.89 in his 92nd Test match.

“I don’t think about that stuff a great deal but I did look up at the scoreboard just after I got 100… and there are some pretty big names there, so that’s pretty cool,” Smith said.

“I think there is starting to get a little bit more rough. That’s certainly positive signs for us. The rougher and more abrasive that surface gets, the more you’ll probably see reverse swing come into play as well.”

Home comforts for Khawaja

Khawaja relentlessly accumulated on his third consecutive Sydney Test hundred and when rain ended play with 14 overs left he had faced 368 balls, with 19 fours and a six.

Before lunch, Khawaja danced a celebratory jig after clipping Kagiso Rabada for two through deep square to bring up another hundred at Sydney Cricket Ground.

It followed twin centuries against England in last year’s corresponding Sydney Test.

“I grew up here just up the road and my family is here watching, I have friends out in the crowd, it’s always an honour to score runs here,” said Khawaja.

Only England’s Wally Hammond, Australian Doug Walters and India’s VVS Laxman have scored three consecutive Test centuries at the famous SCG.

Head hit another typical rumbustious half-century before he was brilliantly caught on the ropes by substitute fielder Rassie van der Dussen off Rabada.

“In the position we are in, the more time that is taken out of the game is probably more in our favour,” Maharaj said after rain brought South Africa some badly needed respite.

“But it also puts Australia in a position where they have to make a play from here on in.”

So far in this one-sided three-Test series, the Australians have amassed 1,303 runs for the loss of 26 wickets — at an average per wicket of 50.

South Africa have 644 runs for the loss of 40 wickets at 16.1.

The Australians won the opening Test by a six-wicket rout in Brisbane inside two days and then hammered the Proteas by an innings and 182 runs in Melbourne.

Apart from the pursuit of a series whitewash, Australia are trying to seal a place in the ICC World Test Championship final in London in June.

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Nortje’s double strike leaves Australia at 147-2 on rain-hit day

SYDNEY: South Africa strike bowler Anrich Nortje claimed the key wickets of David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne on Wednesday to prise Australia’s grip on the third Test in Sydney as rain plagued the opening day.

Nortje was the Proteas’ star man as he removed Warner cheaply for 10 and late in the day denied Labuschagne (79) his 11th Test hundred.

As bad light and rain conspired to prematurely end the first day, Australia were 147 for two with Usman Khawaja, who averages 98 in Sydney Tests, unbeaten on 54 and Steven Smith yet to score.

Nortje got the big breakthrough with a ripper, taking the edge of Labuschagne’s bat to get him caught behind and end his 151-ball stay.

The pacer earlier struck in his second over of the day when he had Melbourne Test double-centurion Warner caught at slip by Marco Jansen for 10.

No sooner had Smith arrived at the wicket after Labuschagne’s dismissal than the players left the field for bad light for the final time.

It is the sixth bedevilled Sydney Test out of the past seven to be affected by rain.

There was controversy earlier in Labuschagne’s innings when on 70 he edged Jansen to Harmer at slip.

The on-field umpires referred the decision with a soft signal of out, only for third umpire Richard Kettleborough to rule that the ball had touched the ground between the fingers of Harmer.

Khawaja also survived a review straight after lunch on 25 as he reverse-swept Harmer and was given out leg before wicket, but replays showed the ball touching the glove.

The opening day was also marked by Matt Renshaw, recalled for his first Test for Australia since April 2018, returning a positive Covid-19 test after the toss was taken and the team composition confirmed.

But team officials said he would continue to play in the match with his symptoms only described as mild.

Renshaw was transferred to a separate dressing room from his teammates where he will prepare for the rest of the match, and spent most of play sitting away from the team runners near the Australian dug-out.

Skipper Pat Cummins won his fifth successive toss and decided to play an extra spinner with left-armer Ashton Agar, and Renshaw coming in to bolster the batting, squeezing out in-form paceman Scott Boland on a dry cracking Sydney Cricket Ground pitch.

South Africa did likewise, with off-spinner Harmer ousting Lungi Ngidi while Heinrich Klaasen replaced Theunis de Bruyn at number three.

Apart from a series clean sweep, Australia will be looking to lock in a place in the ICC World Test Championship final in London in June. The Proteas still have an outside chance but must first cause an upset in Sydney.

The Australians have already wrapped up the three-match series after hammering the Proteas by an innings and 182 runs in Melbourne following a six-wicket rout in the opener in Brisbane inside two days.

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