Ask any Australian cricket fan, player, umpire or beleaguered weekend goalscorer, and they’ll tell you that the most famous rivalry is that of the Ashes.
The history, the prestige, the atmosphere… you’d be crazy to pretend otherwise.
India is often one of the exciting buildups because either of the away winning teams happens so rarely, plus the Virat Kohli of it all, and Australia’s huge Indian diaspora which makes excellent crowds.
But if we really think about the past decade, South Africa should hold a special place in the hearts of every Australian cricket fan.
It’s not always a warm place in the heart, but it’s always intriguing at the very least when the men’s teams go against each other.
Even the first test between them this summer, while not a memorable contest, was more dramatic than it had any right to be.
In a Test cricket climate where winning away seems as rare as a cow still mooing, the shamefully still unnamed series between Australia and South Africa is an outlier.
Only once in eight outings since 2005 has a home side won a Test series, and that was the Proteas in 2018 (and we’ll see how that goes).
Unlike a trip to the overcast skies and balls of the Dukes of England, or a trip to the dusty, creaky bridges of the subcontinent, conditions are similar enough between Australia and South Africa that a tour for either team doesn’t make you feel like you’ve landed in an alien environment.
So rather than one side struggling with conditions while the other yells “yeah, you better run” behind the safety of their country’s weather and grounds created by friendly gardeners, almost every series is a true competition between teams.
We could go back further to Mitchell Johnson destroying South Africa, and specifically Graeme Smith’s hand, in 2008. Or a 20-year-old Phillip Hughes scoring two tons in his second Test in 2009. Or Johnson scoring a century breathtaking in wasted effort. in the next game.
But let’s stick with the last five series, which offered more than enough drama to last a lifetime of rivalries.
2011: Cape Town and Cummins
Because 43 of Pat Cummins’ 44 Test matches have come in the last five years, it can be easy to forget how long ago he debuted.
We all know he was young. We all know that he spent the following years injured. But 2011 really feels like a different era. And for the Australian men’s test team, it was.
Still in place and desperately trying to hit rock bottom after the retirements of Warne, McGrath, Hayden, Langer and Gilchrist, Australia were in the infancy of Michael Clarke’s captaincy and the twilight years of Ricky Ponting’s career when they traveled to South Africa for two tests. in November 2011.
The tracks were there, with Hughes, Shaun Marsh, Nathan Lyon and Ryan Harris all at the start of their careers, with the debuts of David Warner, Mitchell Starc and Usman Khawaja just months away, but none of that helped. Australia in the opening of the series in the Cabo.
After Clarke scored 151 of 284 runs in the first dig and Shane Watson’s reverse swing dropped the Proteas for 96 in the second, Australia were knocked out for 47 in 18 overs in their second run.
It was the lowest Test score by an Australian men’s team since 1902, with only Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon’s 26 runs for the last wicket preventing them from the worst outing ever.
After that eight-wicket loss, Australia needed a win to pull out the series and retain bragging rights, but would have to do so without the oft-injured Harris.
An 18-year-old New South Welshman was named to replace him. Showing pace, precision, stitching and swing, Cummins took 6-79 in the second inning against a stacked batting team, then hit the winners in a 310-run chase for another famous and thrilling win. in Johannesburg.
2012: Du Plessis’ debut in the marathon
Australia’s first of three Tests in 2012 ended in a draw when Australia couldn’t take 10 wickets in 68 tight overs at the Gabba. But 148 at the Adelaide Ring should have been a lot of time.
Especially once four wickets have fallen in the first 21 overs, bringing a newbie into the crease, right?
Alongside AB de Villiers’ brilliant 33 from 220, future captain Faf du Plessis was simply unwavering for his unbeaten 110 from 376 balls.
Without injured spearhead James Pattinson, an attack by Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon (well aided by Clarke, Ponting and Rob Quiney) fell to within two wickets of victory.
In the final test in Perth, South African captain Graeme Smith surprised retiree Ricky Ponting with a guard of honor as he headed for the crease, which has since become commonplace for tall retirees.
2014: The great forgotten series
Hot on the heels of the Mitchell Johnson-led sweep of the 2013/14 Ashes series, Australia traveled to South Africa for three games.
Jacques Kallis unfortunately played his last Test a few months earlier, but otherwise all the modern stars were there – Clarke, Johnson, Harris, Warner, Watson, Lyon, Smith (Steve) for the Australians; De Villiers, Steyn, Morkel, Philander, Amla, Du Plessis, Smith (Graeme) for South Africa. And they were almost all in something resembling their primes, making it an elite fast bowling contest against top hitters.
Johnson carried his Ashes form into the series with 7-68 and 5-59 as he led Australia to victory in the first Test, while Warner scored 543 with three tons at 90.5 for the series in the only country where he has a solid touring record. .
In a series that was all about big straight cricket from top to bottom, perhaps the highlight was Clarke’s 161 with a broken shoulder to secure victory in the decider in Cape Town.
Alex Doolan was also present.
2016: South Africa leads Australia in a phase of reconstruction
A strong Aussie side may have enjoyed some easier runs from late 2014 to 2016.
In fact, Australia hadn’t lost a home Test since 2012 (against South Africa) as they prepared to face the Proteas again in 2016.
The lack of competition contributed to an explosion of interest in the Big Bash, as Adam Voges cashed in so aggressively that he had such a high batting average that historians would struggle to explain it 40 years from now.
Everything fell apart in the space of a few days in Hobart.
After losing the first Test in Perth, Australia traveled to Bellerive Oval in hopes of turning the tide, but the overcast skies prompted the tourists to boldly send Australia to bat and it worked wonders .
Australia were knocked out 33 overs and 85 runs later, with Steve Smith’s 48 not the only double-digit score on the first dig.
Despite only scoring a solid 326 in their first set and losing an entire day in the rain, South Africa won by one set and 80 runs before lunch on day four.
Showing real leadership qualities for perhaps the first time during and after the game, Smith spoke passionately about the need for major change. It ended the testing careers of Adam Voges, Peter Nevill and even debutants Callum Ferguson and Joe Mennie as the team underwent a total overhaul in the search for “ugly leads”.
Peter Handscomb, Nic Maddinson and young Queensland classic Matt Renshaw were drafted for the final Test of the series, which Australia comfortably won under the floodlights at the Adelaide Oval.
An Australian journalist was also shirtless by a member of South Africa’s support staff as he attempted to question Faf du Plessis after the South African captain was cited for tampering with a mint ball .
Out of shame, Faf.
2018: Hummmmm
No, I don’t remember much interest on this tour in South Africa.
South Africa won 3-1. Well played guys.
…
OK fine.
Here are the Cliffs Notes:
- Australia won the first Test with a devastating reverse swing spell from Mitchell Starc, prompting some to raise suspicions of ball tampering over the tape on David Warner’s hands on the pitch.
- Quinton de Kock and David Warner clashed on the way to the locker room after de Kock made remarks about Warner’s family.
- Kagiso Rabada was lucky to avoid a ban for excessive wicket celebrations and a bump on Smith.
- All hell broke loose when Cameron Bancroft was caught tampering with a ball with sandpaper during the third Test in Cape Town.
- In the aftermath, Tim Paine became captain. Matt Renshaw and Peter Handscomb got their second Protea-induced call, as did Joe Burns, sporting a very not-quite-ready prime-time beard. They land just in time for the final test, which Australia loses by 492 runs.
So yes, a bit of drama.
ABC Sport will have live blog and radio coverage when the Australia vs South Africa test series resumes in the Boxing Day test at the MCG.
#Claiming #South #Africa #Australias #mens #team #rivalry