Since South Africa’s readmission to international cricket they have featured in some amazing nail biting matches against Australia. Last week’s fixture at Newlands was only the latest in a long line of cracking matches between the two nations.
Australia celebrating that run out in 1999. Just another memorable Australia Vs South Africa encounter
By way of previewing the second Test in Johannesburg this week, we take a closer look at some of the previous Test match encounters that live long in the memory (click on fixture in bold for the scorecard)
South Africa and Australia met for the first time in a Test series for 24 years and was well worth the wait. After a rain affected draw in Melbourne, both teams flew to Sydney where Shane Warne took Australia to the verge to their first win over the Proteas in almost 30 years, only to be denied by Fanie de Villier’s.
Set 117 to win, Australia were on course for victory before de Villier’s broke the back of Australia’s top order, taking six wickets in total.cSouth Africa won by 5 runs. Before the start of the final day, South African born Tony Greig said that South Africa had one in a million chance of winning the game. de Villiers (not the first person to do so) proved Greig wrong.
After Australia won the first test comprehensively at Johannesburg, both sides met on a tricky wicket at Port Elizabeth, prepared to assist the home seamers. They took full advantage and routed Australia for 108 in their first innings.
However, an inspired comeback from Australia’s bowlers, and ordinary batting from South Africa’s batsman, left Australia chasing 270 to win the match and the series. In a game where no other batsman passed 50, Mark Waugh played a gem of an innings – perhaps his best hundred – and brought Australia close to an historic win. However, there was more drama as South Africa struck back with three quick wickets before Ian Healy smashed Hansie Cronje for a massive six to seal the series.
One down in a three Test series, South Africa were on their way to a win at Adelaide in the final Test before Mark Waugh produced one of his master classes (assisted by South Africa’s fielding) by batting through the last day against a South Africa side which included a rampant Shaun Pollock, who took nine wickets in the match.
However, controversy reigned on the final day as a bouncer from Pollock hit Mark Waugh above the elbow, causing him to wheel away and clip his wicket with his bat, but Waugh was given not out. Australia went on to draw the Test match and win the series, but South Africa felt they were undone by umpiring error.
After being bowled out cheaply in their first innings by a ruthless spell from Mitchell Johnson (8/61: yes, he can be quite good), South Africa looked dead and buried once they were set 414 to win in the fourth innings. However Graeme Smith and AB de Villier’s had other ideas as they took their side to an historic win by chasing down the second highest score to win a Test.
The Proteas were 1-0 up in the series. They went on to win 2-1; their first series win in Australia since readmission.
The end result suggests it was a one sided affair, but once South Africa were bowled out for 96, conceding a first innings a lead of 188, they looked down and out before Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and debutant Vernon Phillander turned it around by bowling Australia out for 47; at one stage they were 21-9 and well poised to break New Zealand’s record lowest innings total of 26. The 47 all out so de-motivated the Aussies that they ended up dropping two sitters in the field and losing the match by eight wickets.
Though this article is mainly about the Test match classics, one cannot write about these two teams without mentioning the epic World Cup semi final 1999 or the 434 run chase by South Africa in that ODI at the Wanderers. It’s a shame for millions of viewers that the current Test series is just a two match series.
We have so much meaningless cricket throughout the year, just like the recently concluded England India ODI series in India. It’s probably time for administrators to look for quality rather than quantity.
By Omer Ayaz
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