Baptism by Fire

Out of the frying pan and into the fire, Australia has suffered their heaviest defeat in 90 years to lose the fourth and final test match of the series by a mammoth 492 runs in Johannesburg.

As we farewell the 'gentle giant' Morne Morkel who concludes his sublime test career, we open to hopefully a new era of test cricket for Australia. There is no doubt that this series could often be depicted as a volcano that saw the eruption which led to the likes of Steve Smith, David Warner and Camron Bancroft suspended due to ball tampering and effectively cheating. 

Despite scandals and controversy, what was seen in the fourth test was a new look Australian side that certainly had a depletion of calibre and a real lack of morale. It was a team that looked broken and the cracks were simply covered yet unfilled.

There is no doubt that despite the disgrace that the players involved brought to the nation and cricket, there does lie some sympathy with the accused on the merits of their shown remorse. Seeing the likes of Steve Smith, David Warner and Camron Bancroft front the media and deliver their addresses to the nation's broadcasters certainly highlighted the gravity of their mistake and idiocity.

It seemed inevitable that there was only going to be two sides to the finale of the test series; Australia pull off an amazing victory or they are annihilated by the opposition. And the scoreboard certainly showed that South Africa was simply making a mockery of a rare fragile looking Australian side.With the likes of Sheffield Sheild winners Mathew Renshaw and Joe Burns being recalled back into the side and Peter Handscomb back in the XI after his poor Ashes campaign. With such a lack of application shown by the Australian batsmen, the ruthless nature of the South Africans was all but too much for a dismal looking Australian team.

On the eve of the fourth and final test Australian head coach Darren Lehman shockingly announced his retirement in response to the tearful press conferences given by the players involved in the scandals. There is no doubt that the contribution and success that Lehman has had with the Australian team should be highlighted as one of his highlights of his career involving cricket.

Whilst I believe that the actions by Smith, Warner and Bancroft were an insult to the spirit of cricket and the nations' trust, it was the commitment that was shown by the remaining Australian players who faced the fury of South Africa which best represented the values of Australia. The grit and determination despite the odds and the persistence to push the game as far as possible are what should be admired.

It is an unfortunate state of what this series had become in that to some extent it will be remembered more for the controversies rather than the quality of cricket that was played. For Morne Morkel’s glorious 300th wicket and the same with Nathan Lyon’s tally being eclipsed by the shocking events that took place in the 3rd test.  I think that despite the outrage that has been expressed by both the Australian public and the cricketing world, there have been some outstanding performances.

Players such as Pat Cummins (22 wickets), Kagiso Rabada (23 wickets), Aiden Markram and AB de Villiers have been shining lights in this series. From de Villiers’ century proving to single handily winning the second test for South Africa to Rabada’s annihilation of Australia throughout the series and the controversies that have followed. But for me, it has been the announcement of Aiden Markram as a test cricketer and the rare talent that he is onto the world stage which has been the ‘cricket’ story of the series. 

In this match particularly, what was brilliant to see was the return to form by South African captain; Faf du Plessis who struck a glorious century to knock the wind out of the tourists along with a strong backbone innings from Dean Elgar who has been going from strength to strength over the past few years.

I strongly believe that as the Indian Premier League begins, the ACA and Cricket Australia should begin to re-image the ‘new’ Australian side. Whilst I believe that the final XI for the final test was somewhat rushed, Australia should seek to reshape their whole side. I do believe that despite the crucial role that Tim Paine played and his extraordinary story from being on the cusp of retirement to Australia’s 46th test captain. However, I think that his skill with the gloves should not be compromised over leadership, hence a new captain should come into the side. For me, I do not see a better leader in the country than George Bailey. Since being dropped from the test side after his 5 match stint in the 2014 5-0 Ashes whitewash, his recent form has suggested that he deserves a look at the side again. I could describe Bailey as being the ‘Misbah ul Haq’ of Australia in that he could be the leader to reunite the side and win back the divided hearts of the Australian nation. Furthermore, he is the most recent winner of the domestic player of the year and it is about time that he should be given the opportunity to come back into the side. There have been some incredible glimpses of his leadership both in the Sheffield Shield and the limited over sides in which I believe he was harshly left out of in the first place. I believe that his style of captaincy and popular appeal to the Australian public is something that Australia needs at this time and I further believe that he can lead the side in the right way that can best represent the Australian way of playing and the values that are associated with that. 

With a tour to the UAE coming up, I believe that Australia’s challenge against a very confident Pakistan side will be their toughest challenge to date. With such a depletion of experience in this Australian side, I would not be surprised to see the likes of Mosies Henriques returning back into the side to provide another allrounder option, but also quality leadership experience. 

It would be an understatement to say that this series has been truly extraordinary and has been won by South Africa due to their capacity to capture the big moments by small margins. It has been ruthless, controversial, exciting and the quality of cricket has been at another level, to say the least. It is unfortunate the way things have turned out to be for a select few, however, it has still been an outstanding series. As I do at the end of every series, form a series XI in which I think would best represent the quality of cricket that has been played throughout this series based on their performances. 


South Africa/ Australia series XI: Aiden Markram (SA), Dean Elgar (SA), Usman Khawaja (AUS), AB de Villiers (SA), Faf du Plessis (SA) (c), Temba Bavuma (SA), Tim Paine (AUS) (wk), Vernon Philander (SA), Pat Cummins, (AUS) Kagiso Rabada (SA), Keshav Maharaj (SA), Mitchell Starc (AUS) (12th man)