South Africa [488 & 344/6d] defeat Australia [221 & 119] by 492 runs to win 4th Test; Win series 3-1

[soso_killer]

[MENTION=132982]soso_killer[/MENTION] any predictions on how far the aus can get to? I am predicting 175 to 225 max

225 max, they are jumping up and down to negate Maharaj. Faf needs to be aggressive with his captaincy though, should have two slips.

 

[MenInG]

FAF DU PLESSIS and Morne Morkel produced inspirational performances as they played through the pain barrier to help the Standard Bank Proteas close in on a series victory on the fourth day of the final Sunfoil Test match at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium on Monday.

The Proteas go into the final day needing 7 wickets for victory while Australia need an implausible 524 runs for victory in the remaining 90 overs after being set a monster target of 612 runs. The only issue would appear to be whether the Proteas complete a 3-1 or 2-1 series victory.

Du Plessis took several blows to the fingers of his right hand, one of which caused him a great deal of pain but he put it behind him to score his 8th Test match century and his third against Australia. In all he made 120 runs (178 balls, 18 fours and 2 sixes) and shared the biggest partnership of the series to date of 170 with Dean Elgar (81 off 250 balls, 10 fours and a six). In the process Elgar completed his 300 runs for the series.

Du Plessis’ century was a typical power-driven knock, studded with commanding drives and vigorous pulls, plus the odd moment of unorthodoxy such as the six he hit over backward point off the front foot.

His partnership with Elgar took the game well out of Australia’s reach and it was then cemented further by Temba Bavuma and Vernon Philander who hit an unbroken 71 for the seventh wicket. Bavuma completed statistically his best Test match by scoring 130 runs over the two innings without being dismissed.

Pat Cummins rounded off an outstanding series by taking 4 wickets in the second innings to finish with his best match return of 9/149.

There had been considerable doubt as to whether Morkel would be able to bowl at all in the second innings following his apparent abdominal injury but he proved more than equal to the occasion, sending down an eight-over spell of sustained accuracy and pace to dismiss both opening batsmen at a personal cost of just 18 runs.

Keshav Maharaj chimed in with the wicket of Usman Khawaja to leave Australia up against it at 88/3 with the only realistic option to try to fight for the draw.

 

[Chrish]

Bavuma needs to be replaced by Mudler.. And not sure how long can Faf keep riding on "brilliant captain" excuse. He should be integral part of leadership but in a different form than being a player.

 

[soso_killer]

^^^^I agree, our players will no longer rest between March and May due to IPL.

Going forward I think circumstances dictate that every Test side play with an all rounder. A lot of fast bowlers will break down during winter tours, either through fatigue or caring an injury from the IPL.

It's clear from thua Test Rabada is on the verge of breaking. He's been declared at 50/50 for this innings hence he didn't bowl much.

However there's transformation that needs to be addressed. It's a delicate matter which needs to be handled with care. CSA wants a wider talent pool.

 

[Hasan123]

SA have this one in the bag. Don't see Australian batting line up lasting against Mahraj.

Hope Handscomb scores big though. Think he will come good after some big scores.

 

[Ab Fan]

200 wickets for Philander

 

[Big Mac]

Philander isn't bad

 

[Adijazz1706]

Philander has a sub 22 average, McGrath comparisons? Before Asian performances are brought in, remember McGrath has only 1 5-er in Asia and that was against a 2nd string Pakistan team IIRC

 

[Ab Fan]

Aussies two best batsmen out there.

 

[Adijazz1706]

Bavuma needs to be replaced by Mudler.. And not sure how long can Faf keep riding on "brilliant captain" excuse. He should be integral part of leadership but in a different form than being a player.

Have u followed this match at all? )

 

[Big Mac]

This is ridiculous

 

[Oligochaetes]

Phil on the verge of a hattrick

 

[Ozymandiasza]

Wow, Philander

 

[WengerOut]

Looks like [MENTION=132982]soso_killer[/MENTION] is missing all the fun.

 

[Big Mac]

Aussies denying Morkel his final wicket and Philander his 10-fer by running themselves out

 

[Ozymandiasza]

South Africa won by 492 runs

 

[WengerOut]

So the 3 best performers for SA ( Markram , AB and Rabada ) in the series are the ones who dint take rest during ODIs against India. Elgar and Philander do not play ODIs.

 

[TM Riddle]

LMAO what a fall from grace

 

[Ozymandiasza]

So the 3 best performers for SA ( Markram , AB and Rabada ) in the series are the ones who dint take rest during ODIs against India. Elgar and Philander do not play ODIs.

By rest you mean recovering from injury?

 

[WengerOut]

By rest you mean recovering from injury?

According to [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] , they were taking rest for more important series than the Indian one.

 

[Ozymandiasza]

According to [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] , they were taking rest for more important series than the Indian one.

I remember the thread

If that's the case, it worked well

 

[Junaids]

So the 3 best performers for SA ( Markram , AB and Rabada ) in the series are the ones who dint take rest during ODIs against India. Elgar and Philander do not play ODIs.

It all worked out perfectly.

South Africa ended up splattering India inside 8 days to win that series, then came back from one Test down against the much tougher Australian team to win that series 3-1.

India wasted probably the only chance they will ever get to establish themselves as the world’s best team - mainly because Kohli was not smart enough to select Rahane until the meaningless dead rubber Third Test.

South Africa was only really operating at about 60-70% to defeat India. So when they then stepped up a level to play Australia they lost the first Test, and had to dig deep to up their game and come back.

 

[WengerOut]

It all worked out perfectly.

South Africa ended up splattering India inside 8 days to win that series, then came back from one Test down against the much tougher Australian team to win that series 3-1.

India wasted probably the only chance they will ever get to establish themselves as the world’s best team - mainly because Kohli was not smart enough to select Rahane.

South Africa was only really operating at about 60-70% to defeat India. So when they then stepped up a level to play Australia they lost the first Test, and had to dig deep to up their game and come back.

I was alluding to the ODI leg of the Indian tour when you said SA were resting players.

 

[Ozymandiasza]

Rabada is Man of the Series

Well done!

 

[Ab Fan]

Aiden Markram should have been the Man of the Match.

It has been bowlers though in every match.

Starc, Rabada, Morkel, Philander.

I also think AB de Villiers should have been Man of the Series too. He contributed in every test and things changed after that inning in Port Elizabeth.

 

[MenInG]

CSA CONGRATULATES PROTEAS ON HISTORIC TEST SERIES WIN OVER AUSTRALIA

Tuesday, 03 April 2018

CRICKET SOUTH AFRICA (CSA) has congratulated the Standard Bank Proteas on winning the Sunfoil Test Series against Australia by a 3-1 margin after winning the final Test match by 492 runs at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium on Tuesday.

The winning margin (by runs) was South Africa’s biggest against all opponents.

“Congratulations to captain Faf du Plessis, head coach Ottis Gibson and all the players and team management on their outstanding achievement,” commented CSA Acting Chief Executive Thabang Moroe. “This is the first time we have won a home series against Australia since unity and to complete away and home series wins against them in the space of 17 months is a huge achievement.

“Faf is our first captain to achieve this and coming on top of the home series wins against India and Bangladesh earlier this season this completes an outstanding period of Test cricket for all involved. Indeed, apart from the ODI Series against India our boys have played consistently outstanding cricket over a long season.

“One must make special mention of Ottis as well in his first year in charge of our national side.

“There have been many outstanding individual achievements from the likes of Kagiso Rabada, the leading wicket-taker in the series, and Aiden Markram, the leading runs scorer in the series, among others but this has been a real team effort with all the players contributing to this success.

“Vernon Philander’s performance today was quite exceptional.

“This is also the time to thank Morne Morkel for his immense contribution to South African cricket over more than a decade and to wish him well in his future endeavours.

“What has been really pleasing is the number of new caps who have done outstandingly well across the three formats and this reflects well on our talent development pipeline. Markram, Lungi Ngidi and Andile Phehlukwayo all made their Test debuts; Markram, Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Wiaan Mulder, Heinrich Klaasen and Khaya Zondo in the ODI format; and Klaasen, Robbie Frylinck, Junior Dala and Christiaan Jonker in the T20 format.

“The Proteas can now head to Sri Lanka for their next Test Series in the second half of the year, confident that they can continue to challenge India for the ICC No. 1 ranking in this format.

“Our fans and other stake holders can also look forward to another bumper season of Test cricket in 2018-19 when we host both Sri Lanka and Pakistan,” concluded Mr. Moroe.

 

[Varun]

492 runs.

What a demolition.

 

[Rahul1]

Man I'm gonna miss Morkel.

 

[Ab Fan]

So, South Africa make-up for the home loss against England by winning home against Australia?

 

[Savage]

It all worked out perfectly.

South Africa ended up splattering India inside 8 days to win that series, then came back from one Test down against the much tougher Australian team to win that series 3-1.

India wasted probably the only chance they will ever get to establish themselves as the world’s best team - mainly because Kohli was not smart enough to select Rahane until the meaningless dead rubber Third Test.

South Africa was only really operating at about 60-70% to defeat India. So when they then stepped up a level to play Australia they lost the first Test, and had to dig deep to up their game and come back.

Without that win,India wouldn't be ranked no1 right now.

 

[IndianFan2018]

Awesome pictures at the end ... and Morkel with their kids and spouses

 

[Titan24]

Rabada shouldnt be playing IPL rather he should be giving rest to his body

 

[MultanKaSultan]

Rabada shouldnt be playing IPL rather he should be giving rest to his body

I wonder if you will advise him the same thing if in future he is interested in playing PSL

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Demolition job

 

[Titan24]

I wonder if you will advise him the same thing if in future he is interested in playing PSL

Obviously Indians would love him playing in IPL and I would love to see him in PSL, however, from a neutral perspective he shouldnt be playing T20 leagues considering he is a fast bowler and is still just 22 and his body is developing.

And this is what he said at post match presentation:

"It's been a long summer, a lot of games. At the end there, it reflected. Not much of a rest coming up, hopefully can regenerate some energy. Australia is a great cricketing nation, we know it's not going to be easy. Very proud of how we played. You can never stop learning, the game finds a way to humble you. Nice to always improve. Outstanding career for Morne, fitting finale for him. Today is all about him."

 

[IndianFan2018]

Rabada shouldnt be playing IPL rather he should be giving rest to his body

Hmm... 4.2 crore rupees for 2 months effort, don't think so KG will let go that.

Never know when bad luck strikes and lose such lucrative contracts

 

[MenInG]

PHILANDER DESTROYS AUSTRALIA ON FINAL MORNING

Tuesday, 03 April 2018

VERNON PHILANDER needed just three overs to complete the double of 200 career Test wickets and 50 wickets against Australia before completing a quick-fire demolition with career-best figures of 6/21 on the final morning of the fourth Sunfoil Test match at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium on Tuesday.

The day’s play lasted little more than an hour as the Standard Bank Proteas achieved the huge winning margin of 492 runs, the biggest ever in South Africa’s history.

It completed a 3-1 series win, giving the Proteas their first home Test series win over Australia.

At one stage Philander had a spell of 6/3 before No. 11 batsman Josh Hazlewood struck two boundaries at the death of the innings. Philander finished with career best match figures of 9/51 which included his 13th five-wicket haul of his career. It earned him the Sunfoil Man of the Match award. Philander’s previous best innings return had been the 6/42 he took against India earlier this year.

Philander and Kagiso Rabada, who was named Sunfoil Man of the Series, are now the two leading wicket-takers in Test cricket this year, having taken 31 wickets at 16 and 38 wickets at 19 respectively, and all their Tests have been played against two of the powerhouses of world cricket, India and Australia.

Keshav Maharaj, who was expected to play the main bowling role on the final day, hardly got to bowl at all as Faf du Plessis brought Morne Morkel back into the attack to give him the opportunity to take a final wicket on his final day of Test cricket. Unfortunately, it was not to be as the last Australian wicket fell to a run out.

Australia thus finished the series without either an individual century or a century partnership.

The Proteas had three of the four leading runs scorers in the series and three of the four leading wicket takers.

The dominance of the South African bowlers was reflected by the fact that Australia only managed to force the Proteas to take the second new ball once in the entire series.

What will be really encouraging for South African cricket was the fact that the two main contenders for the Man of the Series were their two youngest members of the playing XI, Rabada and Aiden Markram. And also the tenacity the squad showed in winning three in a row after being well beaten in the first match of the series.

 

[Chrish]

Have u followed this match at all? )

Have you followed their careers at all??