South Africa fought back from an opening-match loss to defeat Australia 2-1, reclaiming the World No. 1 Test ranking.
Simon Harmer's career-best 6/16 and Marco Jansen’s Player-of-the-Series all-round display exploited a fragile Australian batting lineup
Matt Renshaw emerged as Australia’s sole batting bright spot across the series
South Africa’s 2-1 series win over Australia was a recovery from a heavy defeat, built on spin, all-round depth and a collapsing Australian batting order. The three Tests swung sharply, and Cape Town’s decider produced more twists in five days than most series manage in three Tests.
Australia started far better. At Durban’s Kingsmead, they won the opener by 214 runs, with Matt Renshaw scoring 190 in the first innings and 82 in the second. He also took his first Test wicket, that of Temba Bavuma, as South Africa folded chasing 421. South Africa responded emphatically at St George’s Park in Gqeberha.
Bavuma made a century and added a long eighth-wicket stand with Simon Harmer to lift them to 425/9 declared, and Australia were bowled out for 99 and 295 following on, giving South Africa victory by an innings and 31 runs.
The decider at Newlands went down to the final session of the final day. South Africa made 329 and 387, either side of Australia’s 429, which was built on Josh Inglis’s century and a 185-run stand with Alex Carey. Chasing 288 on a wearing pitch, Australia collapsed to 111 all out, handing South Africa a 176-run win and the top spot in the world rankings.
Here are five takeaways from the South Africa vs Australia Test Series:
Labuschagne's Dip Leaves Test Career On The Brink
Marnus Labuschagne’s tour ended in the worst way possible, with a five-ball duck in the first innings and a three-ball lbw in the chase. The numbers explain why his Test future is in doubt. He was the world’s No.1 batter after his first 30 Tests, but in the 70 innings since he has averaged 28.82 with a single century.
Before the decider, he had scored between 30 and 49 in six of his previous nine innings, a run Pat Cummins said would not win many matches. Former Test opener Simon Katich argued the selectors share the blame for not giving him a break earlier. He will almost certainly miss the Perth Test against New Zealand, and the question is now whether he comes back at all.
Lyon’s Fading Impact Raises Questions For Australia
It was a difficult series for Lyon. His six wickets cost 43.6 runs each, and he needed 18.1 overs to take each South African wicket. He was absent for the second Test, where Scott Boland took five wickets, and in the decider he bowled 44 overs in South Africa’s second innings for 2-101, bowling Bavuma twice in the match.
At 38, and with 47 wickets in his last 16 Tests, he is below the usual benchmark for a frontline spinner. Harmer, at the other end, was far more threatening on the same pitch. Lyon did top-score in Australia’s last innings, with an unbeaten 33.
Jansen Proves Indispensable As South Africa’s Premier All-Rounder
Marco Jansen was Player of the Series, with 198 runs and 13 wickets, and his value showed in every phase of the decider. With the bat he made a fifty off 66 balls with seven fours. With the ball he took 3-60, including his 100th Test wicket, that of Renshaw, and Carey and Green also had to cope with his bounce.
He was tactically useful too. Bowling around the wicket to the right-handers created rough outside off stump for Harmer to attack. On the final morning he took the gully catch that removed Travis Head.
Jansen gave South Africa balance. He was a front-line left-arm quick who also batted like a specialist in the lower order, so every collapse had a second line of defence, and Australia had no equivalent. South Africa could hold the match together on days when the top order failed, and that depth decided a series Australia led after one Test.
Harmer’s Precision Delivery Delivers Cape Town Masterclass
Harmer arrived in Cape Town as a useful spinner and left as the man who won the series. He took 4-104 in Australia’s first innings, then finished the match with six wickets for 16 runs, the best figures of his career.
On the final day he removed Carey, Connolly and Starc before lunch. After the break he bowled Green, trapped Cummins lbw for his fifth wicket and bowled Hazlewood to end the match. Australia went through 11 successive scoreless overs during this period, and he was the first spinner to take a five-wicket haul at Newlands since Saeed Ajmal in 2013.
The series showed how a patient spinner can unsettle a batting order. Harmer attacked the rough from around the wicket with close fielders, and Australia’s left-handers, who had played mostly on seam-friendly pitches, had no answer. That should worry Australia before their tour of India.
Renshaw Emerges As Australia’s Solitary Batting Bright Spot
Renshaw was the one Australian batter to emerge with credit. He scored 272 runs in the Durban Test, 190 and 82, then 74 in the decider. By my tally, he finished with 369 runs, including 12 and 11 in Gqeberha and a golden duck on the last day.
With Labuschagne expected to be dropped and Steve Smith recovering from a neck injury, Renshaw gives Australia a dependable opener to build around before the home summer and the tours of India and England.
