10 April, 2009

Johan Botha Half-centuries from Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers proved decisive as South Africa eased to a 25-run victory over Australia in the third one-day international in Cape Town on Friday morning.

Kallis and De Villiers shared a 114-run partnership for the third wicket to rescue the home side from early trouble to post 6-289.

The tourists struggled in their chase, with Callum Ferguson (63) and James Hopes (63 not out) only briefly threatening as outstanding fielding and Roelof van der Merwe's 3-37 restricted the visitors to 7-264.

They made a solid enough start in their response, reaching 30 before the first wicket fell - Brad Haddin run out via a direct hit from JP Duminy fielding at cover.

Ricky Ponting was then dropped twice in successive balls by Mark Boucher and Kallis, although the first chance to the South African wicketkeeper seemed to have been taken on the bounce.

Ponting had another close shave when he survived a run-out chance after running halfway down the track, only to be saved by a poor throw from Albie Morkel at mid-wicket.

But he finally perished for 20, caught and bowled after being outfoxed by a flighted delivery from spinner Johan Botha.

Van der Merwe was introduced into the attack and he struck a double blow in his third over, bowling Michael Clarke (35) and trapping Michael Hussey (one) leg before wicket, despite the batsman getting a big inside edge.

Duminy too was an instant hit when he was brought on to bowl, claiming the wicket of David Hussey (20) with his second ball, caught at long-on by Dale Steyn as Australia fell to 5-114.

But Ferguson brought up his fifty in 59 balls and shared a 97-run partnership with Hopes before he was dismissed when caught by de Villiers running back from cover off the bowling of van der Merwe.

Another brilliant piece of fielding by Duminy in the deep saw Mitchell Johnson (nine) run out as Australia fell well short of its target.

Earlier, after winning his first toss of the series and electing to bat, Graeme Smith was sent on his way in the seventh over when he walked down the track to Johnson (4-34) and edged a seaming delivery behind to Haddin.


Herschelle Gibbs was next to go when he holed out to a good catch by Hopes at deep mid-wicket off Nathan Bracken.

But in company with de Villiers, Kallis reached his fifty from 69 balls. And Kallis soon followed him to a half-century, at a marginally quicker tempo.

Brett Geeves grabbed a fortuitous breakthrough when Kallis (70) slammed a short and wide delivery straight to Hopes.

Johnson then removed de Villiers for 80 with a slower delivery that took a leading edge and was snapped up by Nathan Hauritz at mid-off.

After Duminy had smashed Johnson straight to Michael Hussey at cover, Boucher and Morkel plundered late runs.

April 11, 2009

So unprepared was Stuart Clark for selection on Australia's limited overs tour of South Africa, he did not have a passport when the call came. "I've just spent the day organising another one," he said. "My original passport is still at the British consulate."

Clark had been preparing to fly to England this week for a county stint with Kent, for whom he was to debut on April 21 in a County Championship match against Northamptonshire. But those plans were scuppered with a surprise phone call from Michael Brown, Cricket Australia's operations manager, on Friday night, instructing him to pack his bags for South Africa and, afterwards, the UAE.

"I almost fell off my chair when I got the call," Clark told Cricinfo. "I hadn't planned on it happening at all. I had just assumed my one-day international career was in the past, and while I was disappointed by that, I was just concentrating on the other forms of the game. This really came out of the blue, and I'm very excited about it. It's a real chance for me to get back into the one-day team on a more regular basis."

Clark's call-up came after Brett Geeves fractured his left foot during Australia's 25-run defeat to South Africa in Cape Town on Thursday. He will arrive in South Africa on Sunday, and is likely to make his return to one-day international cricket in the fifth and final match at the Wanderers next Friday.

Clark has not represented Australia at limited-overs level since September last year, and appeared to have slipped well back in the pecking order. But injuries to key fast bowling personnel has presented him with an opportunity to add to his 36-game resume, and gain valuable exposure to international cricket in his comeback from elbow surgery.

Clark expected that comeback would be made through the county ranks; a move that prompted outrage among many within English cricket, given the likelihood of him playing a senior role in this year's Ashes series. The veteran paceman is still amenable to the idea of playing with Kent after Australia's one-day series against Pakistan in the UAE, but his original deal was due to end on May 31 so the new time frame would leave him with just a handful of matches.

"I'm not quite sure what will happen with Kent," Clark said. "I was prepared to fly there in the next week. I would still like to play there, but I have to be realistic. They might be looking for someone to play for the whole season. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it after I get back from Dubai."

Paul Millman, the Kent chief executive, admitted that the county would have to start making new plans. "We will be looking at our options over the weekend," he told Cricinfo. "Obviously we are delighted for Stuart and this is something you have to prepare for when you sign big players. We will let Stuart settle in South Africa and then be in contact."

Australia aim to force series decider


April 12, 2009

Match facts

April 13, 2009
Start time 10.00am (08.00GMT)


Big Picture

Two more matches and a long and fascinating summer that has been played out between South Africa and Australia will be at an end. One more victory and South Africa will finish on a high. They took a 2-1 lead in Cape Town and can wrap up the ODI series with a win in Port Elizabeth. However, after such an evenly-fought few months it might be fitting to be locked at 2-2 heading to the final match at the Wanderers, where the two sides rewrote the limited-overs record books with the 438 match three years ago.

But first things first: Australia must win the day game in Port Elizabeth to keep alive their hopes of a series win and of regaining the No. 1 ODI ranking that began a couple of weeks ago in South African hands and has alternated through the series. After Australia's batsmen failed in Centurion and their bowlers struggled to do a containing job at Newlands, they need to find a satisfying balance in Port Elizabeth. Specifically, they need to find a fast bowler who can adequately support Mitchell Johnson and their top order must not again leave all the work up to the young No. 6 Callum Ferguson.


Form guide (last five ODIs, most recent first)

South Africa WWLWW
Australia LLWNW



Watch out for

AB de Villiers has been a thorn in Australia's side right through the summer, since the first Test in Perth, and nothing has changed in the shorter format. South Africa's leading scorer so far this series, de Villiers made a composed 80 in the victory in Cape Town. In the one-day arena he has been aiming for a consolidation period of about 20 balls before cutting loose and he is keen to make the most of his strong form while it lasts.

It is rare that Nathan Bracken has two poor one-day internationals in a row but three in succession is almost unheard of. And yet that is the case for the man who has slipped down to fifth on the ICC ODI bowling rankings. His series consists of two wickets at 58.50 with an economy rate of 5.85. Bracken's experience and craftiness make it hard to believe his lean run will continue and with Johnson already in form, one dangerous spell from Bracken could be enough for Australia to turn their series around.


Team news

Most teams prefer not to change a winning side and South Africa's strong victories in the previous two games could mean the same XI is used in Port Elizabeth. Roelof van der Merwe certainly justified his position with three wickets in Cape Town and the pace attack looks strong despite spin doing all the damage at Newlands. Makhaya Ntini, Hashim Amla, Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Morne Morkel missed out in Cape Town and they should again prepare for a day of spectating on Monday.

South Africa squad Graeme Smith (capt), Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, JP Duminy, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Mark Boucher (wk), Roelof van der Merwe, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Johan Botha, Dale Steyn, Wayne Parnell, Makhaya Ntini.

Australia have added the Victorian Shane Harwood to their squad for this match, calling him over from the Rajasthan Royals' camp and he may edge out Ben Laughlin in the starting line-up. Harwood, 35, played Australia's two Twenty20 internationals late last month in South Africa before being sent home. Brett Lee and Stuart Clark will both be in South Africa when the match is played but neither will come into contention. Lee is training there with his IPL side and doesn't officially join the ODI squad until the series in the UAE, while Clark will have only just arrived. Clark will meet the squad in Johannesburg ahead of Friday's fifth and final one-day international.

Australia squad Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin (wk), Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Callum Ferguson, Marcus North, James Hopes, Cameron White, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Stuart Clark, Nathan Bracken, Shane Harwood, Ben Laughlin.


Stats and Trivia

South Africa have been Bracken's most difficult major opponent and in 16 ODIs against them he has managed 17 wickets at 38.88
Five South African bowlers have an economy rate of less than 4.50 this series; for Australia only Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Hauritz are under that mark
Australia have played eight one-day internationals at Port Elizabeth and have won seven of them


Quotes

"We have the home crowd behind us and we have a bit of momentum going for us, so we would like to finish the series off here in Port Elizabeth."
AB de Villiers doesn't want the Johannesburg ODI to become a series decider

"We need other guys to have an impact through the innings. We need to be able to bowl a lot of dot balls and keep the batsman on strike for long periods of time."
Ricky Ponting believes Australia cannot rely solely on Mitchell Johnson as their impact bowler

14 April, 2009

A fine century from Herschelle Gibbs led South Africa to a comfortable 61-run victory over Australia in the fourth one-day international in Port Elizabeth and an unassailable 3-1 series lead.

Dale Steyn was the star with the ball, claiming 4-44, and was given good support by the spinners as the visitors were dismissed for 256 in pursuit of 318.

Brad Haddin, Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting all made half-centuries, but it was not enough as they fell well short.

The Australians began their chase promisingly with a 129-run opening partnership in just over 20 overs, before the introduction of spin changed the game.

Johan Botha (1-48) was first to strike, ending Haddin's 61-ball 78 when he had the wicketkeeper caught at long-on by Wayne Parnell.

Roelof van der Merwe (3-46) then claimed a triple blow by removing Clarke (50), Callum Ferguson (three) and Michael Hussey (two) to leave the visitors limping at 4-151.

David Hussey and Ponting tried to rescue the situation, putting on 37 before the former also perished, this time caught and bowled by Steyn for 20.

The Australian skipper decided to take the batting powerplay in the 41st over and his decision initially looked like a good one as he plundered Steyn for four boundaries, whilst also raising his half-century in 66 balls.

But he went for one shot too many off the final delivery and was caught by Albie Morkel at mid-wicket for 53.

With Ponting went Australia's last chance of winning and only Mitchell Johnson and James Hopes (31) briefly threatened before South Africa dismissed its opponents in 45.5 overs.

Earlier, Gibbs made 110 and together with AB de Villiers (84) helped the Proteas tear into the visitors' bowling after Ponting had won the toss and elected to field first.

The home team started out slowly, putting on 46 before Graeme Smith (20) was out in the 11th over, chasing a wide ball from Hopes and sending a thick edge behind to Haddin.

Debutant Shane Harwood (2-57) followed that up by accounting for Jacques Kallis, caught at third man by Ferguson for 17, to leave the Proteas at 2-87.

But that was as good as it got for the tourists with Gibbs and De Villiers piling on the misery in a 136-run stand.


The pair reached their half-centuries in 62 and 51 balls respectively, followed by a run-a-ball hundred partnership.

The flamboyant opener brought up his 21st one-day ton in 106 deliveries as South Africa raced past 200 in the 36th over.

Ferguson then dropped De Villiers off Nathan Hauritz diving forward at long-on, but Gibbs perished not long afterwards when Clarke took a simple catch off Nathan Bracken at long-on, ending his 116-ball stay.

Johnson (2-59) removed Morkel (four) and De Villiers in quick succession, but the Australians did not help their chances by twice putting down JP Duminy in the deep.

The South Africa middle-order batsman was eventually out with the final delivery of the innings for 40, but he had already forged a 65-run partnership in just 44 balls with Mark Boucher (29 not out) to help the hosts end on 6-317.

Long, tough summer draws to a close

April 16, 2009

Match facts

April 17, 2009
Start time 2.30pm (12.30GMT)


Big Picture

South Africa and Australia have faced off in six Tests, four Twenty20 internationals and nine ODIs over the past four months. The end is in sight. However, the final match is a dead rubber after South Africa wrapped up the series in Port Elizabeth and the best Australia can hope for is a victory that would give them some momentum heading to the UAE to take on Pakistan. South Africa have a 7-2 advantage in the nine ODIs this year and have deservedly retained the No. 1 one-day ranking. Australia have slipped so far that they now sit third behind India, although victory in Johannesburg would bump them back up to second.

The Wanderers will bring back incredible memories for both teams and anyone who watched the previous ODI between the sides at the venue. It was March 2006. It was the decider for a series locked 2-2. Australia posted 434 for 4 - the first time any team had passed 400 in a one-day international. Their new record stood for only a few hours as South Africa defied all expectations to chase down the total and finished with 438 for 9 when Mark Boucher slammed a boundary off Brett Lee to win with a ball to spare. It's too much to ask for a repeat, or anything close to it, but a tight, hard-fought match would be an appropriate way to end this long and competitive summer.


Form guide (last five ODIs, most recent first)

South Africa WWWLW
Australia LLLWN



Watch out for

On his day, Herschelle Gibbs is the most dangerous batsman in South Africa's side. He had one such day three years ago, when his 175 from 111 balls made their total of 438 a possibility. He had another triumph on Monday, when he scored his 21st ODI century to set up another South African series victory in Port Elizabeth. The combination of an in-form Gibbs and a match at the Wanderers should sound alarm bells for Australia.

Australia's leading run scorer during the series has been Brad Haddin, who has looked more comfortable in the opening role than his partner Michael Clarke. A powerful top-order striker, Haddin has made two half-centuries during the series and with Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh both waiting for their opportunities to arrive in the UAE from next week, he will be keen to put one last stamp on the opening position before it once again becomes a wrestle for the job.


Team news

South Africa have decided to rest Johan Botha after his bowling action was reported by the umpires in the previous game and he is likely to head to Perth in the coming days to undergo testing. Wayne Parnell has also been left out after struggling in the past two matches to recapture the brilliant form he displayed in collecting 4 for 25 in Centurion. But the attack won't be significantly weakened with Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel named as the replacements.

South Africa 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 Roelof van der Merwe, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Albie Morkel, 9 Morne Morkel, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Makhaya Ntini.

Australia could have used the dead rubber to throw an opportunity to their unused members of the squad but Marcus North and Cameron White will remain drinks-waiters at the Wanderers. Neither man is in the touring party for the Pakistan series, which starts next week. Ben Laughlin is in that group and for the Johannesburg match has replaced Shane Harwood, who has resumed training with the Rajasthan Royals after his brief flirt with ODI cricket. "We feel with Ben Laughlin being in our squad for Dubai as well as Stuart Clark, this would be a good opportunity for Ben to have another good solid hit-out," Ricky Ponting said. "Stuart has been here for a few days and he has got a bit of bowling under his belt. But we have decided to go with Ben ahead of him for this game."

Australia 1 Brad Haddin (wk), 2 Michael Clarke, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 David Hussey, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Callum Ferguson, 7 James Hopes, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Ben Laughlin.


Stats and Trivia

Between the two sides, ten men who played in the 438 match will take the field on Friday - four from Australia and six from South Africa
The two highest scorers from each team in that game - Gibbs, Graeme Smith, Ponting and Michael Hussey - will all be part of the rematch
It's often assumed that Mick Lewis had the worst economy rate in that match as his ten overs cost 113 but in fact the honour belongs to Jacques Kallis, who bowled six overs for 70 - or 11.66 runs per over
Gibbs needs 44 runs to become the second South African after Kallis to reach the 8000 figure in ODIs


Quotes

"If we can make it 8-2 over the summer it's pretty much a clear-cut victory"
Graeme Smith points out that while the Tests went 3-3, South Africa have had a clear advantage in the ODIs

"I don't see that there's a great need to make a lot of changes right now. What this last game becomes all about for us is having some pride in our individual performances and our team performance."
Ricky Ponting

18 April, 2009

Michael Clarke Australia has gained some respectability with a 47-run victory over South Africa in Johannesburg in the fifth one-day international but still lost the series 3-2.

The hosts were set 304 to win after Brad Haddin and Michael Clarke helped Australia to a strong position and despite 82 from Herschelle Gibbs the Proteas crumbled in the latter half of their innings, collapsing from 4-213 to 256 all out with Mitchell Johnson taking 3-58 for the tourists.

Australia struck an important blow before skipper Graeme Smith (20 runs off 15 balls) could get fully into his stride.

The left-hander waved at a wide Nathan Bracken delivery in the eighth over and got a healthy edge which Haddin did well to hold on to high to his left.

That brought veteran all-rounder Jacques Kallis to the crease and he immediately set about his task in combination with Gibbs.

The pair were untroubled as they easily kept pace with the required rate in a 104-run stand that was brought to an end by a dubious lbw decision against Gibbs.

The 35-year-old attempted to sweep Nathan Hauritz while on 82 and while the ball rapped his front pad, he had made a stride down the wicket which could have offered some doubt about the decision.

Kallis followed for 64 off 69 balls, caught by Haddin off Bracken, and there was little in the way of resistance from the lower order with only AB de Villiers (15) managing double figures outside the top four batsmen.

Earlier, Smith won the toss and inserted the Australians who were looking to earn back some respectability having already conceded the series 3-1.

The tourists had not won since the opening match, but were soon on the front foot through Haddin (64 off 66) and Clarke (66 off 60) who made full use of the early powerplays to clear the in-field with regularity in their opening 127-run stand.

Both fell in quick succession but skipper Ricky Ponting (40 off 45) and rookie Callum Ferguson (41 off 33) picked up the slack to have the Australians at one point 2-191 after 31 overs and dreaming of a total in excess of 350.

But when both fell - to soft dismissals - all momentum the Australians built was soon lost.

Ponting's dismissal, caught at mid-on as he went in search of back-to-back sixes off the part-time spin of JP Duminy, prompted a collapse of 4-23 in a four-over spell that left Australia on 7-246 and with more than 10 overs still to bat.

Instead of putting their foot on the gas the tourists were restricted to just trying to bat out their overs - a feat they achieved thanks to an unbeaten 57-run partnership between Michael Hussey (49) and Hauritz (24).

Duminy finished with figures of 3-48, while fellow spinner Roelof van der Merwe chipped in with 2-44 as the slow bowlers again restricted Australia, but its bowling attack ensured they kept the series deficit to just one.

Australia skipper Ponting said: "It's a great way for us to finish the tour."

"I'm disappointed with way we've played in the series as a group, but a few of the younger guys have had some impact on the game tonight and hopefully they can take that into the series against Pakistan."

De Villiers was named man of the series after hitting 240 runs in the five-match series and said: "I've had an awesome season but I have to say thanks to my team-mates for playing great cricket."

"I'm pretty relaxed and confident and enjoying my cricket at the moment."

Proteas skipper Smith added: "It's been a terrific summer for South African cricket, both teams deserve a lot of credit for the way the series has been played."

"It's been an interesting summer for me. There have been a lot of highs and some injuries thrown in there but I've battled through."