Australia beat South Africa again to take ODI series 4-1

Steve Smith

Australia wrapped up the five-match series against South Africa with a tight two-wicket win with five balls to spare, in Sydney on Sunday night. The win means that Australia will finish the year off as the No.1 ranked ODI team, following four victories in the five-game series against a below par South African unit.

Steve Smith with another good knock

Man of the Series Steve Smith - who couldn’t find a spot in the side at the start of the series - struck a fluid 67. For the second game in a row, Smith’s innings proved pivotal as it ensured Australia safely reached the revised target of 275 despite a late flurry of wickets.

With rain clouds hovering prior to the commencement of the Australian innings, Finch and Warner made the concerted effort to stay ahead of the run rate. Warner threw his wicket away with the score at 37 inside five overs, well caught by Peterson running back at mid-on. The departure of Warner brought Watson to the crease, resulting in a 100-run partnership with Finch. Finch in the form of his life, pressing for a potential Test berth, dispatched anything at driving length through the covers, with 11 fours in his innings of 76.

The South African bowlers’ lack of discipline with front-foot no-balls and sub-par fielding by their standards proved to be the difference in the game. Smith was bowled for 20 off an Abbott no-ball and went on to add 47 more to his total, as well as the South African fielders missing plenty of run-out opportunities added to the tourists misery. So much has Morne Morkel’s confidence with the ball been ebbed away, that he was making elementary errors in the field too, fluffing some straight forward pickups.

South Africa need to step up a gear before the World Cup

Earlier in the game, South Africa worked towards a decent total of 280 on the back of a Quinton de Kock century – ably supported by a Rilee Rossouw half-century. Early in de Kock’s innings, he looked scratchy with his feet glued to the crease and playing away from his body. Once he got his feet moving, he made batting look easy – a throwback to the de Kock that was scoring centuries at will against India and Pakistan in the last 12 months.

South Africa’s scoring rate dipped after the Rossouw, Du Plessis and Miller were all dismissed in quick succession. Farhaan Behardien, who until the final game had a rather quiet series with the bat, provided some fireworks at the end of the innings with 63 off 41 deliveries to add some respectability to the Proteas score.

The respectability of the total was almost given up straight away with the Australian top order finding the boundaries off the South African quicks at regular intervals. One saving grace for the Proteas was the bowling performance of Robin Peterson. With Duminy, Phangiso and Tahir out of the side injured, the slow bowling responsibilities fell on Peterson, and his left-arm orthodox triggered a collapse that almost swung the game in South Africa’s direction, with quick wickets of Smith, Wade and Cummins, finishing with four wickets all up including the earlier wicket of Finch.

With less than three months till the World Cup and the series already wrapped up at the MCG on Friday, South Africa could be forgiven for resting Steyn and Philander. However, one feels that despite the poor fielding, the total may have been defendable with bowlers with the likes of Steyn and Philander in the XI, given the low confidence levels of Morkel.