South Africa vs Australia 2018: 4th Test, Day 5, Talking points

#2 Darren Lehmann’s tenure ends on a sour note

This was Darren Lehmann's last Test as head coach.

Darren Lehmann replaced Mickey Arthur as Australia’s coach and things started to change for the Aussies. They won the Ashes 5-0 at home and then went onto to lift the World Cup in 2015. Despite losing the Ashes in 2015 in England, Australia continued to do well under Lehmann. They won their second consecutive Ashes at home earlier this year when they beat England 4-0.

Everything was going well before the ball-tampering saga unfolded in Cape Town. Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera using a sandpaper on the ball, Steve Smith and David Warner stepped down from their captaincy roles before they were banned by Cricket Australia. Even after CA and Smith denied Lehman’s role in the ‘planned’ ball-tampering, the Australian coach decided to step down after the fourth Test of this series.

However, it was not a fitting end to his tenure after all the controversies, Australia couldn’t stand up and fight in the final Test as they lost by 492 runs. Hence, it ended his tenure on a wrong (sour) note.