Australia v. South Africa - Test series.

[Donny]

Openers gone. Rabada has both.

2/9.

[Donny]

Smith, Head both out.

4/19. Rabada has all 4.

[Pies4shaw]

Australia ran them down in wides (15 of the last 16 runs were wides). Australia wins by 6 wickets.

[Pies4shaw]

Head named POTM - for being the batsman to reach 50. Ridiculous wicket - the curator at Brisbane should give it away. A Test match finished inside 2 days between 2 good teams. That pitch was just an embarrassment.

"I didn't see it as a fair contest, really", says Elgar in his post-match interview.

[Pies4shaw]

Series batting averages, players who have made at least 40 runs:

Australia: Head 46, Smith 21.

South Africa: Bavuma 33.5, Verreynne 32.

Meanwhile, the ABC notes that this was "just the second two-day Test to take place in Australia, after a victory over West Indies in 1931, and the second-shortest by balls on these shores, after the fifth Test against the South Africans at the MCG in 1932."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-18/australia-wins-first-test-against-south-africa-inside-two-days/101786076

[Donny]

Worth noting.

SA was missing 4 of their top 6 batsmen: De Kock, du Plessis, Rossouw and Markram.

Of the top 6 in this Test, only Bavuma and Elgar would get a gig in a full strength Test XI.

[lazzadesilva]

[Donny]

Boland or Hazlewood for the third seamer's spot ?

[Pies4shaw]

Boland. Can't have Hazlewood break down - and it's Boland's home track.

[Donny]

Totally agree.

Surely, they couldn't leave him out of the XI. First, on form. Second, it's at the G !!

[K]

What an atrocious shot by Flat-Track Bully Steve Smith to gift his wicket to Rabada!

Early Chrissy present, Rabada must've thought.

A short and wide nothing ball outside off. Maybe a good batter would hit it for 4. But a number 11 would be okay. He'd just let it go... instead of nicking off.

FTB didn't move his feet at all. He just flung the bat at the ball. It was just a wide long hop!

Can't whinge about the pitch when you play shots like that.

[Donny]

[Pies4shaw]

Boland gets the first wicket! Erwee caught at slip for 18.

[Pies4shaw]

Now 1/41.

[Pies4shaw]

Lunch. 4/58. Green got one, Marnus made a lovely run out (Elgar, direct hit) and Starc got Bavuma. They looked OK at 1/56 and then the wheels fell off.