Australia Fight Back - 2nd Test, Day1

It was easy to be critical of the Australian team in Capetown, not only for their corporate episode of bipolar disorder on the second last day but also for the heads down, kicking the sand performance on the last. The days since then should have been the most soul searching of their lives, let alone their careers. The essence of the problem that Michael Clarke and team management have is that no matter how they window dress the situation, the Aussie team, still in a state of flux between the aging and fresh faced, is inferior to its opponent.

Which makes the opening day at The Wanderers all the more remarkable and one on which Clarke has the opportunity of building a great side because despite the imbalance in the teams, despite the Australian performance at Newlands which scraped the very bottom of the barrel, despite losing the toss with a road beckoning, despite another injury to Shane Watson and despite an aggressive South African top order ... Australia still came out on top of South Africa.

Cummins celebrates his first wicket

Pat Cummins, playing only his 4th first class game, made his debut in the absence of Ryan Harris who was ruled out of the game with a hip injury. It would be churlish to detract from the young man's splendid opening day of Test cricket but it is only fair to mention James Pattinson and how hard done by he has been at the hands of the former selectors. Having toured with the Australians in all three forms of the game in Sri Lanka and doing well in the only ODI he played, Pattinson was shelved after proving himself in domestic cricket, whilst Cummins was included for South Africa with first class bum fluff still on his game and has taken a chance via the Harris hip. Pattinson would bear no malice to Cummins but Andrew Hilditch is off his Christmas Card List. Older players such as Hauritz, use a hit list instead.


Cummins bought much needed enthusiasm and young legs to the Australian team. His bowling had pace and was mostly well directed, although he had periods where he sent the ball too much at and beyond leg stump. Regardless, he conceded very little whilst others in the first session gave up runs in search of wickets. Siddle and Johnson went in search of Billy McDermott's good length and even though they were thumped for bowling too full on occasion, it always looked more effective than the short pap that has been thrown up before. The kid's first Test wicket - the youngest Australian to bag a Test scalp - was a splendid catch by Ricky Ponting at second slip, something more like the sharp eyed super fielder of yesteryear. Amla's defence had proved resilient to the youngster but he eventually found the edge with some lift. To cap it off, he then held a sensational catch to remove AB de Villiers when he pulled at a ball from Siddle, sending it down over Mitchell Johnson at mid on. Cummins ran from mid off and took the ball diving towards the boundary and back over his head.

Peter Siddle was outstanding, never once flagging from the doctrine of a fuller length which Billy McDermott has been main-lining into him at every net. For the first two sessions, he toiled away, moving a controlled outswinger away from the right handeres and then in the last session, unloaded a judicious and well timed number of shorter balls which surprised the batsmen. AB deVilliers was undone by one he tried to pull, managing only to send it back down the ground where Cummins held that sensational catch that only young legs would have reached. Boucher was dispatched when he top edged a hook and despite Brad Haddin efforts, it was Nathan Lyon coming in from the boundary who held the catch. Earlier, when Jacques Kallis had reached 55 off only 41 balls, Siddle held one back on him and he scooped it Khawaja at mid wicket. McDermott take a bow.

The South African's had looked in a hurry all day, with only Amla's reluctant 19 defying the trend. The openers were gone within fifteen overs: Graeme Smith using his outside edge for a change, sending an Johnson delivery to the safe hands of Clarke at second slip and Rudolph went soft to Watson after thrashing the ball about and was caught by Haddin. Watson almost bowled four overs for Rudolph's wicket but at what cost as he limped off the ground for treatment to a hamstring, returning two hours later in order to qualify to open the batting. He's a medical marvel. Is there any part of his body he hasn't injured?

Kallis looked in complete control

Enter Kallis and a firestorm of runs, particular off Siddle at the start and end of his innings. He took three fours from Siddle's fourth over, all through the covers from balls of full length and swinging away which scorched the grass. The third, seemingly taking a leading edge, went just as fast as the first two. Having set that tone, only Cummins escaped the full treatment, despite also being sent screaming through the covers on a couple of occasions. Lyons' first over saw the first ball sent high and handsome to mid wicket and then another even further, clearing the boundary by many rows for six in the same direction. Siddle's return was greeted with no more than a flick off the pads which ended deep in the crowd at wide mid on and a four edged down through the gully for 4. Then, like a spring storm, it was over after lots of thunder and lightning but not enough rain, as Kallis shyly held back a similar shot, perhaps thinking he wasn't all the way to the ball and scooped to mid wicket instead.

deVilliers looked right back
to his best

deVilliers had been similarly impressive and is approaching his best but after adding 112 with Ashwell Prince, the pair were out in consecutive overs after tea. Prince had looked a champion during the second session but after tea was a different batsmen. Siddle started worrying him outside off stump and he edged or played and missed at balls that before tea he had dealt with comfortably. In the end, the pressure that Siddle bought to bear reaped dividends for Lyon at the other end, as Prince tried to break the shackles and hit the ball only as far as Johnson at mid on. deVilliers was out to Siddle in the next over to that brilliant Cummins catch and the rest just folded. Clarke picked up a couple of cheap scalps as the light faded and South Africa were out for at least 150 lighter load than looked in the forecast at the toss.

This was a good day for Australia which was all about pride and heart and the best things in sport. So many of the things that sound like clichés could be fairly described as attributes as they stuck to their mission through the first two sessions, despite the additional setbacks and then finished their task in the last session. All deserve praise but that loyal servant Peter Siddle deserves most plaudits as he was the torch bearer.

How good is Clarke as captain? Well, if you can't see what he's done at Newlands or today or in the dark space in between then its time to take those blinkers off. This is no yuppy wanna-be. The job he has done with this misshaped bunch in hard circumstances is already better than anything Border did with Bob Simpson in his ear in the 1980's. Before play he lost his strike bowler and his best batsman and then his most effective bowler and opening batsman was injured during play but no white flag, no complaints, just bloody hard work.

Of course, in a series that has had more collapses than Heartbreak Hill in the City to Surf, anything could happen on day two but you build a city one street at a time.

The signs are encouraging.