Gqeberha: Before play on day four, Australia’s coach Andrew McDonald assembled the tourists for a rare collective address in the nets outside St George’s Park.
This was a rare event for a team that has long cut back on meetings. The message was along the lines that Australia, despite a rough day three , were still ahead in the series, with the strong incentive to keep it that way over the next couple of days.
It certainly wasn’t to get bowled out for double figures, then lose more wickets to be 4-156 and still trailing by 170 overall with 98 overs still to play.
Whatever McDonald’s words, what followed was a display that ranks highly among the worst of the contemporary era for the Australian Test team. There has not been a worse one since Pat Cummins became captain in 2021.
By being razed for 99 by a South African side that went a bowler down after the fall of the third wicket, Australia were forced to follow on for just the third time since 1988. South Africa had not enjoyed such luxury against Australia since the 1969-70 tour, the last time these sides met before the end of Apartheid.
A tally of 13 wickets lost in a single day is the most by the Australian side since they also lost 13 at Newlands in 2011, on the day Michael Clarke’s team were shot out for 47 by Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn. Only one day, when 14 wickets fell in Sydney in 1955 against England, has seen more.
Their chief tormentor this time was the wonderfully gifted Marco Jansen, who claimed 5-33 and bowled with snarl as well as skill. Kagiso Rabada’s contribution was greater than his three wickets, for he troubled all the Australians and helped his counterparts at the other end by messing with the batsmen’s footwork. One of his missiles was clocked at 154.5km/h. Anrich Nortje was sidelined by a groin strain, but South Africa handled this better than Australia coped with an ill Josh Hazlewood .
Undoubtedly, the Proteas bowled more sensibly and attentively to the conditions. The ball was kept fuller, challenging the stumps, while short balls were for surprise, not bulk helpings. Australia felt it was now an equable batting track, and McDonald pointed mostly to shot selection.
“Disappointing, I think that’s the word that I’d use to sum it up,” McDonald said. “When you talk about being disappointed, probably some of the shots that we played in the scenario, we knew we had a lot of work to do at the start of the day, and yeah, I think some of the shots that some of the players played today they’d take back.”
Careers will hinge on these poor proceedings for the tourists. Nic Maddinson’s return to Test cricket has not been successful, and he looked thoroughly outclassed by Rabada with the new ball.
More significant were the travails of Marnus Labuschagne, who became the first Australian to be out twice on the day. His first exit came through a sublime slips catch from Simon Harmer, his second when the spinner used the strong wind to his advantage.
Labuschagne had already survived an lbw decision by millimetres, but he had only made three more when he lofted Harmer down the ground and watched helplessly as the wind guided the chance unerringly into Jansen’s hands. Labuschagne cried out in frustration – his recent scores must compel the selectors to act.
Since making 65 in the first innings of the Gabba Ashes Test, Labuschagne has nine scores between 13 and 48 without once passing 50. He has four scores in the 30s in his past six innings, and no centuries since Manchester in 2023.
Matt Renshaw, batting at six then four, was defeated first by a Jansen lifter, then later bowled by a Rabada skidder that he allowed free passage into pad and stump. Beau Webster, a roleplayer who has contributed well but now looks to have been worked out by opponents, was beaten first by Jansen, next by Harmer.
Asked about Webster’s future, McDonald tried to keep away from slating individuals.
“It’s only a week ago that we’re a really, really good team,” he said. “You’ll be looking for a grab and talk about the negatives and what should happen and what should move. This team’s been a really consistent team over a long period of time. So I’m not going to sit here and hang anyone out to dry.”
Then there was the worrying tableau of Steve Smith, who ricked his neck midway through the first innings and cut some tortured batting shapes – even for him – as he tried to bat without twisting too far. The second innings played out with Smith either seeking treatment or watching the play while wearing a neck support.
It all added up to what was arguably Australia’s worst single day of Test cricket under Cummins, and one bad enough to flip the series from one the tourists held in their hands to a contest that is now wide open.
As for the morning address, McDonald expressed some frustration at the kinds of shots played after the day had been identified as such a big one.
“We spoke about it before play today at the back of the nets, and yeah, you’re always identifying small moments, the big moments that everyone sees, and this was one of those in terms of how far we were behind,” he said.
“And on the back of yesterday, we had some control of this game and weren’t able to seize that. And we put ourselves in this position.”
The position, for now, is to rightly be subjected to the sort of scrutiny that results from 13 wickets in a single day. Barring a great escape, it will be unrelenting.
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