3rd Orange Test: Australia v South Africa at Sydney, 2-6 Jan 2002 CricInfo Live Report

3rd Orange Test: Australia v South Africa at Sydney, 2-6 Jan 2002
John Polack

South Africa 2nd innings: Lunch - Day 3, Tea - Day 3, Stumps - Day 3,
South Africa 1st innings: Drinks - Day 3,
Live Reports from previous days

PROTEAS FIGHT BACK AS WAUGH’S MISS PROVES AS GOOD AS A LIFELINE

Hopes of Australia's first series whitewash over South Africa in 70 years appear closer to fruition after a four-pronged attack bowled the home team into a winning position on the third morning of the Third Test in Sydney today. But it became the Australians' most challenging day of the series nonetheless as spirited resistance from Gary Kirsten (82*) and Boeta Dippenaar (74) ensured that plans of a speedy route to victory were scrapped.

One that ended with the Proteas at 2/209 in their second innings and still 191 runs behind overall, it was the quintessential day of two halves.

South Africa's first innings underwent a sufficient degree of implosion in the morning session to prompt a follow-on, and there was a second innings setback as well in the early afternoon. But a dropped catch fulfilled the part of a turning point, permitting Kirsten and Dippenaar to take centre stage, add 149 runs and render the Australians as flat as the SCG pitch.

That the Test veteran and novice were forced to fashion a fightback was due to another horrendous collapse that had seen six wickets crash for the addition of 61 runs at the start of the day.

Mark Boucher (35) displayed a willingness to take the Proteas' first innings total beyond its eventually paltry 154, and Claude Henderson (9) hung on in a typically dogged 49-minute vigil too. But the trend of disheartened batsmen beating a path back to the pavilion was almost constantly in evidence as play resumed

Neil McKenzie (20) unwisely tucked bat in behind pad as a Shane Warne (3/47) delivery honed in on his stumps; Justin Ontong (9) was struck in front of leg stump by Warne as he played back; Shaun Pollock (6) drove from a thick edge to point off Glenn McGrath (3/35); and Nicky Boje (7) stumbled in more ways than one to be caught short of his ground attempting a third run.

When Boucher lost out to a brilliant catch at silly point after drinks, and Henderson tired of the idea of occupying the crease to thrash a high catch to mid off from Stuart MacGill (3/51), the game looked as good as over.

It was only after the players returned from lunch that the Australian bowlers showed themselves to be human – and perhaps even a touch sympathetic too. Deliveries were overpitched and then dropped in too short, opening up opportunities for runs to be collected with intent as the South Africans literally swung into action a second time.

Mark Waugh was an even more generous host, spilling a regulation chance after Kirsten (on 12) had driven loosely at Brett Lee (1/30) and sent the ball arrowing toward him at navel height at second slip. Waugh's miss prompted the usual round of disbelief from television and radio commentators and caused the fieldsman himself to ruefully shake his head for a few moments.

What it also did, suddenly, was deliver a sense of reawakening to the batting.

Moments earlier, a hearty roar had signalled the demise of opener Herschelle Gibbs (10) after an errant attempt at an on drive ended in the sight of Lee uprooting his off stump.

But it was to prove the crowd's second last chance to celebrate a wicket all day as Kirsten and Dippenaar combined to make the game their own for the next 149 minutes.

Dippenaar led the way, appreciatively greeting a full ball from McGrath (0/35) with a cracking drive through the covers and then reserving similarly swift punishment for the other bowlers as a total of 14 boundaries flowed from his bat.

Kirsten – determinedly capitalising upon his early life - played with character rather than a spirit of defeatism too, defending solidly and scoring runs with conviction to both sides of the wicket.

It's still customary to cup a hand over the mouth and do no more than whisper the names of VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid in these parts. But comparisons with the serene quality of their liaison in Kolkata last year, forged in a similar situation and in similarly oppressive conditions, were rapidly being evoked nonetheless.

The manner of Dippenaar's departure was unfitting – a MacGill (1/52) full toss lashed no further than mid wicket – but his contribution to eradicating more than half of a whopping 400-run first innings deficit had been immense by then.

And, as Jacques Kallis (32*) settled in to join Kirsten and pilot the South Africans to stumps on a pitch offering little in the way of speed or venom, they were – for once in this series – showing that defeat wasn't about to be taken lying down.

DIPPENAAR, KIRSTEN LEAD STIRRING REVIVAL

Boeta Dippenaar and Gary Kirsten are leading a South African revival on the third afternoon of the Third Test against Australia in Sydney today. After the South African order had been reduced to a state of confusion in surrendering six wickets during the morning session, the upper order pair has resisted a rampant attack to guide their team to a second innings mark of 1/140 by tea.

At various stages of this series, the South African batsmen have been so transfixed by the effort of keeping out good deliveries that it has seemed that they might have forgotten how to punish bad ones.

But, in striking a total of 21 boundaries between them in a retaliatory unbeaten stand of 123 runs for the second wicket, Dippenaar (66*) and Kirsten (55*) have proved the assumption to be misguided.

Following on some 400 runs behind on the first innings, the Proteas lost opener Herschelle Gibbs (10) only 17 minutes after lunch. His progress was rudely interrupted when Brett Lee (1/21) beat an attempt at an on drive with a ball that seamed back and proceeded to uproot off stump.

Unease and inhibition briefly came to characterise the South African batting again as Kirsten then drove loosely at Lee and sent a chance arrowing at navel height to Mark Waugh at second slip. Kirsten’s score was on just 12 at the time, and the total perched at 1/36, but the tourists were offered a massive reprieve as the regulation opportunity was grassed. It prompted the usual round of disbelief from commentators and caused Waugh himself to ruefully shake his head for a few moments.

And what it also did, suddenly, was to deliver a sense of reawakening to the batting.

Dippenaar led the way, appreciatively greeting a full ball from Glenn McGrath (0/21) with a cracking drive through the covers and then reserving similarly swift punishment for Lee with a gloriously controlled flick off his pads through square leg. A veritable feast of boundaries followed as he keenly seized upon anything loose, especially from the spinners. His scoring rate even began to resemble the one raised in the sparkling century he made at this ground against New South Wales in an earlier match on tour.

Kirsten – determinedly capitalising upon his early life - admirably played with character rather than a spirit of defeatism too, defending solidly and scoring runs with conviction to both sides of the wicket. Summoning trademark discipline and nerve, he drove Lee with blistering intent through mid on for a boundary and then added another four runs to the score when he smote a ball from Stuart MacGill (0/30) through the covers.

MacGill, not bowling with the same venom as at the equivalent time of the first innings, proved expensive and was relieved after only a six-over spell. But, on a pitch slowing in pace, the unfamiliar experience in this series of being made to toil very hard for a wicket wasn’t confined merely to him.

TOURISTS FORCED TO FOLLOW ON

South Africa has been forced to follow on after another dismal batting performance has left it staring down the barrel of defeat in the Third Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. At lunch, the Proteas are placed at a score of 0/6 in their second innings after they disastrously surrendered six wickets in the space of 94 minutes this morning.

Leg spinners Shane Warne (3/47) and Stuart MacGill (3/51) claimed four wickets between them in the opening session; another fell to fast bowler Glenn McGrath (3/35); and the sixth was attributable to a needless run out.

Hopes of a South African recovery as play resumed had been invested largely in the batting of Neil McKenzie (20) and Justin Ontong (9). But, when they were each undone by Warne inside three overs of the start, it established a pattern in keeping with developments in the vast bulk of this series.

Mark Boucher (35) displayed some of the fight that had been badly missing from the games of most of his teammates and Claude Henderson (9) hung on in a typically dogged 49-minute vigil too. But the trend of disheartened batsmen beating a path back to the pavilion was almost constantly in evidence.

McKenzie unwisely left a Warne delivery to be bowled; Ontong was struck in front of leg stump as he played back; Shaun Pollock (6) drove from a thick edge to point off McGrath; and Nicky Boje (7) was caught short of his ground attempting a third run.

By drinks, the score had plunged to 8/133.

The Australian bowlers showed themselves to be human – and perhaps even a touch sympathetic too – by serving up the occasionally overpitched ball for a few fleeting moments as the second hour commenced.

Boucher was promptly snapped up by a brilliant catch at silly point, though, as Ricky Ponting flung out a right hand in tumbling toward the pitch. Apparently tiring even of the basic idea of occupying the crease, Henderson followed him back as he carved a MacGill delivery over mid off to the fence before perishing from the very next ball as he lustily attempted the shot again.

In being dismissed for 154, the tourists were left trailing by a whopping 400 runs on the first innings. Albeit that the Australians have only enforced a follow-on on one other occasion since their ill-fated decision to do so in Kolkata last year, there was no chance for South Africa that it would be able to avoid the prospect of being immediately invited back to try it all again.

There even came another moment of anxiety in the three overs immediately before lunch as Herschelle Gibbs (4*) survived a huge appeal for a catch at silly point off latter day new-ball bowler Warne (0/3). Replays showed umpire Daryl Harper’s judgement that the ball had bounced before reaching Steve Waugh to have been an excellent one.

Cricket might be a funny game but there aren’t smiles on too many of the faces in the South African dressing room at the moment. It will take a monumental reversal – of poor play, or continuing sunny weather, or maybe even both – for defeat to be averted.

PROTEAS WILT ON THIRD MORNING

South Africa’s cricketers are staggering from one point of crisis to the next on a disastrous third morning of the Third Test against Australia in Sydney. After the opening hour of play, the Proteas have subsided to a mark of 8/133 as they respond to Australia’s imposing tally of 554.

With wickets in each of his first two overs of the day, it was leg spinner Shane Warne (2/40) who set the tone for the morning of calamity for South Africa.

Only three deliveries into the day, Neil McKenzie (20) suffered a humiliating fate, bowled as he tucked his bat in behind his pad and elected to leave a delivery that pitched on around a leg stump line and turned only marginally to hit middle and off.

In the following over from the Randwick End, umpire David Shepherd then upheld a beseeching lbw shout against Justin Ontong (9). Ontong played back to a delivery that pitched on middle and leg and proceeded to straighten, though it was a close call as to whether the path of the ball might have been marginally wide of leg stump.

Shaun Pollock (6) entered the arena in an aggressive frame of mind, proceeded to play one sparkling off drive and wasn’t afraid to show positive intent at Warne. Though he avoided becoming the leg spinner’s third scalp of the day, he couldn’t survive Australia’s other serial Test wicket-taker, driving off a thick edge at Glenn McGrath (3/35) to send a catch to Damien Martyn at point.

It brought McGrath wicket number 376, elevating him into equal ninth position alongside West Indian Malcolm Marshall on the all-time list of wicket-takers at this level of the game

The fast bowler was then to contribute to another dismissal – perhaps the tourists’ most abject of all on an abject morning – as Nicky Boje (7) found a way to run himself out. Boje had clipped a delivery neatly off the pads into vacant territory through square leg and was preparing himself to collect a third run just as short leg fieldsman Justin Langer was renewing acquaintances with the ball around ten metres inside the boundary.

After turning, Boje lost his footing, stumbling through the first five metres of his return to the bowler’s end. It doomed him to finish several metres short of his ground as Langer’s bounce throw came in perfectly over the stumps to McGrath.

At drinks, Boje’s team is still 222 runs away from avoiding the follow-on.