South Africa vs Australia: The questions posed after Proteas' heavy defeat
Following a heavy defeat to Australia in Durban, South African cricket faces questions regarding its team's readiness and batting consistency. Despite a strong run to the World Test Championship final, the team's lack of recent Test match experience is being scrutinized.
Why it matters
The loss prompts a broader evaluation of South Africa's cricket development pipeline and the impact of scheduling on team performance.
Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Hazlewood dismissed Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer and Anrich Nortje on the final day to beat his previous best figures of 6-67 against India in 2017
Australia 390 & 314-6 dec: Renshaw 82; Nortje 2-56, Maharaj 2-56
South Africa 284 & 206: Markram 75; Hazlewood 6-49
South Africa's 12-match unbeaten run came to a shuddering stop with defeat against Australia in Durban, but were they simply rusty or is there more to read into a Test match in which they were outclassed across the five days?
The world champions held on until an hour into the afternoon session on the final day – Aiden Markram fought admirably for 237 deliveries – but Australia, led by Josh Hazlewood with career-best figures of 6-49, eventually broke any lingering resistance to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.
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11 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
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