Australia v South Africa, 3rd Test Perth

Australia:
David Warner, Ed Cowan, Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke*, Michael Hussey,
Matthew Wade†, John Hastings, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon

South Africa:
Graeme Smith*, Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers†, Dean Elgar,
Faf du Plessis, Robin Peterson, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel

Ricky's last Test.

Should be a cracker with those bowling line-ups and both teams able to score runs.

Mitch should be good for a laugh anyway

He is our secret weapon you know...

Watch out Mr Sight-screen Man!

The inheritor of Harmissons invention, mystery fast bowling...his wrong un goes down the leg side rather than over 3rd slip

Better not laugh too much in advance at Johnson - he has an excellent record at the WACA. Not betting on him to do it again , but I won't be astonished if he has a good match. He might have to , if Australia are to prosper.

After seeing those teams , I actually fancy SA for this one , though I am trusting that Kallis is really fit to play ?
As I said after the first Test , SA need to play more positively - they have seemed a bit flat so far , but if that rearguard action doesn't inspire them ...

Ridiculous decision from Australia to change the entire seam attack.

Anyway, I think that SA team will be accurate: du Plessis has justified a place in the top 6, and with a win such a priority it makes sense to go with the four seamers (even if Kleinveldt has done very well to play all 3 Tests...)

So Ricky Ponting's final hurrah. Australia need 450 to win with 1 and a half days left, Ricky then belts a double century to lead his country to victory and the no.1 spot. That's the dream scenario. Realistically, I fancy SA to take this test.

I don't, for me Australia have been the superior team in the first two Tests although South Africa are always capable. Similar to MS the momentum theory does not hold much for me. SA pulled off an escape in the 2nd Test that happens maybe one in forty attempts and are fortunate to still be level in the series. After their heroics in England they seem lackluster to me and have not got that killer instinct to improve on the No1 ranking.

But i will be watching in the early hours because this is a huge cricketing moment for both teams, and even though the cousins have given us plenty of heartache in the recent past i sincerely hope they win it.

South Africa 141/7 at tea, the wickets mostly evenly shared between the Aussie bowlers.

A few years ago, I said to my mates Faf will be a brilliant Test player. Most of my mates thought I was having a laugh or declared him a journeyman.

How he's proved me correct.

Still a little confused as to why he's still at 7 though...

Once again Faf is stranded with the tail, like in his debut innings, and gets robbed of the opportunity of getting his 100.

Nonetheless Steyn gets Cowan for a golden duck !!!

Do you think with faf theres an element of Aus not having done enough homework on him and the bowlers not having strong plans
Weve seen this with new batsmen before, I mean the guy clealry has ability and form on his side, but hes not going to be averaging 250 or whatever it is now for his entire career.

What a start to a test career though. If he could just bowl like Kallis too...

Also cant believe Ponting played chicken on his final test

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:Do you think with faf theres an element of Aus not having done enough homework on him and the bowlers not having strong plans
Weve seen this with new batsmen before, I mean the guy clealry has ability and form on his side, but hes not going to be averaging 250 or whatever it is now for his entire career.

What a start to a test career though. If he could just bowl like Kallis too...

I'm not sure he's scoring runs just because he's a Test rookie.

Over the 2 seasons, in first class cricket, Faf has been batting at 4-5. Therefore I feel he's matured as a batsman.

In past seasons he batted at 7 and was often left with the tail. He'd get good 20s, 30s and 40s. But over past couple of years he's started getting the 80s 90s and 100s.

He's shown he can also play the situation. He was previously more of a hitter.

I agree that he won't average 266 over his career, but I can see him averaging 45-50.

Shelsey93 wrote:Ridiculous decision from Australia to change the entire seam attack.

It would seem the only thing ridiculous is your comment after Day 1.

Hilfenhausen was out of form and not threatening SAF, Pattinson is injured, Siddle was struggling after his day 5 efforts (and to be quite frank I think the selectors were glad because they wouldnt have wanted to play him at Perth anyway).

I was hoping Johnson and Starc would both get called up, was a little surprised they went with Lyon but he proved he deserved his place. Hastings threatened all day long and the addition of Watson gave Australia its missing 5th limb.

At this stage its Australian Selectors 1... Random Critics 0.

Those late wickets of Cowan and Watson may turn out to be very significant. Now looks like the first session on day two will be particularly crucial.

If Australia get throught it for the loss of only the night watchman, they should be looking to go on and build a good lead. However, if they're 5 down at lunch, South Africa might fancy getting a small first innings lead themselves ....

Slaters... a little humble pie may be needed. I just think that the decision to replace both Hilfenhaus and Siddle on the best seam bowling pitch is a bit strange. Starc has earned a chance and him replacing Pattinson would have been my only change. Shocked to see Hastings at Test level (although all credit to him, he did a pretty good job), and I'm not a big fan of Mitchell J.

Also, Perth is almost always a good bowling pitch. Don't think SA are that short of par in the end.

Funnily enough, the situation is almost the same as when England toured Australia in 06-07. Aus were bowled out for 240 that day and Eng finished on 40-2 or so. Australia went on to win very easily indeed. I don't think SA's score is that far under par, Aus are going to have to bat well to build a lead here.

As for the Australian decision to change their seam attack, well with Pattinson they had no choice, Siddle pretty much bowled himself into the ground in the previous test, and would have struggled to contribute fully here. Hilfenhaus in a similar situation (added to which his relative ineffectiveness so far). Surprised to see Lyon do well, even if his wickets were lower-order batsmen. Starc is a good bowler, and Johnson always seems to bowl well here, so maybe not such a surprising decision. I assume Cummins is injured?

Well played Faf too by the way, I'm not sure I rate him as a late-over hitter in limited overs (limited big shots IMO) but he's certainly got the game for the longer form. A bit puzzled Elgar batted ahead of him, and equally puzzled De Villers is still keeping wicket, despite it clearly affecting his batting form.

Du Plessis, having a dream start to his test career, he is a useful all-round cricketer, and proving his worth!

really hope punter makes a ton tomorrow!

Shelsey93 wrote:Slaters... a little humble pie may be needed. I just think that the decision to replace both Hilfenhaus and Siddle on the best seam bowling pitch is a bit strange. Starc has earned a chance and him replacing Pattinson would have been my only change. Shocked to see Hastings at Test level (although all credit to him, he did a pretty good job), and I'm not a big fan of Mitchell J.

Also, Perth is almost always a good bowling pitch. Don't think SA are that short of par in the end.

Dont worry mate, I think there'll be plenty of others (mostly aussies) sharing that humble pie. I suggested half way through the 2nd Test that id drop both Hilfy and Siddle for the two Mitches...only because its Perth and I knew it would suit them. Siddle gets a bit flat for my liking. Last time they played Sth Africa there Siddle got match figures of about 1/160. I didnt even know Hastings was on the radar so I agree he was a surprise.

350 will be a good first innings total for Australia so SAs total is, as you say, not far short of par. Its been an exciting series, albeit lacking a result, I think it will come down to one batsman standing out and making a big ton. Lets hope hes Australian and has the initials RP (although its more likely to be MC or MH)

Hastings' selection came as a shock to me too. (reminds me... I better update the OP)

Those almost identical wickets of Petersen and Kallis from Starc were absolute beauties. He's fantastic to watch.

Come on you guys, reclaim the No1 position so we can hopefully reclaim it next summer.

Good luck.

In your wildest dreams Skye.

To be honest, I was always a little uneasy about Punter saying he would be back in 2013... 5 seconds after losing the last Ashes Series over there. It seemed such a long way off and didn't take into account an allowance for any potential rising (batting) star(s).
I still believe they've got to give either Hughes or Khawaja... or both a chance.

So although it would have been interesting to see him have another crack at it, I think the right decision has been made.

Let someone else fail there instead...

I agree with the last line

Seriously though, players can and have comeback to have substantial Test careers after an indifferent start,{even with his fantastic first few Tests} which i myself have said about Hughes, even after his caught in the slips problems in his second spell, but for me with him, he has that tag and he for me will always now have that mental block in the top Test team cricket arena, but i hope he proves me wrong.

Khawaja though, i think can be a success, looks promising. Jury still out as yet though.

Yeah, look at Jimmy Anderson. He got pasted in 2006... plus half of the rest of them.

But they did their homework, got properly prepared and were up for the biggest challenge of their careers and bounced back with a vengeance in 2010. Fair dues to them.

As you know Skye - I was saying at the time they not only did play very well but they did it in such a classy and elegant way.
I know the Aussie approach is different (some pluses & minuses there) but I actually envied that whole campaign from England.

It was a model for other teams on "how to do it".

I've never agreed with anyone on here who says things like "well I saw him play CC and he's average... will never be World Class... we have his measure, etc"

That's a very limited and naive approach. It doesn't take into account the fact that that player may then go back to FC cricket, work his butt off, tweak a few things... and add a lot to his game over time. Sport is a dynamic thing: it (the game) and the players are constantly changing, certain players can have purple patches or can fall in a hole, have some bad luck though injury... be in and out of form.

That seems so obvious to me. Maybe different if the player has been injured, then of course the mountain may be higher to climb but even that can be overcome if the skill set is worked on and improved to cover the flaws.

I agree with the measure of a player comment, but it is just a feeling with Hughes that i have that he will go the same way as our very own Hick, Ramprakash and to a much lesser extent Bopara (three early centuries}.

Could have been very good, but then when a hiccup occured and a mental block began, it went downhill fast. Then it happened time and time again in the big arena.

Look, I think we are all guilty to some extent of caricaturing Hughes as useless, when actually he has some positive attributes. Having said that his Test career so far has been a complete disaster really (notwithstanding 2 100s in his 2nd Test, although he was actually out a few times in that match, but not given out because of DRS mistakes). He got out in exactly the same way - feet off the ground, bat at the wrong angle, caught in the slips - about 15 times, which is enough to suggest there is something wrong with his technique.

He was scoring runs at domestic level before being found out in Tests, so its hard to tell if he's improved on that.

The other thing which I think teams have got wrong is seeing him as an opener. To my eye his technique is completely unsuited to facing the new ball in Australia: Warner is aggressive, but gets into pretty orthodox positions. If he comes back number 4 could thus be the place for him.

Probably on balance I'd rather let him get even hungrier to get back in - let him play all summer for South Aus, then maybe give him an ODI go at the end of the season and go from there.

Thus, Khawaja will probably replace Ponting. Australia must be weary of a 'revolving door policy' - to some extent this has happened with the bowlers (do we know what the first choice attack is?) and its even more important in my view to have a settled top six. Going forward to the big tours of India and England, its hard to find another candidate: had he been in the runs I reckon they might have plumped for Dave Hussey, but he hasn't been. If they do go with Khawaja I think they must then stick with him for the SL series and India tour.

EDIT: It appears the swear filter turns co*k-ups (which isn't really swearing) to man-sausage-ups!!

Are you sure you are only 19

Never lose your rag, cricket knowledge good and very fair.

Sorry Hibbz.

He's been absolutely piling on the runs here though.

He does look different and I saw this amazing cut shot he did in a match against Victoria recently playing for the SA Redbacks.

It was like a bullet in the shortest space of time, not aggressive but more 'so on top of his game' kind of shot but it shocked me in it's ruthlessness and precision.

It was as though he had invented a new shot.

It looked uniquely different from anything I've ever seen... even from batsmen like Viv Richards, Sehwag, KP, Warner, Gayle or whoever.

hohoho Seth Efrica rip roaring ahead and just as I say that lyon drops a cacth 214/2 after 35 overs!

292 ahead 230/2 at stumps amla on 99 and kallis on 17. My god day 2

230/2 after 38 overs. Looks quite clear that, barring a collapse, South Africa will stroll to victory - they could make that lead 600 by tomorrow!

Remarkable turn arounds are par for the course this season ...but SA have really taken a grip on this game just four sessions after they appeared to be down and out.
Must admit I was not surprised to see Australia skittled - after day one it was apparent there was enough help for the bowlers to render batting difficult , although you wouldn't call it a terrible pitch at any stage. The game has actually followed the pattern of the last couple of Ashes Tests at this venue , where the team batting first (Australia in those games) has made a modest first innings score but come back to roll their opponent and then gone on to make hay with the bat second time around.

Miracles aside (you never know in this series) SA should be setting Australia 500 to win , which seems a bit much...

Looks like SA will win this... the Test Match is continuing to follow a remarkably similar pattern to the 2010/11 Ashes one, but in reverse.

Ruthless performance by SA. Wonder whether Kallis will get yet another century to spoil the Ponting farewell party....

Fine 2nd day for South Africa. The pitch looks good and Amla has already bagged 99 and SA have the batting depth with Philander coming in at 9. Could be a pretty tough last innings chase for Australia.
But said that, if the batsmen apply themselves, this pitch should be relatively easy to bat on even on day 4. But scoreboard pressure in the last innings of the last test of the yet undecided series could be a real handful.
It won't be easy for the SA bowlers, but someone will have to play a mighty hand for Australia. The bowlers would help matters a great deal if they keep their discipline on day 3 and keep that already challenging SA lead within a fair range.

Australia will definitely be wanting to keep the chase below 400-450 runs maximum and hoping that the pitch flattens out even more in the final 3 days... but especially the last 1 or 2.

If they can do the same and build bigger partnerships then there may be another twist before this match is over.
Batting conditions are getting better & better as the game progresses.

Or alternatively, it could be all over by tea time tomorrow.

I reckon SA should sneak out in the middle of tommorow night and put some grass on the pitch. That way even if they lose they'll still be happy. Really is a guessing game from here.

Once again my man, Robbie Peterson, comes up with the goods for the Proteas!

He batted well. He bowled intelligently. Varying his speed. He's all ways a fantastic fielder.

It's gotta be questioned by the Proteas management went away for the South African method. We always have great fast bowlers so a holding spinner does the job for us.

Journeyman Tahir should never have played for us.

Another 35 overs remaining in the day and South Africa are 455-5. AB de Villiers is back, and back with a bang!. Not out 104. Hashim Amla just missed his double hundred, and Elgar didn't take his chance. du Plessis is joined AB.

south africans smacking everything out of sight. De villiers on 159 and faf on 27 5 fours 2 6s and lots of singles and doubles in last 5 overs

du plessis out with a sharp delivery kicked off the ground and hits top corner of bat. The pitch is beginning to show signs of life and the ball is swinging more and more. Might be juicy for steyn when they declare.

Peterson out - caught by johnson off of starc

AB is gone, out for a terrific 169, a knock full of flair and class. Great to see him get a big one, he has been scoring far too many attractive 40s of late after taking the gloves!.
They are batting on, perhaps Smith wants AB to have 5-10 additional minutes to put up his feet before putting the gloves back on.

Perhaps Smith's looking at having a newish ball to work with tomorrow, but both Philander and Steyn are getting quite a few balls aimed at their heads and the runs aren't exactly flowing either. Not that they need to score a lot more or score them quickly, but it seems that everyone are going through the motions just like that at the moment.

Its 569-9 as Steyn goes to give Starc his 5th wicket. SA are batting on, as Morne Morkel joinds Philander.

Smith not in a great hurry ...still two days to play , doesn't want to bowl for that long tonight...
Though as Steyn goes it can't be much longer anyway

Keep 'em running around waiting for the declaration , short sharp burst tonight , seems fair enough to me.

Starc still seems pretty happy to get five ...make that six ! Marks for spirit , but he shouldn't get too carried away after the rubbish he sent down twenty four hours ago.

Only 630 to get ...at least they have plenty of time

all out 632 to win

Well, SA are allout, Starc finishes with 6 wickets. All that Australia need is to score 632 in the 4th innings, and they have plenty of time to do that, an hour of batting today and then another couple of days. The pitch is still flat although the odd ball reversed at times and new ball did some early morning damage.
I won't rule out Australia as yet, a draw is unlikely, we should have a result, SA are the favorites, but Australia are in with a chance to create history.