Test previews / Andrew Hughes / 18 March 2009 / Leave a comment

Three months is a long time in Test cricket. Just ask South Africa, who have gone from conquering Australia overseas to losing back-to-back Tests in their own backyard. And things may get even worse in the Third Test, says Andrew Hughes.

Heading to Cape Town for the Third Test, the South African players must still be struggling to come to terms with what has happened to them. Having worked hard for eighteen months to haul themselves to the pinnacle of the cricket world, they have been caught cold by an Australian side which may have been battered and bruised, but which has regrouped and come out swinging.

There are many reasons why South Africa find themselves two down with one to play. They were underdone in terms of match time, compared to the Aussies who have been involved in state cricket and a one day tussle with the Kiwis. They lost Jacques Kallis as a bowler at Johannesburg and Graeme Smith altogether at Durban. Their bowlers have bowled too short and without discipline. And they have wilted in the face of some typically unrelenting and aggressive Australian batting.

It is a mirror image of what happened between 2005 and 2007, compressed into just two months. When England regained the Ashes, they celebrated, let their prized bowling coach leave and stopped doing the things that had made them successful. South Africa, having toppled the Aussies in their own backyard, have spent a lot of time celebrating and, it appears, little time preparing for the current series. None of them have played any serious cricket since getting back from Australia.

In contrast, Australia did what they have always done. They tried harder. Weaknesses were addressed, plans were formulated and resolve stiffened, just as they did in the autumn of 2005. This resilience, toughness and determination to do better is a quality amply demonstrated by Ricky Ponting, who has been outstanding this tour in marshalling an inexperienced team and instilling them with the will to win and the discipline to bring that victory about.

And of course, they've got the players. They've always had the players. There is no better domestic cricket system on the planet. It produces talented players, sure, but that isn't enough. It also turns out tough characters, cricketers used to playing hard and to making the most of every single opportunity. That is why the likes of Peter Siddle, Marcus North, Ben Hilfenhaus and young Phil Hughes can come straight into the national team and thrive in the pressurised environment of Test cricket.

South Africa have compounded their problems by doing something else they had avoided doing on their rise to the top. They have panicked. Against the wishes of the incapacitated captain, Neil McKenzie and Morne Morkel have been dropped. Ashwell Prince was asked to be stand-in skipper, then within twenty-four hours demoted again and Jacques Kallis made captain. At a stroke, or rather, at several clumsy strokes, the calm unity of the team, built up over many months, has been demolished.

So South Africa will go into the dead rubber with a stand-in leader, an air of dissension in the camp and a new opening pair. Prince scored a double century in his latest game for Nashua Warriors in his new batting position. But whether he can cope against a rampant Mitchell Johnson remains to be seen. South Africa must also hope that their young left-handed opener Imraan Khan makes the same kind of impact that Phil Hughes did for Australia.

Australia's biggest concerns are whether Peter Siddle can shake off his injury and whether they should play the unlucky Bryce McGain, a specialist spinner rated by Shane Warne as the best available right now. Newlands is the South African venue most conducive to spin, but Australia will be tempted to stick with a winning team that already contains three part-time spinners in Clarke, North and Katich and which bats very deep, with Johnson at nine emerging as a genuine all-rounder.

The other thing to note about Newlands is that this is a result pitch. It is unlikely to be as spicy as the 2007 Test in which neither side passed 200, but the draw still makes only limited appeal at [2.44]. Traditionally, Australia have tended to take their foot off the gas with series won, but this is a newer, hungrier outfit and the [3.05] about an Australian win looks a little generous. You can back the troubled Proteas at [3.65]