Steve Smith was hurt and embarrassed after another humiliating loss as Australia’s test cricket captain, and he didn’t want to disguise the depths of the problems.
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Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith has waded into the unsafe waters of Twitter warfare, with recently-retired Australia firebrand Mitchell Johnson his surprising target.
Shortly after lunch, Tembo Bavuma was surprised by a rearing delivery to spoon an easy catch to Nathan Lyon at point and give Joe Mennie his first Test wicket for 74.
“Right now it’s not good enough”.
“I don’t sit in on anything when they [the selectors] talk about Jake, and I don’t know what they’re saying about Jake”, Lehmann said. “I’m embarrassed to be sitting here in this position”.
It was Australia’s fifth consecutive Test defeat this year, after also losing all three Tests in Sri Lanka in August. What they have now achieved is a strength in depth that Smith, Lehmann and the selectors can only dream about, without anything like the same budgets. But it has been all downhill from there.
The meek and reckless manner of the Australian batsmen’s dismissals in the two thrashings at the hands of the Proteas is arguably the most concerning aspect of the team’s decline, while confidence is at an all-time low across the board. Callum Ferguson, making his debut at age 31, was inexplicably run out for 3.
Australia were knackered in the opening Test at Perth as their batting crumbled. Vernon Philander takes 5-21 for South Africa. Bavuma scored 74 while De Kock scored 104 which helped South Africa to get 241 runs first innings lead.
It was a body blow for the Australian hopes of salvaging the Test so early into the fourth day and ended a 50-run stand with Smith. That’s a very, very poor batting performance again.
Australia had resumed at 121-2 but lost 32-8 in a stunning collapse on Tuesday as Kyle Abbott (6-77) and Kagiso Rabada (4-34) starred.
“All our bowlers were exceptional”, said Faf du Plessis, triumphant as stand-in captain for the injured AB De Villiers. We are not digging in enough.
“We have got to find a way to be a bit more resilient and turn things around because we are not in a great place”.
South Africa have now won their past three away Test series against Australia, with the two teams now heading to Adelaide the final Test.
Former Test opener Chris Rogers said more focus on four-day cricket would toughen batsmen and that the one round of Sheffield Shield cricket before the first Test in Perth wasn’t enough.
Smith questioned his team mates’ desire as Australia stares down the barrel of a whitewash. Now the whole set up, from Lehmann to the top administrators, is under pressure.
It was South Africa’s third straight test series win in Australia after their 2008 and 2012 successes.
“Enjoy it, celebrate it with us”, he said in a greeting to the players. “The Aussie batters, they just didn’t know where to go, what to do”.
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“At the moment what we’ve got going on is not working so it might be about getting some younger guys in and getting some experience at this level, you never know, guys might really step up to the plate and step up to the level of worldwide cricket”.
