I expected the Aussies to win the final one dayer in Perth as we blooded a few new youngsters. If we won we’d get the number 1 ranking but it certainly wasn’t an important factor for the Proteas.

We started off quite sedately, with Gibbs getting out in a manner and timeframe that I have become accustomed to seeing (my prediction remember was for 1 good innings out of the 5 games…) and then Mckenzie getting bogged down and also getting out. At that stage we were in a bit of trouble and any further wickets would’ve place us under immense pressure.

Amla and De Villiers play beautifully. They showed that you can bat with little risk and score at a good clip (about 5 an over). They worked the 1’s and 2’s beautifully and threw in the odd boundary. Importantly they preserved wickets so that by over 37 De Villiers was looking to up the tempo. He got out but he had done his job. Now it was time to go for it.

Amla was looking for his hundred and to bat through the innings. Unfortunately he got out. At that stage we were relying on Morkel to power us home. He came in, had an over or so and then we started the power play. Disaster stuck as he got out at the end of the first over of the power play. At that stage I thought we’d struggle to get past 260 odd as we had no power hitter left.

Once again Duminy fired when we needed it most. His was one of the best one day innings I have seen in a long time. He worked the 1’s and 2’s beautifully, and then got some wonderful boundaries. 3 6’s and 3 4’s. Some delicate touches, others great timing, and even bludgeoning one straight down the ground. He has it all and I believe he is the best cricketer i’ve seen from South Africa. His temperament is fantastic, he has all the skills, and most importantly he has the mental tenacity to win matches. The only things he needs to work on are the pull/hook shot; and to continue developing his bowling.

Johan Botha had a great cameo too. First ball he lap swept Nathan Bracken, then he reverse swept a 140kph+ delivery between 2 fielders from Mitchell Johnson. How much confidence are the proteas playing with? It’s fantastic to watch, and amazing how quickly it has transformed our play. We must now simply play this way all the time.

I still though at halfway the aussies would be favourites with a good batting lineup against our inexperienced bowling attack. Go Tsotsobe! I have mentioned I have wanted him in at the expense of Morne Morkel, and boy did he show what he can do. He bowled a great line with a little bit of swing and troubled Ponting in particular. 2 early wickets were crucial in ensuring that Australia could not gain any momentum. From that pressure they never recovered.

Morkel accounted for Clarke, and when Warner was unluckily run out, the game was effectively over. The 2 Hussey’s batted so slowly. Sure they had to consolidate but letting the run rate get so high effectively killed their chances. It is pleasing to see other teams struggle to understand how to chase down a total, especially one as good as Australia. They are definitely much better at setting a total, and the key to stopping any chase is early wickets.

The most pleasing aspect of the win was that our young guys performed brilliantly. Under pressure they didn’t shy away, and how good was it see Tsotsobe smiling and enjoying himself, thrashing the pants off Australia! This team is going from strength to strength, the youngsters have maintained our mental toughness that makes it so hard to play against South Africa, let alone beat us.
It also stopped the Aussies gaining any momentum or mental advantage ahead of the return series in South Africa. And the icing on the cake…South Africa are the number 1 ranked one day team in the world…Yahoo!