The 3rd one dayer was always going to be crucial in the context of the series. Considering how closely fought the whole summer has been, going 2-1 up would be a massive advantage.

Australia once again batted first, as they have largely done all summer. They also got off to a great start again, this time courtesy of Warner who went berserk and Marsh who was the perfect foil. Once the hundred came up, the Aussies should have been looking at 300+. But all summer the South African bowlers have refused to give up. That we have come back time and time again speaks wonders for our fighting spirit and attitude. The Aussies however need to look hard at themselves as they have underdelivered immensely considering their batting lineup, and the wonderful starts they have had.

At the interval I thought 270 was very gettable considering the smallish boundaries at the SCG. Once again we would need a good start. Where we won this game compared to Hobart, was the first 15 overs. Getting the run rate up was so useful. Sure we had a little bit of luck in the Aussies coughing up two wickets in the first over (both Gibbs and Amla were dropped), but Gibbs made them pay. Gibbs played well before once again he got out when he needed to push on and make the game safe for us.

Gibbs’ partnership with Kallis was the critical one. Getting the run rate up put the pressure on the Aussies and allowed us to then keep the scoreboard ticking over quite easily and delayed the bowling powerplay. Gibbs eventually got out to a very poor shot. De Villiers looked to be aggressive which I thought was great, but simply got out to a poorly executed shot. Duminy got exposed to a lack of footwork on a track that was starting to become variable and then Kallis went straight after. Kallis was looking to bat though, and his wicket was a big one. I am not as critical against Kallis as I am of Gibbs, because Kallis is our banker. He consistently gets good scores which the rest of the team can bat around. Sure he could easily have won the game for us, but he had done his job. Whereas when someone like Gibbs makes a start he has to make the most of it.

With 5 wickets down we were in a bit of trouble. As I have mentioned previously, if the run rate is good it puts so much less pressure on the new batsmen when they come to the crease and it doesn’t get out of control. This was a perfect example of batsmen being able to consolidate under little pressure and set up another go at winning the game. McKenzie and Boucher ended up going too slow, for too long and the run rate threatened to get away for us. But Mckenzie got out at the right time, and in strode Albie.

It was an interesting decision to take the power play straight away with Albie’s arrival. I thought we should’ve given him an over or two to get his eye in. But Albie started hitting boundaries from the first over he was in. How good was that!! Within 5 overs of the powerplay he had smashed the Aussie bowlers all over the place and effectively won us the game. I was glad he remained aggressive and tried to win us the game, as opposed to taking the foot off the accelerator and simply trying to pace the innings, once the run rate got down to a very easy equation. He just couldn’t get the final big shot in, but Botha came in and did it easily.

It will be a blow having Boucher out for the final 2 games, but that could be a blessing as I have felt he hasn’t batted well all tour except for the 3rd test match. He has a very closed grip which limits his shot making to the leg side. As Bracken has worked out, if you bowl wide of off stump, Boucher struggles to hit through the cover region. Even in this game I thought Boucher batted too slowly and during the pwerplay, almost undid the good work of Albie.

With Boucher out our batting will hopefully be strengthened, and i’d like to see us bat first in Adelaide and get away to a strong start from Gibbs and co. If we can then save wickets and let the likes of Albie cause destruction with the short Adelaide boundaries it would be interesting to see Australia chase 300 odd, and we’d have a good chance of wrapping up the series…