The Boxing Day test match looked like a case of “oh not again” till the end of Day 2. That was when the Australians showed some fight and created a situation from where it would have been very difficult for any side to lose. They had put close to 400 runs on the board and had 7 opposition wickets down for 198. At the crease was a batsman playing his second test match and the tail. No one in his wildest dreams would have given any chance to the SA team at that stage, including the punters who were predicting an Aussie win.
Day 3 of that test match was a defining moment of the series and possibly of a new era in test cricket. I would call it the moment when the Australian stranglehold on the championship crumbled. SA not only wiped out the deficit but actually took the lead. From then on it was a downhill slide for the Australians and only one team showed the discipline, the courage and the brains to win this test match. You can read a very damning analysis of that day from Peter Roebuck in his article “Timid effort produces a disastrous result” or Peter English’s article “It’s not funny anymore”.
In my books the blame lies squarely with Ponting and he must resign as a captain. He selected the wrong playing eleven and then his field placements and bowling changes were less than ordinary. A captain is expected to make things happen but the manner in which he let the advantage slip clearly showed lack of will or faith in his teammates. In both these test matches so far, the Australians have not been able to claim 20 wickets nor have their batsmen scored runs. Ponting cannot blame the pitch or the luck simply because these are the demands of the modern day schedule. I cannot see this Australian outfit troubling the South Africans in Sydney too. A 3-0 whitewash looks like a fair result under the circumstances.
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