How series was lost after Steve Smith injury, Marnus Labuschagne form and Pat Cummins toss

On an early evening in Durban in mid-October, Australia’s premier attack were all smiles as they returned to the team hotel in the up-market suburb of Umhlanga after a brilliant win.

It was about 8pm and the veterans of the team were brandishing ice creams, looking relaxed and refreshed despite an opening Test that had lasted a full five days, testing their mettle. The treats were well deserved and so was the early night.

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It was a wise cause of action. This was a group that had sworn off the booze and remained disciplined as they sought to squeeze every last drop from the lemon, to quote Nathan Lyon.

The contrast to the final indignity upon many on this trip, where they were tasked with batting on Saturday to protect a top-line Australian batsman from an off-spinner, was symbolic.

There was nothing to savour about the way a tour that started in such promising fashion before turning torrid had ended, with the Aussie tail trying their darnedest to defend on Saturday after the top order failed yet again.

If Travis Head had written the collapse in Gqeberha off as a “s**t week”, Australia ultimately had a second shocker of a week in the series decider, with the last two days decidedly “s**thouse”, to borrow from the South Aussie again.

At stumps on the third day Simon Harmer, who proved the man of the match with 10 wickets, had stressed the importance of the first hour on Friday as critical to giving the Proteas hope.

They survived through grit and determination and turned the tide decisively that afternoon, with Ryan Rickelton and Wiaan Mulder batting judiciously and then boldly.

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It was Australia’s turn to face a critical hour on Saturday. Survive with minimal damage and the run chase was on. But instead it turned into disaster as a batting collapse unfolded.

At least one career is torched in Marnus Labuschagne. Beau Webster did not play but his future is now also clouded.

The veteran bowlers tried everything but one last comeback proved beyond them. The Proteas respect the bowlers – their plan was to wear them out and finally they managed to do so on a painstaking Day 14 of the tour

To see Mitchell Starc, despite still firing them down at 150km/h and snaring wickets aged 37, with his calf encased in a compression bandage on the final morning served as an omen. The superstar was lame. And the batting order was breaking.

Then Matthew Renshaw, a shining light on a bleak tour, strangled himself down the legside, which served to bring the walking wicket Labuschagne to the crease. A tour that started so well had turned to s**t.

SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLIES

Going back to the night the quicks were enjoying ice creams in Durban and another thing occurred. Hours after the team song at 4.15pm at Kingsmead Stadium following the 214-run triumph, Travis Head jumped on social media.

It was a cheeky post that seemed to poke fun at South African captain Temba Bavuma. Hubristic? Perhaps.

But even if the intent was mirthful rather than malicious, what is clear is that Bavuma’s teammates kept a receipt and used it for additional motivation, even if the captain himself said he was not overly fussed afterwards.

“Not me personally, to be honest. I heard about it. I didn’t see the video,” he said.

“I guess the guys ripped me off, as they always do, in the changing room. I think it just spoke to the intensity, I guess, and the importance of the series. It’s a part of the story, right, if I put it that way.

“But I don’t think it added any other extra motivation. The motivation, desire, was always there to achieve what we’ve done.”

When Head fell to Kagiso Rabada for 14, which effectively served as the nail in Australia’s coffin barring anything remarkable on Saturday, Marco Jansen gave him a mighty send-off.

Dancing on the grave of the departed is not necessarily becoming and it was notable that Rabada, once the young firebrand of this attack who seeded Steve Smith’s meltdown in 2018, had a quick word to the new world-beater.

But it was not the send-off that mattered. What did was South Africa’s approach in the days following the Durban Test that swung largely on Matt Renshaw’s wonderful innings.

Even before Head poked the bear that balmy night in Umhlanga, where the Aussie batters went one way and the bowlers another, Bavuma had vowed all was not lost in the series despite suffering his first ever loss as captain of the Proteas.

“We at times found ourselves in awe of the Australians. (But) I think a lot of it for us was, I guess, that whole South African trait of resilience,” he said.

“We seem to play a lot better when we’re behind the game, whether that’s a good or a bad thing…you know that’s for us.”

South Africa were the reigning World Test Champions but they had not played a Test in 12 months due to a quirk in the calendar that robbed them of a celebratory summer last year.

The Proteas vowed to dust off the rust, get to work and rebound in style. And leading from the front was Bavuma, who spent hours upon hours in the nets in Gqeberha.

The first black cricketer in South Africa to score a Test century a decade ago, he subsequently became the first black man to lead the Proteas in Test cricket as well.

Captaincy has brought out the best in his batting – from a mid-30s average he has added another 15-odd runs per innings since becoming skipper – and more importantly he has brought out the best in the rest of his men.

He led by example in the nets in Gqeberha, making sure there was no dust in his game after a couple of failures in the first Test, and then in the middle when making a stunning 179.

THE PARTNERSHIP THAT TURNED IT

The tall and the short of how this series turned to South Africa rests on the partnership the diminutive Bavuma shared with the long, lean and lanky Jansen in Gqeberha on Day 3.

From 6-110 with Australia firmly in the ascendancy in the Test and the series, the pair combined for a 132-run partnership, with Jansen breathtaking in his batting prowess.

He blasted the Aussies all over St George’s Park, while Bavuma pulled Pat Cummins for four to bring up his century after the Aussie skipper had busted a gut in a hostile spell of fast bowling that ultimately fell short of unsettling his counterpart.

When it was the Aussies turn to bat, the new world No.1 ranked Test bowler Jansen was awesome, skittling the tourists for 99 in a devastating innings the tourists never really recovered from. They seemed muddle-minded from then on.

Asked after stumps on Day 4 whether South Africa’s emergence as a Test power was down to the leadership shown by Bavuma or the growing maturity of the squad, Jansen posited that it was like the skill set that has made him a star – there was a little bit of both about it.

“I think it’s definitely Temba’s leadership coupled with the group of guys that we have,” Jansen said.

“We have a group of guys obviously, if you look across the board, who don’t have the most experience when it comes to playing Test matches, and someone like Temba or Aiden (Markram) and KG (Rabada), for example, those three guys, they play a massive role in, especially in the games and obviously at training as well, giving tips when needed or even just with a word of encouragement as well.

“Sometimes it’s quite easy to get a bit hard on yourself if you’re not feeling that rhythm or if you’re not feeling good from a batting perspective or bowling perspective, and I think those three guys especially and then also Harmy (Simon Harmer) who’s also played a lot of red ball cricket, those four guys … play a massive role in terms of not only from a friend perspective or from a player to player perspective, but also from a group perspective, because there’s four guys you can lean on and sort of share information and ask advice and I think they do that really well

“Coupled with that and obviously Temba taking that leadership role, making the decisions that he has to make, we as a playing group or player group, we back Temba’s decisions, whatever he feels like and goes with on the day. Sometimes we don’t understand it, but we know that that doesn’t really matter as long as we have the confidence in Temba that whatever he decides, whatever he feels like doing, we the players have to back that up … and obviously we have to do that as a group.”

The Australians lost their way on Day 4. Scott Boland had put them in a dominant position when taking five wickets and later batted bravely to make 40 in the second innings as a nightwatchman, but the shocking all out for 99 reeked of insecurity.

In a rarity in the middle of a Test, Australian coach Andrew McDonald fronted a decent-sized travelling press pack to unpack the day of dysfunction.

“When you talk about being disappointed, probably some of the shots that we played in the scenario when we knew we had a lot of work to do at the start of the day … I think some of the shots that some of the players played today they would take back,” McDonald said.

“I think if you look across modern Test history, a lot of experienced teams have had batting collapses, so whether it be a young batting line-up, whether it be an experienced batting line-up, everyone’s vulnerable in particular against quality attacks.

“And we’ve been able to dismantle batting teams as well with our attack as well. So, yeah, it’s disappointing. But as I said, those players that sit in that room are still the same players that performed exceptionally well last week and I have great belief and trust that the skill sets in that room, in particular tomorrow, can go out there and potentially turn this one around.

“If that doesn’t unfold, then we move into Cape Town and we reload and we go again. And a great strength of this group is on significant setbacks, and I’d say this is a significant setback in terms of the way that we play, we’ve been able to respond.

“That’s been one of our strengths, so we’re looking forward to that opportunity tomorrow and further down the track in Cape Town.”

ANGER IN THE NETS

The Australians were chastened by what happened in Gqeberha, but it looked as though Head’s defiant century in the second innings at least laid a marker for a response.

Among the many admirable qualities of the Cummins-captained team that until Saturday had held every bilateral trophy and was the world No.1 is its capacity to rebound.

It had been almost four years since the Aussies lost a series, that one an away tour to India, and back-to-back Test matches, though there were some worrying signs on that front.

Australia smashed England in the Ashes, the farcical two day Boxing Day Test aside, but then performed like an ordinary side when beaten by Bangladesh in Darwin in August before squaring off against the minnows in Mackay.

It meant that they had lost three of their past six Tests when arriving at Newlands Cricket Ground, the scene of the traumatic and chaotic fall from grace eight years earlier.

If one was to assess the two teams in the lead-in, it is no surprise that South Africa was the side that came out on top on the 15th day of an enthralling series.

Bavuma was happy to announce an XI the day before the match, with Gerald Coetzee replacing the injured but impressive Anrich Nortje. There was conviction and belief in their every move.

But the Aussies had no certainty. The world’s top-ranked Test team was instead acting like a team unsure of itself.

There were moving parts everywhere. Labuschagne looked shot to pieces at training on Sunday, batting far later than usual and then nicking every bowler he faced in the session.

On the eve of the Test, both McDonald and selector George Bailey sat down for a briefing with journalists where they said Labuschagne would play, while expressing confidence the Smith would play despite lingering soreness from a neck problem.

What was not revealed at that stage is that the superstar had undergone scans on Friday in Cape Town which revealed a cervical facet joint injury in the neck which continued to hinder him.

Later that day, the champion underwent a fitness test. For the first 35 minutes he looked good before a break, where he repeatedly stretched his neck.

On returning to the net a bit later he was bowled and threw a hissy fit in which he kept kicking the crease in frustration before packing his bag and heading off to the pavilion in such a hurry he stepped in front of a car driving through the ground.

But the Aussies, who again delayed naming an XI until the morning of the toss, were still confident he would play at the ground where it all went wrong for him in 2018.

“He’s been awesome this tour,” Cummins said, which was generous because although Smith was brilliant in the slips in Durban, he struggled with the bat and had also been assessed for concussion after a nasty blow to the head from Nortje.

“In the last couple of years, probably particularly the last 12 months, it feels like he’s in a really good place and he’s enjoying his cricket.

“He’s getting himself out (and about), whether it is playing golf or going for coffee club every morning. He’s been super invested in what’s going on and very helpful for me out in the middle.”

THE BLUNDERS

The sky was the brightest of blues, adding a vivid edge to the glorious Table Mountain, when Cummins won the toss last Tuesday morning and … bowled on what looked like a brown pitch.

The reaction on both sides of the Indian Ocean was instant. WTF? It was inconceivable until considering the context of the chaos earlier that morning and the build-up over the past year.

Smith had arrived early after having an injection in the neck, but felt he could not play, which saw chairman of selectors George Bailey dash from the nets to tap Josh Inglis on the shoulder about 105 minutes before the start of play.

Inglis later said it was not the ideal preparation, though he knuckled down to make a century while also fielding beautifully in one of the rare positives Australia can take from the decider.

Cummins’ call prompted chatter about his mistrust of the batting order, one now missing the world’s best batsman, which is understandable given how brittle it has been in recent years.

What it did do was spark reports of rifts between the bowlers and the batsmen, suggestions of selfishness and, finally, a medical clarification from Cricket Australia about Smith’s injury.

For the record, Cummins and bowling coach James Franklin denied this had anything to do with the call afterwards, instead saying they hoped to squeeze something from the pitch.

But they did not. The first two hours were atrocious, arguably worse than the collapse that unfolded in Gqeberha as Marquis Ackerman toyed with, of all people, Mitchell Starc, while Head dropped a dolly.

But the Aussie attack are champions. They met at lunch and settled on a plan to try to minimise the damage on a flat track, only to produce a masterful effort after lunch.

Starc’s finale was incredible, with the superstar snaring four wickets in six balls to knock South Africa over for 329 in the last over of the day. It should have been a matchwinning performance given how flat the pitch was.

It is telling that during the series, every single Protea stressed how challenging the Australian attack remained, even on days where the South Africans had the upper-hand.

They said the superstars never, ever allowed those at the crease to feel comfortable, with Bavuma saying that even during his magnificent knock in Gqeberha, he never felt settled.

“The aura from their perspective, I don’t think it’s something you can just lose, especially with the experience that they have,” Jansen, the man of the series, said.

“If anything, it actually gets bigger and bigger. You feel it. You saw … Starcy, he’s flipping .. how old is he? 37? And he’s bowling 150kmh … for dive days.”

But as for the batters? The praise from the Proteas was less forthcoming.

With Inglis making the most of his chance and Alex Carey steering Australia beyond that first innings tally of South Africa by stumps on Day 2, the Aussies clearly had the upper-hand.

But in a series of swinging momentum, they gifted the Proteas one more chance to land a knockout blow.

Many in the camp believe the match was lost the next morning when they lost 6-59 to post a 100 run lead they had hoped would be double that. But they still had the Proteas on the hop at stumps, having secured four wickets while trailing by only 40 runs.

But then Ryan Rickelton and Wiaan Mulder managed what the Australians could not by forming a monster partnership that saw them take the clear ascendancy by stumps. The target was 288 and there was much to play for.

A series that promised so much had arrived at the final day and was ripe for a grandstand finish. Instead the Australians ruptured, with the fault lines evident for months cracking open as the limped to 111.

When it all ended Nathan Lyon, who had toiled hard with the ball with far less reward than he and the rest of the Australians would have hoped for, took in the surroundings at the crease.

As the South Africans celebrated their ascension to the world’s top ranking, and the Queen favourite We Are The Champions played around the beautiful ground, he paused again.

This time Lyon shook hands at length with his opposing off-spinner Harmer, who snared 10 wickets for the Test in a superb performance that proved a series clincher.

Australia were the better team at different stages, and twice seemed on the verge of delivering a knockout blow. In their prime they would have finished the Proteas off.

But just as Lyon was outbowled by his, the Aussies were ultimately outplayed by the Proteas, with Cummins lamenting the Aussies lacked their once “ruthless” edge and “didn’t give ourselves a chance” on the final day.

In a series of clashing ambitions, the Australians fell short of their goal of a year of global glory at the first hurdle, while South Africa silenced suggestions their World Test Championship victory was a fluke.