For a cricket-loving public, the final day in Cape Town offered a lesson in how quickly a contest that promises spectacle can collapse into farce. Australia, needing 288 on the fifth day with a full day to bat on a surface that had been sporting but fair to batters when set, lost two wickets in the first over, four in the first hour and seven by lunch. By the end they had been bowled out for 111, handing South Africa the match, the series and the world No 1 ranking.
The scale of the failure is best measured against the broader picture. This was the second consecutive batting collapse: in Gqeberha, in what should have been an easy draw, Australia were dismissed for 99. Here they managed 111. The third-highest score in the innings was extras, with 16. For supporters who invest their time and attention in the team, such displays raise fair questions about preparation and judgment, and the answers were not flattering.
Simon Harmer was the chief beneficiary, though Kagiso Rabada set the tone. His opening spell ripped Australia apart at the start, and by the close of the match he had taken 3 for 39, taking him to 350 Test wickets, the fastest to that mark by almost a thousand deliveries. His strike rate of 39.6 balls per wicket sits in its own stratosphere; most prolific bowlers operate in the 50s or 60s. The most wickets by anyone at a lower strike rate is 112, by George Lohmann, who debuted in 1886.
Yet there was scarcely a wound on the day that was not self-inflicted. Matt Renshaw was dismissed on the third ball of the innings, nicking past the leg stump after stepping across to the off side before glancing, a shot that increased the likelihood of finding the keeper. Ball six accounted for Marnus Labuschagne, who left a delivery from Rabada that he would once have had the confidence to play, on a pitch where barely a ball had moved off the seam. Umpire Richard Kettleborough, standing in his 100th Test, ruled him out, and a review showed umpire’s call on the stumps.
Travis Head, whose game is built on risk, came in with two wickets already down in the over and did not temper his approach. Three overs later, after several close calls, he sliced Rabada to Marco Jansen in the gully. Then came Cameron Green’s call for a run after a defensive prod off Harmer had spun only a few yards past short leg. Josh Inglis is fast, but Marques Ackerman was equal to it, getting back and throwing: the first-innings century maker was run out for 4.
The numerology of the tour was stark. In Gqeberha, South Africa were 40 for 4 on the first morning before captain Temba Bavuma turned the game. In Cape Town, South Africa were effectively 40 for 4 in the third innings, from which point Australia’s bowlers conceded two more centuries. Now Australia themselves found themselves 40 for 4, but fightbacks belonged to the other team. Alex Carey hit a premeditated reverse sweep off Harmer straight to Jansen for 2. Cooper Connolly, a player without a defined role in this side, attempted a big cover drive second ball against an off-spinner turning it away from the left-hander and was caught behind: 42 for 6. Mitchell Starc hung in but was caught at bat pad just before the break, and the match was effectively over.
Nathan Lyon, batting one spot higher than when he top scored with a young side dismissed for 47 on this same ground in 2011, again top scored with 33 not out, showing bravery through the second session after replacing Green alongside captain Pat Cummins, who defended for nearly 30 overs. Green himself lasted 110 balls for 27 before charging down to defend and missing one that spun back from the footmarks to hit off stump, the first ball after Bavuma switched Harmer to the far end.
Harmer’s shift of 21.1 overs yielded 6 for 16, underlining the mystery of why Cummins chose at the toss to give Harmer last use of the pitch rather than Lyon, who had been brought into the side and received far less reward in the third innings. South Africa, already the reigning world champions, spent the past month proving how many champions are in their team. For the public that follows this sport, the series ends with a clear verdict on one side’s excellence and another’s fragility.