Drums and drama as Downs up pace
LUNGANI ZAMA
AUSTRALIANS are familiar with bushfires, and they know how quickly they can get out of hand.
At Kingsmead yesterday, the visitors from Down Under scorched through the South African batting line-up with the intensity of an Outback furnace, to almost seal the fate of the opening Test.
The Proteas wilted to 162 all out, and they will take some urgent blooming to stagger back to their feet in this contest.
They were outhustled, out-patienced, and then outgunned by a brutal Australian attack, which lived up to all their hype and then some.
It is often in the most unforgiving light that the harshest truths are exposed.
Yesterday, Australia’s potent attack of three flame-throwers and a hand grenade twirler delivered some unpalatable food for thought for South Africa, and already the first Test is dead in the water for the hosts.
Mitchell Starc rightly stole the headlines with 5/34, in a spell of unrelenting pace, unflinching hostility and unerring accuracy.
The South Africans had spent the week practising with the young left-armers they could find, looking to get fam- iliar with the angles that Starc comes at one with.
And yet, try as they did, the local lefties were a gallop short, and a bag of tricks short of the sorcery that Starc con- jured up on a beautiful Durban afternoon.
The ominous factor for South Africa, who went to sleep 189 runs in arrears – and already making bowling plans again – was that it could have been any other bowler, too.
Josh Hazlewood, mean and as miserly as a young Glenn McGrath, beat the bat and bruised the body, but he only had one scalp to show for his efforts. On another day, he might have snatched more.
Pat Cummins, too, got just the one, but their day of ample prey in the African savannah will surely come.
It was spinner Nathan Lyon who started the carnage, as he twirled out Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla in his first over.
Both batsmen may look back and ponder whether the shots they fell with could have had more conviction. All they did was stoke an already building Australian bushfire of expectation.
That furnace, fanned by the Lyon opening gambit, was stoked further by Cummins on the stroke of tea, as he convinced Aiden Markram to give away his good start.
Already, South Africa’s top-order is taking lessons from Australia’s lower order on putting a premium on their wickets.
Australia’s last five wickets realised 174 precious runs, while South Africa’s top half wasted away for just 108.
Mitchell Marsh, normally a brute of a striker, deserved a Test ton on the basis of his restraint alone.
Far from playing on instinct as he normally does, he played the bigger picture, acknowledging that he had to tighten up, and show South Africa that the visitors had more gears than just first or furious.
He ground out 96, and that stoic stance alone allowed Starc to bash a breezy 35, which lifted Australia well beyond a total that South Africa felt was manageable.
It was 351, to be exact, and the enormity of that was apparent by tea, with South Africa three down for just 55.
Keshav Maharaj’s 5/123 was now a candle in the wind, blown out by Australia’s search for the jugular.
Beyond tea, Starc came into his own, ridding the South African ship of their leader with a ball that came from round the wicket, straightened, and tickled the willow.
Faf du Plessis did well to nick it, considering it all happened at 145km/h.
Starc wasn’t quite done, as he bullied Theunis de Bruyn and Vernon Philander back to the sheds, before ending matters by rushing through the defences of Kagiso Rabada and Morné Morkel.
AB de Villiers stood helpless on the other end, his encouraging 71 not out now just a sorry pale of water engulfed in the sheer intensity of Australian fury.
That is the thing with bushfires. They do not muck about. They scorch what’s in front of them, and ask few questions.
Australia were red-hot yesterday, and their opponents may well have left the ground wondering just what to do to stop such an unnatural disaster from happening again. DERBY weekend got off to a rocking start when Mamelodi Sundowns beat AmaZulu 3-1 in an Absa Premiership battle at the King Zwelithini Stadium in uMlazi last night.
Goals, yellow cards, drumming, dancing and drama with a bit of crowd trouble offered a foretaste of what the Soweto Derby traditionally stands for.
It was free flowing stuff from kick-off. AmaZulu opted for a three-man attack with Mhlengi Cele, Mabhuti Khenyeza and Siyabonga Nomvete supported by the creativity of Siyethemba Mnguni in midfield as they took the game to the log leaders.
Backed by a full house crowd – green in the main stand and yellow opposite – and with lively traditional entertainment at half-time, the teams dished out a feast of open attacking play.
Goals flowed early as the visitors took the lead via Brazilian dedender Ricardo Nascimento’s penalty following a foul by Sadate Ouro-Akoriko on Percy Tau. Usuthu replied in similar fashion when Cele drilled in low and powerfully after he won an indirect free kick in a tussle with goalie Razak Brimah 10 minutes before the interval.
Passions ran high when Sibusiso Vilakazi bagged his second in quick succession in the second half and the home crowd hurled missiles onto the pitch. It led to a 10-minute stoppage as the security officials restored calm following the disputed goal.
With Tau on fire and Uruguayan Gaston Sirino enjoying the greenery offered by the home midfield, there were prospects of more goals. Themba Zwane was foiled by Boalefa Pule and Tau had a first half goal ruled out for offside, in between several other runs on the wrong side of the assistant referee’s flag.
The champions elect took control with the two-goal cushion and the intensity ebbed out of the tie somewhat as they absorbed the pressure of AmaZulu’s relentless efforts for goals to get back into the game.
It was all about game management for Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane as the Brazilians were on course for a 13th league victory and an increased lead over the chasing pack, especially with one or both of Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates set to drop points in the derby this afternoon.