Bowler's day out at Cape Town

It is a matter of the past that Australia are no more the untouchables that they were some 5 years down the lane. But, at the same time, Australia are not even the team that any ordinary team can beat with minimum effort. But, South Africa have repeatedly made that statement false first when they snatched a series victory over the Aussies in 2009 by a margin 2-1 at Australia. Since then there have been three teams who have haunted Australia more than anybody else namely India, England and South Africa. If not for these three teams, the Aussie record is not bad against other teams.

No other team has been able to trouble the Aussies to a greater extent. Of course, Australia is yet to face Pakistan on its home soil and may be that will happen when the Aussie team gets deteriorated to an even greater extent which might take a decade. May be by that time, test cricket would have been restored in Pakistan after security issues would have been cleared. However, in the second day of the Cape Town test between South Africa and Australia saw 23 wickets falling with South Africa facing the heat though it was Australia who made news for all wrong reasons.

The highest individual score from the Aussie side came from the blades of the number 11 batsmen - Nathan Lyon who scored 14 runs. The time for the bowlers were in such a way that the Australian batsmen didn't allow the South African bowlers to bowl even a single extra delivery and much to anybody's surprise, there were no byes and leg-byes as well. If the 96 runs scored by South Africa in their first innings started wagging all the tongues, the Aussies grabbed the headlines when they couldn't even manage even half of that total. This match saw Australia reeling at 21-9.

There can be no words that can describe the Aussie batting which for the first time in the decade saw them flatter for less than 50 runs on the board. South Africa now holds the distinction of bowling out the Aussies twice for a score of less than hundred in both ODIs as well as in tests. One has to crawl through the internet to see where this score lies starting from the bottom of the table. But still, at the end of the day, it is Australia who has an upper hand when they have a 284 total in the first innings.