Parnell, Steyn crush Australia
Monday, 6 April 2009
South Africa 132 for 3 (Smith 40) beat Australia 131 (Ferguson 50, Parnell 4-25, Steyn 4-27) by seven wickets
A brutal new-ball effort from Wayne Parnell and Dale Steyn set up a comprehensive seven-wicket win for South Africa that levelled the five-match series 1-1 in Centurion. The first game in Durban was described as a one-sided victory to Australia but it was a nail-biter compared to this non-competition.
The result was all but decided after the first 44 balls of the match. Parnell and Steyn were so destructive in their opening spells that after 7.2 overs Australia had collapsed to 19 for 5 and even the most die-hard Australian fans were battling to conjure up a scenario in which they would be celebrating at the end of the day.
Callum Ferguson provided Australia with brief respite from the demolition in posting 50, the second half-century of his six-match ODI career, but it was all academic. When the last man was out in the 41st over Australia had only 131 on the board and it was their lowest first-innings total in a non-reduced 50-over one-day international.
Not surprisingly, the South Africans reached their target with a minimum of fuss, with seven wickets in hand and 23.4 overs to spare. Mitchell Johnson picked up two wickets that along with his one-day career-best score of 30 meant he could hold his head up, but solid contributions from Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis ensured the victory was not in doubt.
South Africa had their bowlers to thank. After Ricky Ponting chose to bat the wickets tumbled so quickly that gloves and helmets must have been flying around the Australian dressing room as the padding-up players raced to keep up with the attrition rate. There were a few loose shots but mostly the cause of the damage was the fast, accurate and swinging deliveries from Steyn and Parnell. —Cricinfo
A brutal new-ball effort from Wayne Parnell and Dale Steyn set up a comprehensive seven-wicket win for South Africa that levelled the five-match series 1-1 in Centurion. The first game in Durban was described as a one-sided victory to Australia but it was a nail-biter compared to this non-competition.
The result was all but decided after the first 44 balls of the match. Parnell and Steyn were so destructive in their opening spells that after 7.2 overs Australia had collapsed to 19 for 5 and even the most die-hard Australian fans were battling to conjure up a scenario in which they would be celebrating at the end of the day.
Callum Ferguson provided Australia with brief respite from the demolition in posting 50, the second half-century of his six-match ODI career, but it was all academic. When the last man was out in the 41st over Australia had only 131 on the board and it was their lowest first-innings total in a non-reduced 50-over one-day international.
Not surprisingly, the South Africans reached their target with a minimum of fuss, with seven wickets in hand and 23.4 overs to spare. Mitchell Johnson picked up two wickets that along with his one-day career-best score of 30 meant he could hold his head up, but solid contributions from Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis ensured the victory was not in doubt.
South Africa had their bowlers to thank. After Ricky Ponting chose to bat the wickets tumbled so quickly that gloves and helmets must have been flying around the Australian dressing room as the padding-up players raced to keep up with the attrition rate. There were a few loose shots but mostly the cause of the damage was the fast, accurate and swinging deliveries from Steyn and Parnell. —Cricinfo