Australia will leave Gqeberha lamenting their first innings batting performance as South Africa completely dominated them from the moment Temba Bavuma came to the crease until the final wicket on day five.
The batting order will once again face significant questions. Nic Maddinson and Beau Webster again failed to contribute with the bat, while Marnus Labuschagne threw his wicket away at the worst possible time in the second innings.
Steve Smith is now under an injury cloud after hurting his neck, while Josh Hazlewood bowled through illness on day three, limiting his performance.
The selectors made the bold call to drop Nathan Lyon and play Scott Boland, and while everything else went wrong, the Victorian once again showed why he belongs. Except he did it with both bat and ball this time around.
They will now need to scratch their heads and come up with an XI for Cape Town, factoring in these performances, and the availability of Cam Green and Josh Inglis.
Here’s how we rated all Australian players from the second Test.
Nic Maddinson – 1
Source: www.nine.com.au
