Beaten but unbowed, Australia displayed the qualities of a true champion by turning on their conquerors South Africa, to pull off a nail biting victory in the dead rubber third Test on a treacherous dustbowl at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Captain courageous Graeme Smith lifts the winning trophy

The face saving fight back is what characterizes Australian sport in keeping with their unbroken spirit which makes them renowned warriors when the chips are down. Too little too late was the chant by the majority of its population, but lesser teams would have fallen over and let the visitors complete the whitewash after the demoralizing first two defeats. But not so the fighting world champion, who, despite being well on their way through the slippery slide, continue to hang on grimly to their world number one status by avoiding defeat in the third Test.

The series itself will be remembered as one of the most fiercely contested confrontations in the history of cricket in this country due to the fascinating ebb and flow throughout the three Tests.

Knocked down to the canvas in the first two tests, the groggy champion picked themselves up to deliver a knock down of their own but could not take the points from a grimly contested fight.

The South Africans appeared to lose their impetus in the third Test no sooner skipper Graeme Smith was rapped on the hand by a menacing lifter from tearaway Mitchell Johnson which later revealed that he had broken bones above the little finger of his left hand effectively ending his triumphant tour as the most successful captain of any country to tour here in recent times.

South Africa’s Captain Courageous then defied medical logic by bravely striding out to the middle, broken hand in specially designed glove like plaster cast, to try and save the Test for his country while the oblivious Aussies were celebrating victory not anticipating his return. He nearly pulled off the unbelievable but was done by a marvellous in swinging Mitchell Johnson cutter that disarranged his stumps just ten balls from saving the Test.

It sure was nail biting stuff as Australia sought divine intervention for some solace after being surprised by the nuggetty South Africans who emulated the mighty West Indies of 1992/93 as the last overseas team to win a series on Australian soil.

The pitch at the SCG was atrocious to say the least and Australia will remain embarrassed for the strip laid out which was one of the worst seen anywhere in the world. There were crevices many millimetres wide on either side of the wicket and in line with the stumps and an oil spill from one of the rollers on day four had the ball deviating at unusual angles turning it into a batting nightmare. Yet the Aussies batting first were able to negotiate a winning total despite the ball jagging in all directions and were dangerous due to the uneven bounce that made Smith a casualty and batsmen on either side copping nasty whacks to the body and headgear.

There were calls from indignant fans for an investigation on the pitch which was clearly a danger to batsmen and could have had more long term victims. South African veteran Mark Boucher diplomatically described the wicket as “The second most difficult to negotiate” in his long career at the top.

If there was a plus for Australian cricket it was that victory in the third Test signalled a win first off for 2009 after a horrendous end to 2008 where they suffered series losses to India and South Africa after a domineering run for nearly 15 years. In between that era they lost a series to India, Sri Lanka, and the Ashes to archrival England. But all of those were away from home.

South African skipper Smith will return home to heal his injuries and reassess his thoughts for the return series in South Africa in six weeks. He leaves the rest of the squad to negotiate the Aussies in the Twenty20 and one day series to follow but is fixated in his aim to dethrone the world champion at home.
The Aussies were euphoric at the come back win and plan to humble the South Africans at home with a relatively new squad. Opener Matthew Hayden who was axed for the Twenty20 and one day confrontations this summer may be yet another departure from the once feared world champion line up but he has given no indication that he is ready to walk away from the game yet.

His fate will be decided when the summer is over and the squad for the South African and Ashes tour in England is announced.