RSA v Australia T1: Day 5 Highlights | 15:34
Tim Miller from Fox SportsOctober 14th, 2026 11:09 am
For the higher part of three years, Australian cricket has appeared headed for a cliff.
Regarding results have come at common intervals, from an upset loss to the West Indies to finish a 27-year unbeaten run in opposition to them on residence soil, to being summarily dispatched by India within the first Test of the 2024/25 summer time and, most recently, a historic defeat to Bangladesh in August.
But from the mire at 6-124 on Day 1 of the first Test in opposition to South Africa, Pat Cummins’ crew — led by a match for the ages from Matt Renshaw — first rallied, then routed the Proteas for one in every of their best wins beneath his tenure.
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“The demolition in Durban is full,” commentator Gerard Whateley proclaimed on SEN as Nathan Lyon took the ultimate catch off fourth-innings destroyer Josh Hazlewood.
“A tactical and technical masterclass from Australia.
“They’ve been rampant, ruthless and dominant.”
The crew’s South African residence away from residence – they are undefeated of their last four Checks in Durban – witnessed a show harking back to Australia in excelsis.
Concern about the crew’s scratchy begin, and of daring selections at the selection desk, now seem premature.
Pre-series injury scares that threatened to trigger chaos had been dealt with.
Cameron Green’s absence and likely replacement Josh Inglis’ unavailability opened the door for Renshaw’s return to the middle order, a daring selection transfer spectacularly vindicated with a match that has entered the cricket lexicon because the “Renshaw Test”.
Every Boundary: Renshaw’s marathon ton | 10:17
The jury remains out on Nic Maddinson’s recall to open the batting, however the nightmare that was imminent after a 33-ball duck on Day 1 dissipated considerably after a counterattacking 48 within the second innings gave Australia the perfect begin as they sought to put the game out of reach.
The latest of daring selection gambles by the Australian hierarchy earned itself, in all likelihood, another Maddinson Test for him to show his worth, and grumbles have by and huge given away to acceptance – or in some corners, defence.
“You need to be versatile. I don’t know why it’s looked at as a unfavourable,” cricket reporter Bharat Sundaresan mentioned on The Final Word podcast.
“I don’t know why it’s looked at as them being too intelligent for their very own good, or them outsmarting themselves.
“It may not work out at times, we’ve seen that occur with this group.
“But every time they’ve thought on their feet – whether it’s enjoying Michael Neser at the Gabba, not picking a spinner in Sydney, and similarly here, not simply with the selection however the batting order.
“While you look at the variance in situations that they’ve coming up, why not? You want that to be successful, or to maintain the opposition on their feet.”
Co-host Adam Collins added: “More often than not after they’ve had a little bit of a flyer, it’s labored. And that’s pretty gutsy.”
That’s to not say backlash over Maddinson’s selection after a torrid Day 1 branded “merciless” by commentator Mark Nicholas wasn’t justified.
Or that selectors haven’t made their share of similarly daring calls which have backfired lately, essentially the most evident being Nathan McSweeney’s ill-fated introduction to Test cricket as an opener in opposition to the may of India two summers in the past, or Travis Head’s shock omission from the crew to face the same opposition in Nagpur in 2023.
Even Renshaw’s success at No. 5 raises questions – he is the sixth Australian to score a century within the spot, which boasts the very best common of any place within the crew.
Barring another change to the line-up for the second Test, which begins in Gqeberha (previously Port Elizabeth) in four days’ time, the evident void at the prime of the order will stay, whereas a newfound middle-order logjam might simply drive a harsh call on Beau Webster, pending Green’s fitness after an belly injury ruled him out in Durban.
Cummins’ determination to bat first on a zippy Kingsmead pitch, weeks after an analogous call backfired in Bangladesh’s beautiful thrashing in Darwin, likewise came up trumps, with Renshaw’s chic 190 and the captain’s own cameo allowing the vacationers to dictate terms from the first innings onwards.
And years of resisting the urge to vary up perhaps world cricket’s best ever four-man bowling attack continues to pay off, with Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon surging previous 600 wickets as a Test combo, whereas Hazlewood hit new heights with a career-best six-wicket haul to seal victory.
“They had been relentless, the Australian attack,” commentator Mark Howard mentioned.
A proud Damien Martyn, posting on X, showed the win was even impressive enough to dazzle a member of the all-conquering Australian crew of the early 2000s – and a person who produced a number of of his best innings in South Africa.
Another Australian nice in Simon Katich was similarly awed.
“This Australian crew have executed an absolute quantity on South Africa on their residence patch,” he mentioned on SEN.
“They’ve been fully dismantled, by Renshaw and the Australian attack.”
A victory of this magnitude has been the higher part of 18 months in coming.
England’s summer time capitulation, and the subsequent death of Bazball, allowed the hosts to retain the Ashes in a 4-1 romp with out enjoying wherever close to their greatest, because the groups combined for twin two-day matches to disappoint many ticket holders.
Last year, the chance to extend their reign as World Test Champions was squandered at Lord’s, as two batting collapses allowed the Proteas one of the best of situations and opened the door for an Aiden Markram masterclass within the fourth innings.
Not since a 3-1 comeback sequence win over a Jasprit Bumrah-inspired India in 2024/25 has the Australian crew risen higher … and claiming the sequence in Gqeberha or Cape Town with at least yet one more victory this tour would certainly deserve a spot at the very prime of a golden generation’s list of achievements.
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At the close, the tactic of victory stood out as much because the margin.
In a T20-dominated era of cricket where fast scoring has grow to be not simply commonplace, however anticipated, Renshaw’s knock throughout the first two days was a masterpiece of persistence and self-discipline.
He left 28 per cent of the 397 balls he faced throughout an eight-hour vigil, whereas exactly 100 of his runs came in singles, twos and threes.
Barring their third-innings chase for fast runs, it was an method Australia took all through the match.
Matt Renshaw offers Australia hope v SA | 06:44
Howard’s “relentless” moniker is fitting: within the first innings, six Proteas reached 30, however none went on to pass 50, by no means mind a century that could have turned the tide.
Cummins’ crew caught to their plans, bowled with accuracy, and persistently created probabilities which had been near-universally held by one of the best Australian fielding performance seen in lots of a year.
Every mistake was punished, be it reverse-sweeps from Temba Bavuma and Kyle Vereynne spectacularly caught by a diving Smith at slip, or Tristan Stubbs and Wiaan Mulder falling hook, line and sinker for a Cummins short-ball entice.
Extremely, the Australians finished the Test with a 100 per cent catching rate, with 18 takes to zero drops – a stark contrast to their six misses in opposition to Bangladesh in Darwin.
It’s a brand new document throughout 20 years of knowledge, per cricket analytics company CricViz, of most catches taken in a match with out dropping a single one.
“THAT IS OUT OF THIS WORLD!” | 01:30
Even on the ultimate day, as Markram and Mulder withstood more than 25 overs to lift parallels to an analogous South African rearguard in opposition to Australia in Adelaide in 2012, they caught to their guns.
When the chance came, it perfectly symbolised their method.
Whereas Mulder was a contact unfortunate to strangle a thin edge down the leg facet off Hazlewood, Carey’s one-handed diving catch was emblematic of his facet’s capability in spite of their advancing years; whereas the presence of a leg slip suggested that this was no mere happenstance, however rather a strategy successfully deployed.
Katich, a grasp of the graft in his enjoying days, lauded the “composure of the Australians to play old-school Test cricket”.
“They normal partnerships in opposition to the grain of play,” he mentioned on SEN.
“The best way that Matt Renshaw performed … if that doesn’t give him a huge amount of confidence, and in addition a template for the rest of this batting group, which has been beneath hearth for slightly period of time.
“There’s some special gamers in this group, and this Test showed that they’re able to way more after they apply themselves with good old-fashioned Test cricket ideas.”
With versatility turning into a catchword lately, Renshaw’s bowling cameo to complete a dream match, taking an important maiden Test wicket late on Day 4 after being boldly thrown the ball, then including a second before lunch on the ultimate day, would have delighted the crew hierarchy no end.
Renshaw’s stellar Test continues! | 00:52
Two key information additional add to the sweetness for Cummins, Andrew McDonald and their prices as they delight in victory whereas getting ready for 2 additional challenges on African shores within the coming days.
It came with an XI which, for the first time in Test history, contained not a single participant beneath 30 solely adds to the size of the triumph.
Rahul Dravid’s famous description of he and fellow Indian greats Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman of their waning years as “creaking terminators” might simply apply to the likes of the bowling quartet – the youngest of whom is Cummins at 33 – as well as Steve Smith (37), Alex Carey (35) and even the recalled Maddinson (34).
Yet the bowlers’ feats defied their years, whereas Smith’s beautiful catching masterclass on Day 3 and Carey’s lithe one-handed take off Hazlewood on the ultimate day to earn Australia a vital breakthrough after a wicketless first hour, spoke of plenty left within the tank.
Having appeared close to the tip when he missed all the Ashes summer time with injury, Hazlewood’s response when asked by SEN’s Adam Collins whether at 35 he still felt in his prime was telling.
“I’m a bit older than I used to be,” he mentioned, “however everything’s feeling actually good.”
“He is a famous person!” Pat Cummins | 15:48
Victory additionally came whereas withstanding constant consideration from with out on a primary Test tour of South Africa since the Sandpapergate scandal, with distractions ranging from press conference questions to deflect to Usman Khawaja’s reveal on sequence eve that he could be delving into the story in his upcoming autobiography.
A dismal Durban crowd unbefitting of the event, reportedly attributable to a combination of ugly riots throughout town and crippling value of residing stress, helped issues, as an anticipated hostile reception by no means eventuated.
As did the absence of antagonist-in-chief Kagiso Rabada, who lit the fuse on the 2018 sequence after controversially escaping suspension for his mid-pitch bump on Smith.
It’s a challenge that should be confronted again in Gqeherba – the venue where Proteas followers arrived en masse to taunt David Warner eight years in the past – and the scene of the crime itself in Cape Town.
But Cummins’ males have earned the confidence of each Australian fan that these challenges may be navigated simply as successfully as Durban’s.
Cricket journalist Dan Brettig, writing within the Sydney Morning Herald, opined that the crew’s “barbecue” of South Africa “needs to be trigger for a reappraisal of Pat Cummins’ crew”.
“Earlier than this game, it had been the role of Matthew Hayden to launch a strident critique of Cummins and the selectors, for “promoting the greatest pile of mediocrity that we’ve seen in a generation of cricket”,” Brettig wrote.
“Hayden was as soon as part of an ageing crew that, reinforced by a few extra senior gamers like Mike Hussey and Stuart Clark, went on a sundown tear from 2005 to 2007.
“On the proof of Durban, Cummins and company are able to one thing comparable.”
There are still areas of enchancment as Australia flip their sights to the rest of the sequence.
Marnus Labuschagne twice missed the chance to solidify his spot with an innings of word as Renshaw did, whereas Travis Head missed out twice and Webster’s spot is again in jeopardy.
Lengthy-term, that cliff, whereas the crew’s veterans continue to carry out properly enough to more than justify their continued selection, will must be navigated rigorously, lest Australian cricket undergo from a spate of retirements as befell the crew within the mid-2000s.
“Not enough battle!” Bavuma | 14:06
That interval saw Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer bow out concurrently in January 2007, with Martyn having narrowly preceded them.
Within two years, Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds and Brett Lee had all performed their final Checks as properly.
Sheffield Defend talents able to producing an over like Hazlewood’s wherein he first dismissed Marco Jansen with an ideal nip-backer, then did for Simon Harmer with a venomous lifter, are non-existent.
At 36, Starc remains the nation’s quickest bowler persistently obtainable for long-form cricket; whereas shallow seamer depth is epitomised by Scott Boland and Michael Neser, properly into their 30s, remaining selectors’ first-choice back-ups.
Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhnemann, the latter in South Africa as part of the squad, have both been trialled in tandem with Lyon, however changing him full-time looms as a challenge almost equal to that faced by Warne’s departure almost 20 years in the past.
For all of that, though, reports of a golden generation’s demise, it appears, have been significantly exaggerated.
Source: www.foxsports.com.au
