and where world records have been broken<\/a>, the Proteas bowled 30 overs of spin with Aiden Markram (1\/55) and Bjorn Fortuin (2\/70) also bowling their full allotment.<\/p>\nBy comparison, Australia got nine overs out of Adam Zampa, who was taken down registering figures of 0\/77, and a combined seven overs for 56 runs from Cooper Connolly and Renshaw.<\/p>\n
They were given more responsibility than in the opening game – where the Australians only bowled ten overs of spin in total.<\/p>\n
On the flip side, Australia\u2019s middle order simply could not break out of the South African spinners\u2019 squeeze.<\/p>\n
From \u200cthe 30th over to the 40th, Australia managed 37 runs in Durban and just \u200c35 in Johannesburg. <\/p>\n
On both occasions, they faltered after blistering starts from opener Marsh and Head.<\/p>\n
Concerningly, the Australians need to find a solution because Carey, Renshaw and Cameron Green are all set to play in the Test series, perhaps squad member Connolly too, where they will be met with similar challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s certainly an area where we need to improve and we\u2019re well aware of that,\u201d Marsh said after the 32-run defeat at the Wanderers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we set up our innings really well in both games but we haven\u2019t been able to execute during those middle phases. It\u2019s a \u200cgreat learning curve, especially for some of our younger players. But you also have to give South Africa full credit for the way they\u2019ve bowled during those periods.\u201d<\/p>\n
South Africa claim ODI series vs Aus | 02:23<\/p>\n
GREEN DILEMMA<\/p>\n
The Australian who was the biggest culprit of getting tied down during the back half of the innings was Cameron Green.<\/p>\n
After missing the Zimbabwe series with a shoulder niggle, Green returned to the side as a batter only, but Marsh made clear on the eve of the ODI series how important they believe it is to have a fast bowling all-rounder in the 50-over team.<\/p>\n
Debutant Jack Edwards fielded that role, batting at No.7 and bowling his ten overs in the first two ODIs, including taking a maiden wicket-haul in Johannesburg, but it is Green\u2019s role with the bat that is of more of a concern.<\/p>\n
Off the back of the retirement of Glenn Maxwell and Green being a highly sought after commodity in the IPL for his hitting exploits, Andrew McDonald has made it clear since last year that the want the West Australian to be an explosive finisher.<\/p>\n
In this series, Green instead stuttered.<\/p>\n
He fell to Keshav Maharaj for 5 off 10 balls in Durban before skying Maharaj\u2019s fellow tweaker Bjorn Fortuin into the deep to fall for 17 off 34 at the Wanderers.<\/p>\n
Green failed to hit a boundary in either innings and then followed it up with 23 off 18, including a six and a four, from No.7 in game three before getting injured.<\/p>\n
When gloveman Josh Inglis came out of the side for the second game after fracturing his finger, it felt like the Australian hierarchy missed a trick.<\/p>\n
Cameron Green after his dismissal in Game 2. (Photo by PHILL MAGAKOE \/ AFP)Source: AFP<\/p>\n
Green came onto this tour riding high from a maiden Test century on home soil in Darwin before being the only batter to reach fifty in the two-day Test against Bangladesh in Mackay.<\/p>\n
With Steve Smith retired and Marnus Labuschagne dropped, it felt like the right time to allow Green to play the anchor role at No.4 in the Australian line-up – rather than giving that chance to Alex Carey and young gun Ollie Peake.<\/p>\n
As his impressive Test form against Bangladesh showed, Green may have the firepower that is the envy of many on the planet, but he plays his best when given time to build an innings.<\/p>\n
He scored patient ODI half-centuries in Pakistan and Bangladesh earlier this year from No.5 and No.6 when he had plenty of time to bat.<\/p>\n
Green\u2019s record at No.3 in ODIs is also phenomenal albeit skewed.<\/p>\n
From three innings, he averages 228.<\/p>\n
That includes an unbeaten 118 off 55 balls – his maiden ODI century – in Mackay against South Africa after being promoted up the order following Mitch Marsh and Travis Head scoring centuries.<\/p>\n
But it also includes an unbeaten 77 off 104 to guide Australia home in a run chase against the West Indies.<\/p>\n
\u201cCameron Green is too low. I think he has got to bat at three. He shouldn\u2019t be batting at six, because I don\u2019t think he is a good player of spin,\u201d former Australian fast bowler Brendon Julian told foxsports.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour best player of spin in that side – and I\u2019m not sure who that is, but it was probably Renshaw – he has got to slide down one to six. Alex Carey, he was batting at four but he only came in for Josh Inglis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we have to do is find out who our good players to spin are and put them in the middle order.\u201d<\/p>\n
South Africa vs AUS: 2nd ODI Highlights | 15:42<\/p>\n
WORLD CUP TICKING TIME BOMB<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s first two games against the Proteas followed a near-identical script.<\/p>\n
Chasing substantial totals in both – 298 in Durban, then 366 in Johannesburg – the Marsh-powered tourists surged against the new ball, with opening stands of 90 (in 56 balls) and 130 (in 96) bringing the run rate down to manageable levels in rapid time.<\/p>\n
But twice in two games, the captain\u2019s dismissal saw the engine stall, with the middle order unable to keep the scoreboard ticking over – especially against spin.<\/p>\n
The repeat failures has Brendon Julian questioning whether the Australians, with Marsh winning both tosses and opted to chase, might need to change their tactics going into next year\u2019s World Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne question mark I would highlight is that Mitch Marsh loves to win the toss and he loves to field first and he loves to chase with the bat,\u201d Julian told foxsports.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I just don\u2019t think we\u2019re good enough at chasing. I tend to think \u2018Let\u2019s get out there and bat first and put runs on the board.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I know that they might turn around and go, \u201cOh, it\u2019s the pitch, the pitch.\u2019 But if you have a look at his record, he loves to field. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe loves to chase and get off to great starts where we are 0-120, 0-130, and then all of a sudden in the middle order (there are) 30 overs of spin and we struggle. <\/p>\n
\u201cI guarantee when the World Cup is in Africa next year, that\u2019s what\u2019s going to happen. We\u2019re going to be in trouble against spin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among Australia\u2019s most urgent fixes, Julian believes, is avoiding a T20 mindset of hit first and ask questions later.<\/p>\n
The retired Steve Smith\u2019s role for years in the ODI team was as an \u201canchor\u201d, steadily accumulating runs to allow more heavy-hitting teammates the freedom to swing for the fences.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a role Marnus Labuschagne had also played with distinction, including in the 2023 World Cup final, when his steady half-century saw off the threat of Indian spin duo Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav in the middle overs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to work out, one, who is the best player against spin and put them in the middle order, batting at five and six, and make sure that we can come to a game plan where we can bat around someone,\u201d Julian said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSteve Smith used to be able to do that. That\u2019s not the case at the moment. <\/p>\n
TOPSHOT – Australian batsman Steve Smith hits a cover drive on the first day of the first cricket Test match between Australia and Bangladesh at Marrara Stadium in Darwin on August 13, 2026. (Photo by William WEST \/ AFP)Source: AFP<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think you can just say, \u2018Let\u2019s go hard like in T20 cricket and just go power all the way through, right down to eight and nine\u2019. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not going to happen, and that\u2019s been found out against South Africa.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re planning our innings well enough. It\u2019s not a T20 game. It\u2019s a 50-over game. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe get off to a great start and are none for one hundred, and then all of a sudden you\u2019re all out. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut we are chasing big totals. The Aussies are chasing 360, 365 – It\u2019s always 300-plus and that\u2019s putting a lot of pressure on the batting. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo there\u2019s a couple of question marks there.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is a year to the World Cup but Julian said the Aussies need to identify a strategy that will allow them to mount a decent defence of the title.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe World Cup is in 2027, so they\u2019ve got a bit of time to sort it out, but I think they have got to sort out that middle order,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just don\u2019t think there\u2019s a clear strategy. And one of the strategies to work out is who is going to be our anchor in the middle order, just in case we get in trouble, just in case we need someone to bat around. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou can have your power hitters. That\u2019s great. But you still need someone that can lock it all in. And if you\u2019ve got \u2026 Zampa coming in at nine, you had Jack Edwards coming in at eight \u2026 I know he is a rookie, but you have got a long tail, so I don\u2019t know if you can go hard for the top seven and then just leave it and hope that you will get through at the back end.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, former Australian skipper Allan Border believes the Australians may need to make a World Cup SOS call to a retired great to solve their middle order woes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s still some experimenting going on and I\u2019m not so worried about the results there,\u201d Border told foxsports.com.au. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s more just the little areas. You know, we\u2019re not as sharp in the field as we could be. We\u2019re not doing those little things as well as we can do. So we just need some little tweaks in those subtle areas, and then obviously we\u2019ll need someone to be in the middle order who can bat against spin. That is as simple as that. I don\u2019t know who that man is, but I think Renshaw has done a good job.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t mind Josh Inglis. He\u2019s got something about him, some fighting qualities that I quite like. But whether we need to have, you know, a bloke like Steve Smith back in there \u2026 that might not be the worst option.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo there\u2019s probably room for improvement, put it that way, and you know some personnel will come hopefully out of the woodwork, out of the systems that we\u2019ve got in place now.\u201d<\/p>\n
SA v AUS: 1st ODI Full Match Highlights | 15:40<\/p>\n
QUICKS\u2019 QUIET TEST PREP<\/p>\n
Former Australian captain Allan Border said he hoped the Aussies would learn from the series defeat to South Africa.<\/p>\n
But he did note the premier pace attack did not feature in a match together.<\/p>\n
Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc combined in the first ODI in Durban, while Starc and Pat Cummins – who remarkable failed to take a wicket between them in the series – united in Game 3 of the series in Potchefstroom.<\/p>\n
Around them, Nathan Ellis played twice before a side strain ruled him out of the series finale, while Xavier Bartlett and Jack Edwards both played a pair of games.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good that we\u2019re having this tour there now to have a bit of an idea of what we\u2019re going to confront and what changes we might need to make,\u201d Border said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe other day we were none for 180 or something like that off bloody 10 overs, or that\u2019s what it seemed like, and we still managed to lose. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019ve got a few little, just subtle, tweaks to make as far as our one-day game is concerned. And obviously when you look at that side, we haven\u2019t probably got our best bowling side out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edwards, in particular, enhanced his reputation with a maiden five-wicket haul in Johannesburg after making his debut in Durban.<\/p>\n
The NSW all-rounder was a last-minute addition to the squad following Billy Stanlake\u2019s injury in Zimbabwe and proved he can be a handy depth option for Australian selectors.<\/p>\n
While with the bat, sometimes with the ball and in the field, Cooper Connolly and Ollie Peake seem to have plenty of international cricket ahead of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought some of our younger guys performed really well. You \u2060see glimpses of what they\u2019re capable of and that makes the future exciting,\u201d Marsh said after the second ODI.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, though, we\u2019ve been outplayed in this series, and we understand \u2060that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just want to keep improving.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The make-up of Australia\u2019s Test top seven is once again a mystery as a trio of injuries plagued…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":911670,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44,85],"class_list":["post-911669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=911669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/911670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=911669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=911669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=911669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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