Australia’s abrupt fall from grace sets up perfect script for Test decider

Australia’s captivating tour of South Africa heads to Cape Town for the final instalment of the three-Test series starting on Saturday.  The hosts rewrote the form book to give the Aussies a thumping in the second Test at Port Elizabeth.  After Michael Clarke’s men had enjoyed a seamless run of six consecutive Test victories (albeit five against a hopeless England), it must have been a shock to the system. It certainly surprised me. What happens from here is anybody’s guess. As I have said before, it’s just a shame that the series is not a five-Test contest.  It leaves a feeling of frustration that the plot has not been played out to its proper conclusion. I felt the same when South Africa were last touring in Australia in late 2012. The Proteas’ “great escape” in Adelaide set things up for an enthralling ride which was cut short with a mere three Tests.  It seems to be in vogue throughout world cricket to have shortened series – apart from the Ashes – to fit in with a permanently congested calendar. In England there appears to be a “minor” series happening from May each season. At that stage of the year, you can still have frostbite on your fingers fielding in the slip cordon and cricketing events always seem to be getting creakily underway before the sun finally makes an appearance (we hope) in the main summer months of June, July and August. Last year it was the New Zealanders who provided a warm-up exercise for  Alastair Cook’s men before the blockbuster first act of back-to-back Ashes confrontations took centre stage.  It is a real irritant for me, but with the global demands of 50-over cricket and the ever-growing razamataz of Twenty20, I suppose this is the harsh reality.  Anyway, from my neutral corner,  the Cape Town decider looks an appetising affair. The Port Elizabeth rout seems to indicate that the Aussies will be looking to rush Shane Watson back into their ranks. The injury-prone allrounder would bolster the bowling contingent, who looked strangely subdued as South Africa took firm control of the second Test.  Mitchell Johnson was back to being a mere mortal in his bowling stints and even got a whack on the helmet when he batted as the South Africans showed they were not going to be messed about. His erstwhile partners in crime Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle could almost have been diagnosed with having caught the Jimmy Anderson disease. Both seemed tired, listless and down on pace.  They have had a heavy workload. Maybe it is beginning to tell. I always reckoned that Harris would break down at some stage of the combined Ashes tours. He didn’t. Now here he is, still running in hardily, but showing signs of fatigue.  And the same seems true for Siddle.  Even his heavy intake of bananas can’t keep him going for ever. It was left to the unheralded spin of Nathan Lyon to snare a tidy haul of victims and keep the South Africans in some kind of check. Both captains – Graeme Smith and Clarke – are out of form and short of runs so at least that evens itself out ahead of the decider. But even if Shaun Marsh or Alex Doolan drops out to accommodate Watson, the Aussie batting line-up looks the one more likely to implode.  This was even evident in the Ashes Tests but here Brad Haddin has been unable to come to the crease and implement his renowned one-man rescue act. If only he had done this a couple of months ago, it would have lifted many Englishmen’s state of mind. It’s all to play for and the game should be a cracker. However, my appetite won’t be sated after three Tests.  It’s a real disappointment there isn’t going to be more to savour…