In my post last week I went on about how the home and away legs between South Africa and Australia are mirror images of each other with the Proteas winning the test series down under 2 - 1 and Australia winning the return series by the same margin. The Aussies won both the T20's at home but were comprehensively beaten in both in South Africa. Now, in the ODI's the trend keeps going.
In Australia, South Africa came back from their T20 disappointment and beat the Baggy Greens by three wi! ckets at the MCG. That's when the Australians met Albie Morkel. Two days later though, the Aussies bounced back in Hobart to beat the Proteas by a narrow five runs with the South Africans not quite pacing their innings correctly.
That proved to be the last taste of victory for Australia in the series as South Africa romped to a 4 - 1 series win.
The one-dayers in the home series has started in exactly the same fashion. Australia came back strongly after their T20 whitewash and gave the South Africans a 141-run hammering in Durban. But the Proteas completely turned the tables in the second ODI at Centurion yesterday, winning the match by seven wickets. Wayne Parnell and Dale Steyn the destroyers in chief with four wickets a piece.
Now it's off to Newlands and can we expect the Aussies to romp to a 4 - 1 series victory and with that reclaim the world number one ranking? Surely not.
