Australia claim consolation win against under-par Proteas - TimesLIVE

Rain put an end to the final, dead-rubber ODI between South Africa and Australia at a chilly Potchefstroom, where the tourists claimed a 47-run victory via the Duckworth/Lewis/Stern method on Wednesday night.

Some of their Test stars, including captain Pat Cummins fired a warning ahead of next Friday’s opener in Durban, while the Proteas suffered another injury blow.

Australia scored 322/9, a workmanlike effort that featured another spectacular start and which ultimately was the difference in the outcome, certainly because their bowling overall was better than South Africa’s.

When rain ended the match, South Africa were 145/4 after 28 overs.

The home team made five changes to the starting XI that won at the Wanderers with the two centurions Temba Bavuma and David Miller, the Jansen twins and Keshav Maharaj benched.

Corbin Bosch makes the breakthrough for the Proteas 😤💥Australia are 78/1 after 8.3 overs ⏩📺 Stream #SAvAUS on DStv: https://t.co/rM90YyQxaw pic.twitter.com/a4y8DAK2W0

The Australians also brought in some new faces; Ollie Peake started his first match in the series and looked impressive, scoring 48, while the captain ― though not leading them on Wednesday ― Cummins shook off the cobwebs during the course of five overs.

Aiden Markram won South Africa’s first toss in the series, but a seam bowling line-up comprising Corbin Bosch, Gerald Coetzee, Lizaad Williams and Nqobani Mokoena was ragged initially. Mitchell Marsh made his third consecutive half-century and again he and Travis Head gave their team a hot start, with an opening partnership worth 78 from 53 balls.

Unlike the first two matches, the middle order made better use of that start, with Peake sharing a 73-run fourth wicket partnership with Alex Carey, who then added 66 with Matt Renshaw.

Carey top-scored with 74, a timely return to form for the wicketkeeper/batter, whose runs last summer were so important to Australia’s victory in the Ashes.

Lightning reflexes from Bjorn Fortuin 👐⚡Australia's youngster misses out on a half-century as they lose their fourth wicket 🤝📺 Stream #SAvAUS on DStv: https://t.co/rM90YyQxaw pic.twitter.com/xONCtUku5k

Although they were missing Maharaj, Bjorn Fortuin, who had a good series and took 1/50, and Markram, with an economy rate of 5.25 in eight overs, tied down the touring batters.

Bosch was the most successful of the South African bowlers, claiming 4/60, the first of those thanks to a superb diving catch by Fortuin at point to dismiss Peake.

Coetzee bowled an impressive second spell, regularly clocking over 140 km/h, but it was overall a disappointing effort by an inexperienced seam bowling group, who served up too many short balls on an easy paced pitch.

There will be concern for the Proteas about the lack of impact in the first powerplay. They took only two wickets in that period in the series, and it was the one area where Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi were missed.

By contrast, with Cummins restored to the starting line-up in Potchefstroom, there was extra bite in the Australian attack. Xavier Bartlett certainly produced his best spell of the series, trapping Markram lbw with a beautiful delivery.

It was also leg-spinner Adam Zampa’s most impactful performance against the Proteas in many years, with the highlight being the leg-break that beat the outside edge of Matthew Breetzke’s bat, with Carey doing swift work to remove the bails.

Ryan Rickelton did well to make 71 not out, but struggled to accelerate the scoring rate against a high quality second spell from Cummins, who was hitting the bat hard and targeting the batter’s body.

An already difficult task was made harder by the absence of Tony de Zorzi, who became the latest victim of the South African hamstring pandemic, leaving the field midway through the Australian innings clutching his left leg. He played no further part in the match and will be questionable for the first Test starting at Kingsmead next Friday.