Australia v South Africa - Second Test

Melbourne Cricket Ground

Australia: WM Woodfull, WM Lawry, DG Bradman, AR Border, SJ McCabe, KR Miller, +IA Healy, *R Benaud, AK Davidson, DK Lillee, JR Thomson.
South Africa: BA Richards, *TL Goddard, WJ Cronje, RG Pollock, AD Nourse, KC Bland, +DJ Richardson, PM Pollock, HJ Tayfield, AA Donald, PS Heine.

Debuts: Nil
Umpires: DR Shepherd (ENG) & RS Dunne (NZL)
Toss: South Africa

The two teams reconvened in Melbourne with just one change to the cast from the first Test, Colin Bland being recalled by the South African selectors in place of the unfortunate Brian McMillan, and a hard and fast looking strip at the MCG meant that the pacemen on both sides were likely to enjoy bowling in front of the huge crowds that were expected over the course of the Test.

Indeed, it was Australia's attack that enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges after Trevor Goddard won the toss and elected to bat, but from the precarious position of 58-3, Graeme Pollock and Dudley Nourse bailed out the innings for the second match in succession with a century partnership that took the score to 161-3 shortly before tea on the first afternoon. However, Australia struck a crucial double blow before the break to swing the momentum back their way; McCabe once again broke up a stand when he trapped Nourse lbw for 56, and in the very next over Pollock played on against Benaud for 58, giving Australia's skipper his 100th ATG wicket and leaving the game in the balance once again.

Australia continued to chip away in the evening session, and despite both Benaud and Thomson having to leave the field through injury, South Africa were bowled out for 263, with Bland's 39 the only significant resistance in the second half of the innings. All six bowlers employed by Benaud picked up a wicket, and it was a similar team effort with the bat as South Africa struck back quickly on the second day. Lawry's 65 held things together as Goddard removed Woodfull, Bradman and Border to leave Australia 83-3, then a series of mini-partnerships steered the innings towards parity, with Healy's pugnacious 54 providing the glue that held the lower order together.

Goddard and Tayfield both bowled in miserly fashion in the afternoon session, but it took the heavy artillery of Donald and Heine to finally finish off the innings on the third morning, Australia's final total of 248 giving their visitors a narrow 15 run advantage at the game's halfway stage. The quicker bowlers certainly were enjoying the pace provided by the wicket, but batting was by no means impossible, with any well-timed stroke invariably fizzing to the ropes over what was an equally fast outfield, and with this balance in mind what happened over the course of the next session and a half was simply amazing.

With just under an hour of the morning session remaining, Lillee and Thomson roared in, and by lunch South Africa were reeling at 22-3; both openers had been dismissed for ducks, and Cronje had received his second poor caught behind decision of the match, given out by umpire Shepherd for 10 when Thomson's delivery appeared to have passed by the outside edge without making any contact. Graeme Pollock followed in the first over after the resumption, caught by Bradman for 11 as he attempted to pull a ball from Lillee that climbed on him, and after a stoppage for rain gave Lillee and Thomson even more time to recharge their batteries, the carnage continued unabated.

Lillee and Thomson really had their tails up, and just as in the recent series in the Caribbean, South Africa's batting crumbled in the face of some ferocious pace bowling. No one other than Cronje and Pollock managed to make it into double figures as Lillee and Thomson made the tourists bob, weave, fend and nick, and by the time the tea break brought an end to the slaughter, the innings had crumbled to a feeble 44 all out, the second lowest in ATG history after the 30 South Africa posted in Antigua in the aforementioned series in the West Indies. Both Lillee and Thomson finished with five wickets apiece, with Lillee's performance by far his most devastating in what has been a disappointing ATG career up to now, and Australia needed just 60 runs to seal a first ever series victory over South Africa.

Woodfull and Lawry duly obliged, batting unparted until the runs accrued, and a remarkable second Test match had reached its conclusion inside three days, leaving the Australian authorities with mixed emotions, bearing in mind the huge refunds that they would now have to hand out to fourth and fifth day ticket holders! South Africa's capitulation had been both unexpected and inexcusable, for as well and Lillee and Thomson had bowled there were certainly no real demons in the pitch, and in a fraught press conference following the match, Trevor Goddard announced his resignation from the captaincy with immediate effect. Dudley Nourse will lead the team in Sydney, and Goddard's decision ends a reign of 51 consecutive matches as captain, the longest such run in ATG history.

Scores
South Africa 1st Inns 263 (RG Pollock 58, Nourse 56)
Australia 1st Inns 248 (Lawry 65, Healy 54; Heine 4-57)
South Africa 2nd Inns 44 (Lillee 5-16, Thomson 5-27)
Australia 2nd Inns 60-0 (Lawry 43*)

AUSTRALIA WON BY 10 WICKETS


Man of the Match: DK Lillee