South Africa v Pakistan - Series Summary

A 3-0 scoreline somewhat flatters South Africa, for whilst they probably just about deserved to win the series, Pakistan could very easily have won three Tests themselves. The series had a very symmetrical pattern about it; there were high scoring draws at its beginning and end, and a crushing South African victory in the third Test was sandwiched by a pair of thrilling, down to the wire finishes in Centurion and Cape Town. South Africa's recovery from 23-6 on the first morning in Centurion was a turning point in the series, and dramatic collapses from Pakistan's lower order blighted the tourists' chances in all but the final game.

Hansie Cronje's selection as captain for this series was certainly a gamble, but South Africa's new skipper did not let the selectors down; he was consistent with the bat - his 164 in Cape Town was arguably the innings of the series - and his captaincy showed few flaws. Former skipper Trevor Goddard had his best ever series with the ball, but his poor form with the bat presents the selectors with an interesting dilemma for the future. Graeme Pollock finished the series strongly and led the batting averages as is generally the custom, but with the ball dominant for much of the series the rest of the order struggled somewhat, with Dudley Nourse ploughing a particularly deep trough.

Cronje's opposite number, Imran Khan, enjoyed a reasonably profitable series with the ball, but his batting was in a slump even worse than that of Nourse, and it was his wicket that often opened the door for the succession of lower order collapses suffered by Pakistan. Wasim Akram was by far the best bowler for the tourists, and his absence through injury in the fourth Test possibly cost Pakistan the win. Waqar continues to disappoint after his miracle series in New Zealand last season, and injuries to Abdul Qadir and his replacement, Iqbal Qasim, limited the options available to Imran. On the batting side, Mohsin Khan made the most of his recall to the team, but Javed failed to get going and those collapses really did cost Pakistan any chances they might have had of winning the series.

South Africa now move back up into third place in the rankings, and their series in England next season should prove a very stern test of Cronje's team. Pakistan meanwhile now languish in sixth place, but they should have an easier task in their next outing as they host Sri Lanka for three Tests, and they will be hoping to reverse the 3-0 scoreline that they were on the wrong end of here.

Leading Series Averages

South Africa Batting
RG Pollock 580 runs @ 64.44, WJ Cronje 411 @ 45.67, BA Richards 314 @ 34.89, DJ Cullinan 261 @ 32.63, DT Lindsay 260 @ 28.89

South Africa Bowling
TL Goddard 25 wkts @ 17.52, NBF Mann 11 @ 25.55, MJ Procter 20 @ 28.25, AA Donald 19 @ 31.89, PS Heine 7 @ 36.86

Pakistan Batting
Saleem Malik 201 runs @ 67.00, Mohsin Khan 456 @ 45.60, Javed Miandad 328 @ 36.44, Asif Iqbal 227 @ 32.43, Majid Khan 281 @ 31.22

Pakistan Bowling
Wasim Akram 23 wkts @ 18.78, Imran Khan 23 @ 26.61, Asif Iqbal 10 @ 28.70, Abdul Qadir 10 @ 29.70, Waqar Younis 14 @ 36.00

SOUTH AFRICA WON THE SERIES 3-0


Men of the Series: WJ Cronje & Wasim Akram