Tony Becca, Contributing Editor
AUSTRALIA WRAPPED up the three-match Test series against South Africa with Matthew Hayden and captain Ricky Ponting powering them to victory in Sydney on Friday - a victory that left the home team 2-0 winners of the contest.
One down after drawing the first Test and losing the second Test, South Africa, in a desperate bid to win the rain-affected match and tie the series, set Australia a target of 287 off 76 overs and lost as the home team, thanks to Hayden and Ponting, hopped to victory by eight wickets with 15.3 overs to spare.
GLORIOUS PERFORMANCE
In a glorious performance during which Australia bettered the previous highest fourth innings total at the SCG to win a Test match - 276 for four by Australia against England way back in 1898, Hayden, the big left-handed opening batsman scored 90 off 137 deliveries while sharing a second-wicket partnership of 182 in 33.2 overs
The hero, however, was Ponting - the number three batsman who, joining the action at 30 for one in the 12th over with pacer Shaun Pollock dropping the ball on a spot and pacer Charl Langevelt swinging it both ways, scored 143 not out off 159 deliveries with his 28th century, his fifth in six matches, coming off 111 deliveries.
Playing in his 100th Test match, Ponting, who scored 149 and 104 not out in the first Test against the West Indies a few weeks earlier in Brisbane, not only joined Colin Cowdrey, Gordon Greenidge, Javed Miandad, Alec Stewart and Inzamam-ul-Haq as the only batsmen to celebrate a century of Test matches with a century innings, but after scoring 120 in the first innings, he also became the only batsman in the history of the game to mark the occasion with twin centuries.
Ponting was brilliant - no question about that, and years from now, the series, the contest, will be remembered because of that brilliance
There were, however, a few other things for which it will be remembered - a few things of which the West Indies, beaten by 379 runs, by nine wickets and by seven wickets by Australia, should take note.
One of them was the batting of Jacques Rudolph on the final day of the first Test in Perth.
With South Africa set 491 to win and going into the last day on 85 for two, Rudolph, on 18 overnight and fighting to the end, batted throughout the day, scored 102 not out off 283 deliveries in 431 minutes, and carried his team, 287 for five in 533 minutes, to a draw.
Another one was also in the first Test, in the first innings, when, with Australia on 248 for nine, Glenn McGrath, batting at number 11, joined Michael Hussey, batted for two hours, and scored 11 not out while sharing a last-wicket partnership of 107 with Hussey who scored 122.
CONFIDENCE OF BOTH TEAMS
And still another was the approach of both captains - the confidence of both teams.
Unlike the West Indies who so often select four fast bowlers, win the toss, and decide to bat first because of a fear of batting last, Australia won the toss in the second Test, and although the pitch at the MCG favoured fast bowling, even though it would have been difficult for at least the first couple hours, batted first.
They did that for the simple reason that with two spinners in their line-up, they wanted to bowl last on a wearing pitch; and in the third Test at the SCG, South Africa, who did not want to bat last against Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill, won the toss and, although the pitch favoured fast bowling, batted first.
At the MCG, Australia, after losing their first wicket at two, scored 355 and won the match by 184 runs; and at the SCG, South Africa, after losing their first wicket at 16 and their third at 86, scored 451 for nine declared and lost the match.
That was not because they batted first but probably, and more than likely, because of the rain which not only prevented the pitch from breaking up, but which also robbed them of valuable time and which forced them to declare in a bold bid to win the match and tie the series.
