LEFT ARM OVER
NEIL MANTHORP: SA cricket’s achievements a ringing endorsement of the game’s structure
Three in a row is a mighty feather in South African cricket’s collective hat, writes Neil Manthorp
A hat-trick of series wins on Australian soil. Three glorious sporting triumphs. Three. In a row. It is a mighty feather in South African cricket’s collective hat, an ostrich feather. That they were achieved with two different captains, three coaches and a wide array of players would appear to be a ringing endorsement of the game’s structure. AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and Hashim Amla were the only survivors from the first victory in Australia eight years ago and there was only one of them still standing by the time the second Test started in chilly Hobart. Amla, as it happened, endured his worst series ever, having failed to reach a single 50 in five innings. Not only did this squad arrive with the lightest burden of expectation of any of the seven that have toured Australia since 1993-94, but they won without a single telling contribution from their three superstars. There are at least two superstars in the making, of course, with Quinton de Kock and Kagiso Rabada confirming the p...
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