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| Sunday, 6 January 2002 |
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Australia win third Test by 10 wkts to complete series sweep SYDNEY, Jan 5 (AFP) - Australia thumped South Africa by 10 wickets to complete a comprehensive series whitewash for the first time in 70 years in the third cricket Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground Saturday. Australia, leading by a massive 400 runs on the first innings, dismissed the Proteas for 452 and then rustled up the 53 runs without loss for victory inside four days. That followed Australia's crushing 246-run win in Adelaide and nine-wicket triumph in the Boxing Day Melbourne Test. Australia last swept a Test series against South Africa when Bill Woodfull's team won 5-0 in 1931-32 here. Australia's openers Justin Langer (126) and Matt Hayden (105) were announced as joint winners of the man-of-the-match award, with Hayden taking the man-of-the-series award after scoring three centuries in the three Tests. Steve Waugh donated Australia's winnings of 51,000 dollars (26,000 US) to the bushfire appeal in the ravaged state of New South Wales. The Australian Cricket Board announced it would match that dollar amount to the fire appeal. But the South Africans, so much the second best team to Steve Waugh's Australians throughout this series, can thank 80-Test veteran opening batsman Gary Kirsten for avoiding the humiliation of an innings defeat with a defiant seven-hour, 17-minute vigil at the crease. Kirsten, who posted the highest score by a South African at the SCG with 153, was out 45 minutes before tea to give the toiling Australian bowlers the wicket they dearly wanted. The 34-year-old left-hander equalled the record for the most Test centuries for South Africa with his 14th Test hundred to join Darryl Cullinan and went on to better Jim Zulch's 150 here in 1911. While Kirsten was there, the Proteas had an outside chance of putting up a testing fourth innings target for Australia to chase on a deteriorating wicket, but leg-spinner Stuart MacGill got the big breakthrough when he bowled him off a bottom edge. Kirsten was at the crease for 437 minutes and hit 19 boundaries off 359 balls. Shaun Pollock put on some last-wicket fireworks, clouting Glenn McGrath for 13 in one over and smacking MacGill into the Members' Stand for six. Pollock hit Warne for six over Brett Lee, guarding the long-on boundary rope, and then crashed a boundary off the next ball through extra cover. But South Africa's near nine-hour innings came to an end with Allan Donald top-edging Warne to Lee to be out for two, leaving Pollock unbeaten on 61 off 83 balls with five boundaries and two sixes. The leg-spinners finished with the majority of the wickets in the Test. MacGill finished with 7-174 and Warne came away with 6-179. Warne now has 430 Test wickets, just one behind third-placed New Zealander Richard Hadlee (431). It was a case of what might have been for the under-performing South Africans, who have been a pale imitation of the side ranked No. 2 in Test cricket behind Australia. The South Africans resumed the fourth day at 209 for two and despite losing Jacques Kallis and Neil McKenzie in the morning session they went to lunch at 299 for four, 101 runs from making Australia bat a second time. Kallis was out in the third over of the morning when Warne coaxed him to edge to 'keeper Adam Gilchrist for 34. Kallis played inside the line and appeared to get an edge with the back of his bat. McKenzie put on 71 for the fourth wicket with Kirsten before he got a leading edge to Lee with the second new ball and was caught at mid-on by MacGill for 38. No sooner had Kirsten raised his 150 than Justin Ontong was harshly given out lbw by Australian umpire Daryl Harper off Shane Warne for 32 in the hour after lunch. Ontong, who was a controversial selection after intervention by South African cricket chief Percy Sonn on match eve, showed great resolve to defy the Australian attack in his first Test, but lost out to a contentious decision. He was well down to the pitch of the ball and was struck on his back pad with television replays showing the ball would have missed off stump. South Africa's resistance was further weakened when Mark Boucher and Nicky Boje were removed in the 20 minutes before tea. Boucher was caught behind off McGrath for 27 and MacGill bowled Boje for one. The Australians delayed taking the second new ball for 11 overs as captain Steve Waugh waited to see what advantage his two leg-spinners, Warne and MacGill, would get from the wearing pitch. MacGill claimed his fourth wicket of the innings when he bowled Claude Henderson for two but Warne snared Donald, ending a spirited 49-run partnership for the last wicket. The two teams will play in another three-Test series in South Africa starting in Johannesburg on February 22. |
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