As the teams take the field for the fourth day at Newlands, one of them will be haunted by the Ghost of Cricket Past. Or perhaps more accurately, the Ghosts of Cricket Matches Past. The first such ghost will be the last Newlands test between these two nations. Captain Clarke score a 150 that most who saw it agree was his best innings to that date, one of his best ever. The Aussies knocked over the South Africans quickly, leaving themselves a solid lead. All that was needed was two or three sessions of quick scoring to put the game out of reach, and then to take 10 wickets. To date, this match has gone to a similar script. Last time the Aussies only reached the lofty heights of 47 because of a spirited, fighting innings by Lyon. South Africa won convincingly. Admittedly Warner scored more in the six overs they faced last night than the first nine partnerships scored last time, but their last experience here shows that there is still a fair bit of work to do. The Aussies need a couple of hundred more as quickly as possible today.
A second match that will haunt them, especially given Faf's first innings effort here, is Adelaide 2012. There the Aussies led convincingly, and gave themselves what looked like plenty of time to win. Then Faf stood up and scored an excruciating 100. He basically batted time- more than a day- to save the match. A bowler down, the Aussies couldn't do anything about it. So the Aussies need to give themselves plenty of time to bowl. But then again, they don't want South Africa to do a Perth 2008, and chase down 400 plus either. Clarke, being Clarke, will declare earlier than most would, and hope that they can bowl well enough.
The South Africans will face their own Ghosts. Theirs is the Ghost of Cricket Future. A future that was already looking less rosy with the departures of coach Kirsten and all rounder Kallis looks more dire with the loss of their captain and batting mainstay Smith. He has been out of form thus far this series, but his contribution as captain and opening batsman with an average near fifty, not to mention a safe pair of hands, will be missed. It is a very long time since South Africa took to the field without either Smith or Kallis. They still have De Villiers and Amla (for the moment), so they are not bereft of batting stars, but for a while their numbers are diminished. There is also the increasing prospect of life without Steyn- who has looked less than superhuman in most of this series. After all he has been struck down by both illness and injury, when he is usually impervious to these things. And The South African bowling looks half as menacing without him. It is quite possible that the spectre of this future might inspire a last effort- a fitting send off for Smith. The timing of his announcement seems calculated to do just that. However, they may also find this Ghost daunts them.
Of course the match will be decided by how well each team puts aside their ghosts and focuses on Cricket Present. Australia's team of hitters will be looking to score quickly. The Saffers will look to frustrate, hoping to induce errors, and maybe even panic. Depending on the target set, the Proteas will bat either for the draw (more likely), or the win- if they knock the Aussies over cheap, or are set too tempting a target. Whatever happens, the next two days are likely to be enthrall ing cricket.
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