South Africa takes series after innings win

The final game of the series which will also be a day-night encounter will be played between 24th and 28th November.

Ahead of the inconsequential dead-rubber third Test, Australia coach Darren Lehmann has promised changes in a bid to stir something of a reversal of fortunes, but Smith has conceded there is a dearth of available talent to work with.

Australia after losing the Perth Test awarded a debut match to medium pacer Joe Mennie and middle order batsman Callum Ferguson for their impressive domestic season.

Now Australia is on the brink of an unprecedented whitewash in a test series on home soil.

After South Africa, Australia start a three-test series against Pakistan next month and play four tests against India in February and March.

“I don’t think the preparation is anything Australian cricket can complain about”, Sutherland said. “It is not good enough”. I’m quite sick of saying it – it has happened five tests in a row now.

The three-time World Cup-winner Ponting asked Australian cricket team fans to keep calm and don’t be anxious about how the team will fare in the 2017-18 Ashes. “I’m embarrassed to be sitting here in this position”.

South Africa have had to battle accusations they were overly-reliant on Abraham Benjamin’s star quality to get through Tests. But it has been all downhill from there.

As Australia were bowled out for 85 in the first innings, South Africa came to bat, but Australian medium pacer Josh Hazlewood wrecked havoc on the South Africans. The latest to join that list is Joe Burns, who scored 0 and 1 in the Hobart Test. Graeme Wood’s pair against New Zealand in Perth in 1980 was the last such instance before Burns.

Peter Nevill was one of the 8 wickets that Australia lost for 32 runs.

In another humiliating outing, the Australians were finished off before lunch on the fourth day – which was effectively the third, given Sunday’s wash-out – to lose by an innings and 80 runs.

The Adelaide Test will be South Africa’s first under lights and using the pink ball.

“Philander and Abbott and Rabada, on a wicket that’s got a little bit in it, they just keep coming back and hitting that 10-cent piece and not giving you any freebies”.

“That’s a very, very poor batting performance again”.

Australia had added just eight runs to its overnight total of 2-121 when Usman Khawaja departed, caught behind off Kyle Abbott to a loose shot for 64.

“At the end of the day we’re the ones on the field playing the cricket, we put the ideas through and the management are there, but at the end of the day it’s the captain, senior players and it’s our responsibility to carry that out”, he said.

It should aid our cricketers in preparation against touring nations when it comes to the global summer, but it isn’t doing much for us at the moment.