Graeme the Lionheart - Magnificent

He has just come in to bat to try and save the test match, with a broken hand...

End of over 108 (4 runs) - South Africa 252/9
GC Smith 0* (2b) AB McDonald 13-6-32-2
M Ntini 16* (52b 3x4) DE Bollinger 19-3-53-2


107.6 McDonald to Smith, no run, Smith stays in his crease and defends on the front foot, he takes his bottom hand off the bat as he makes contact
His bottom hand is broken ...
107.5 McDonald to Smith, no run
What a moment ...Smith walks out to fight for his team ...broken hand and all ..the SCG rises to applaud

Absolutely marvellous. As good as it gets.

Proud winners of the series down under.

Excellent stuff - Hayden must have been sweating after dropping Ntini and well done to Ntini on the way he played the final overs.So close to salvaging a draw but Aus dominated this one so we can't complain - still it's the series that counts- great win guys

great win and really looking forward to the return test series in SA next month. Until then we have 20/20's and 1-dayers to keep us fed, lovely stuff!

In these progressive times,is it not time to change how the toss affects a series.Let them toss the coin,but in a 3 match series no team should have the option to have the first call on what they would like to do 1st more than twice,and similarly 3 times in a 5 match series.

The advantage to bat 1st on this pitch was huge,and it could have been a series decider if things had panned out differently,but Ponting had already had the choice in the previous 2 matches.Surely the toss of a coin should not decide a series,even if it does a single game.

Unrealistic to ask?

A good point but in my view the toss one of the beauties of test cricket as are crumbling wickets like this one.

For me the Amla dropped catch on day 1 was the key moment in this match

I must admit, the umpires decisions in this test match was piss piss poor and all against SA.

Also if Graeme did not break his finger there is no doubt australia would never ever in a million years have won this test.

Just to top it off I heard one commentator said Boucher's lbw was a shocker in the 2nd innings. We wont mention Dumminy's and Amla's in the first innings as well.

Plus if a team is use to playing on "fixed up" pitches made for there liking you are already on the back foot even before the test started.

Did anybody see whether the coin they used in the toss wasn't double sided for Ponting.

Yep, the oz commentator reckons Bouchers dismissal..."..the ball would have missed the 5th stump legside..' and called the umpire 'shocking De Silva'.. also apparently Kallis.. the return catch was grounded after it was caught (the guy dove forward)

Very one-eyed observations.

Kallis’s dismissal was exactly the same as Haddin’s dismissal by Smith in the 2nd test – both were inconclusive at best but not enough reason to reverse the umpire’s initial decision.
By the time Duminy was given out lbw in the 1st innings he had survived 2 absolutely plumb decisions.

Twice in the SA 1st innings the ball hit the stumps with a thump, but no dislodged bail! – lucky?

The team that win’s the toss in Sydney will win the match – the fact that it was this close, reiterates the poor Aussie attack. If they had to take TWENTY wickets, they would have failed.


Pietersen resigns!!

Fair comments Fingers....