Australia suffered a catastrophic Day 5 batting collapse in Cape Town, skittled for just 111 runs.
Australia succumbed to a crushing 176-run defeat against South Africa in the third Test at Newlands, Cape Town on Saturday (October 31).
This result concluded a hard-fought series, which South Africa won 2-1 to claim the world No.1 Test ranking and push Australia down to third place on the World Test Championship table.
In the series-decider, Australia bowled South Africa out for 329 on Day 1 and responded with a strong first-innings total of 429, built on a stellar 185-run partnership between Josh Inglis (102) and Alex Carey (80).
Ending Day 3, Australia had South Africa in trouble at 140/4 (effectively 40/4 given the first-innings lead of 100 runs). However, a gritty Day 4 recovery from South Africa's middle-order—spearheaded by Ryan Rickelton (101) and Wiaan Mulder (115)—set Australia a steep target of 288.
The visitors suffered a catastrophic Day 5 batting collapse, skittled for just 111 against a 6-wicket haul from Simon Harmer.
Reflecting on the series-decider during the post-match presentation ceremony, Australia skipper Pat Cummins acknowledged that his side failed to capitalise on key moments and the hosts were better in crucial situations through the contest.
“I mean really ebbed and flowed, didn't it? After a pretty hot start, I think we did brilliantly to take the ten wickets on day one. Gave ourselves a chance. Then, probably fell a little bit behind with the bat, but then a great partnership got us well ahead. And then, ending day three 4 for 40 effectively, in great position. But really tough workout there yesterday. I thought a couple of the partnerships they put on, made chasing today a pretty tough task,” Cummins said.
Cummins praised how players stepped up seamlessly in the absence of key team members such as Steve Smith, who was ruled out shortly before the match due to a neck injury.
“I think we've done it really well over the last couple of years. There's been moments where either the batters or bowlers, we've had some injuries or, guys have stepped away. And the people that have come in and performed straight away. So someone like Josh Inglis, to be able to draw on him, he's already got a Test hundred before this week. It was all, quite seamless,” he added.
When asked what was missing from Australia's performance in the series-deciding third Test, Cummins replied: “I think the trend of this game was once you got yourself in, there were runs to be scored there and you could face lots of balls. Probably, within the first hour really, the game was away from us. So just didn't really give ourselves a chance.”
Cummins maintained optimism despite the sting of losing their grasp on the series. He pointed toward an upcoming home summer featuring marquee series against New Zealand where the team expects to regroup in familiar conditions.
“I think we're a really good side. You know, tough opponents away from home. It's always really difficult. Now, we came here very hopeful and thought we were good enough to win, but we weren't. So, we'll have a couple of weeks to digest it. A couple of big series coming up. But we're going back home, a place we obviously know well. But, overall relatively happy with how we're going,” he remarked.
Pat Cummins conceded that winning away from home in South Africa remains a tough task and that Australia's belief wasn't enough to convert a competitive squad effort into a series win.
“I think most series that you miss out on, even just individual Tests, it always comes down to little moments. You just wish you had those little moments again and, maybe, a catch went to hand or you opted for something different. It's never one big thing. So, I think throughout this series we've had our little moments. But South Africa were better than us in those moments,” he concluded.