This article may contain graphic and/or adult content unsuitable for minors and sensitive readers.
MITCHELL MARSH launched a devastating display of death hitting and then picked up two key Castle Lager Proteas wickets to put Australia back on the winning trail at Harare on Tuesday and make them the first qualifiers for the Final of the Triangular limited overs tournament to be played on Saturday.
Australia won by 62 runs to claim their second bonus point victory to take their tally to 10 points. The Proteas are second on nine with Zimbabwe third on four. Zimbabwe will have to beat the Proteas with a bonus point and improve their net run rate significantly in the final league match on Thursday to get through to the Final.
But the Proteas will not want to leave it to that eventuality, particularly after disappointing batting performances in their last two matches against Zimbabwe and Australia.
In truth, the Proteas were only in the game for the first 40 overs after they had won the toss. The two spinners, Imran Tahir and Aaron Phangiso, did a good job of containment and wicket-taking in the middle overs but then Marsh took charge as he contributed 78 of the 94 runs that Australia scored in the final eight overs.
All three South African seamers – Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Ryan McLaren – came in for punishment as Marsh finished unbeaten on 86 (51 balls, 5 fours and 7 sixes) to post a highly competitive total of 282/7.
If there was one bowling positive for the Proteas it was the continued good form of Phangiso (2/39) whose international career is clearly on an upward curve.
The Proteas were never in the picture after they lost their first five wickets for 101 runs inside the 25th over. Faf du Plessis was left man alone as he completed back-to-back centuries against Australia (126 off 109 balls, 8 fours and 6 sixes) but the other five members of the top six contributed a meagre 43 between them.
There was a brief fightback when Du Plessis and McLaren added 73 for the sixth wicket at almost a run a ball but the Proteas were a well beaten side by then.
As well as Du Plessis played, Marsh was the obvious candidate for Man of the Match after he added the wickets of Hashim Amla and JP Duminy to his stellar batting performance.
