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Australian cricket team in South Africa in 2017–18

Australian cricket team in South Africa in 2017–18
	South Africa	Australia
Dates	22 February – 3 April 2018
Captains	Faf du Plessis	Steve Smith[n 1][1] Tim Paine[n 2][2]
Test series
Result	South Africa won the 4-match series 3–1
Most runs	Aiden Markram (480)	Cameron Bancroft (223)
Most wickets	Kagiso Rabada (23)	Pat Cummins (22)
Player of the series	Kagiso Rabada (SA)

The Australia cricket team toured South Africa between February and April 2018 to play four Test matches.^[3][4] It was the first four-Test series between the two teams since South Africa's readmission.^[5] Prior to the start of the tour, South African fast-bowler Morné Morkel announced that he would retire from international cricket at the end of the series.^[6] During the third Test, Morkel became the fifth bowler for South Africa to take 300 Test wickets.^[7]

The series was known for an Australian ball-tampering scandal, culminating in the bans of three Australian cricketers and the restructure of the Australian cricket governing body. During the third Test, Australian batsman Cameron Bancroft was charged with ball tampering. Captain Steve Smith and Bancroft admitted the ball tampering to match referee Andy Pycroft and the media.^[8] Consequently, Smith and vice-captain David Warner stood down from the team leadership, and wicket-keeper Tim Paine was appointed acting captain for the remainder of the match.^[9]

On 27 March 2018, Smith, Warner and Bancroft were all suspended by Cricket Australia and sent home, with Paine named as the captain for the fourth and final Test.^[10][11] The following day, Cricket Australia banned Smith and Warner for one year, with Bancroft receiving a nine-month ban. Although Warner will not be considered for a leadership position in the future, Smith and Bancroft will not be considered to leadership positions for a minimum of 12 months after the completion of their bans.^[12][13] After the three players had returned home, Darren Lehmann, Australia's coach, announced that he would step down from his role after the conclusion of the fourth Test in Johannesburg.^[14]

South Africa went on to win the Test series 3–1. It was the first time that South Africa had beaten Australia at home since 1970.^[15]

Squads[edit]

Tests
South Africa[16]	Australia[17]
Faf du Plessis (c) Dean Elgar (vc) Hashim Amla Temba Bavuma Quinton de Kock (wk) Theunis de Bruyn AB de Villiers Heinrich Klaasen Keshav Maharaj Aiden Markram Morné Morkel Chris Morris Wiaan Mulder Lungisani Ngidi Duanne Olivier Vernon Philander Kagiso Rabada	Steve Smith (c) David Warner (vc) Cameron Bancroft Jackson Bird Joe Burns Pat Cummins Peter Handscomb Josh Hazlewood Jon Holland Usman Khawaja Nathan Lyon Mitchell Marsh Shaun Marsh Glenn Maxwell Tim Paine (wk)[n 2] Matt Renshaw Jhye Richardson Chadd Sayers Mitchell Starc

Jackson Bird was replaced in Australia's squad by Chadd Sayers before the tour began due to injury.^[18] South Africa's Kagiso Rabada was given a two-match ban by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after he made contact with Australia's captain, Steve Smith, during the second Test, initially ruling him out of the rest of the series.^[19] On 20 March 2018, Rabada's two-match ban was overturned by the ICC, therefore allowing him to play in the rest of the series.^[20] For the last two Tests of the series, Duanne Olivier and Chris Morris were added to South Africa's squad.^[21]

Following the suspension of Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft after the third Test, Joe Burns, Glenn Maxwell and Matt Renshaw were added to Australia's squad for the fourth Test.^[22][23]

Tour match[edit]

Three-day match: South Africa A v Australia[edit]

• South Africa A won the toss and elected to bat.

Test series[edit]

1st Test[edit]

• Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
• Mitchell Marsh (Aus) scored his 1,000th run in Tests.^[24]
• Aiden Markram's (SA) score of 143 runs was the highest 4th innings score in a losing cause by an opener and also the highest by a South African batsman.^[25]

2nd Test[edit]

• Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
• Sundaram Ravi (Ind) took up the on-field umpiring duties in the absence of Chris Gaffaney from day 2 onwards.^[26]
• Shaun Marsh (Aus) scored his 2,000th run in Tests.^[27]

3rd Test[edit]

• South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
• Dean Elgar (SA) scored his 3,000th run in Tests.^[28] Elgar also became the first player to carry his bat twice in the same year, and the second batsman to carry his bat three times in Tests.^[29]
• Steve Smith (Aus) equalled the joint record of taking five catches as a non-wicket-keeper in a Test innings, becoming the eleventh fielder to achieve this.^[30]
• Morné Morkel became the fifth bowler for South Africa to take 300 wickets in Tests.^[31]
• Tim Paine replaced Steve Smith as captain of Australia on day four.^[32]
• Nathan Lyon became the sixth bowler for Australia to take 300 wickets in Tests.^[33]

Ball tampering[edit]

On the third day of the third Test, Australia's Cameron Bancroft was shown on television coverage, also shown live at the ground, to have tampered with the ball with a small, yellow object. Bancroft later revealed the object to be a short length of yellow adhesive tape to which dirt and grit had adhered, forming an abrasive surface,^[34][35] though four days later, Cricket Australia confirmed that the object was actually sandpaper.^[36] At the end of the day's play, both Bancroft and captain Steve Smith admitted to ball tampering, with Smith knowing of the plan in advance of Bancroft's actions.^[37][8] Andy Pycroft, the match referee, charged Bancroft with a Level 2 offence of attempting to alter the condition of the ball.^[37] Smith said it was a "big mistake" but stated he would not be standing down.^[8][38]

Smith and vice-captain David Warner subsequently stood aside from leadership roles for the remainder of the Test, with Tim Paine taking over as acting captain.^[39][9] The International Cricket Council (ICC) suspended Smith for one match, handed him four demerit points and fined him 100% of his match fee.^[40] Cameron Bancroft was handed three demerit points and fined 75% of his match fee.^[40]

On 27 March 2018, Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland announced that as a result of the preliminary investigation Smith, Warner and Bancroft had been charged with bringing the game into disrepute, suspended and sent home. Matt Renshaw, Joe Burns and Glenn Maxwell were recalled to the squad for the fourth Test to replace them.^[10] On 28 March, Cricket Australia released their findings and the sanctions to be imposed. Smith and Bancroft respectively received 12 and 9 month bans from international and domestic cricket in Australia, and neither would be considered for a leadership role for a further 12 months after that ban finishes. Warner received an identical 12 month ban, and would never be considered again for a leadership position. All three were encouraged to return to club level cricket to reconnect with the general cricket community.^[41]

4th Test[edit]

• South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
• Tim Paine became the 46th captain of Australia in Tests, following Steve Smith's suspension.^[11]
• Chadd Sayers (Aus) made his Test debut.
• Vernon Philander (SA) took his 200th wicket in Tests.^[42]
• South Africa's victory was the biggest margin in Tests, in terms of runs, since Australia beat England by 562 runs in August 1934.^[43]
• This was Australia's second largest defeat by number of runs in Tests.^[44]
• This was Morné Morkel's last international match.^[6]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikinews has related news:

• Steve Smith and David Warner banned for 12 months following the ball tampering controversy

• Series home at ESPN Cricinfo