Without doubt the second test at Wanderers was one of the all time greats, right alongside Edgebaston in 2005 as a modern great. Day five began poorly, with Clarke and Ponting falling reasonably early and South Africa becoming the favourites again. It ended with Pat Cummins blasting his way into folklore, much as he did earlier in the match with the ball.
Rain loomed over day five early and the first session was completely written off, and like the rest of the 'series' the gameplay was all about momentum. After the loss of Clarke and Ponting, Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin were left to stop the bleeding. A 70 run stand was the result, with Hussey falling for 39 and South Africa again taking momentum. Haddin was met with Johnson, and the most important partnership of the match took place here. Both under clouds about their spots, and they played their own way. Flashy, risky but good enough. The partnership was worth 72, with Haddin falling with 23 to get. Siddle fell quickly, but it was Cummins, on debut, the man of the match, who hit the winning runs.
While it is time to look toward New Zealand in 9 days time, and speculate about the team for that match, perhaps we should just take a moment. Take a moment to think about the best test match in 6 years, about Australia bouncing back and returning to life.
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