Australia halt South Africa clean sweep as rain ends third ODI in Potchefstroom
Australia denied South Africa a series sweep in the third ODI in Potchefstroom on Wednesday as rain ended play and left the visitors with a 45-run victory via the DLS method; wicketkeeper Alex Carey returned to form with 74 off 88 balls. The day-nighter was delayed by half an hour before rain ultimately forced abandonment under the lights.
Put in to bat, Australia recovered from earlier series collapses to post 322-9, propelled by half-centuries from Carey (74 off 88) and captain Mitch Marsh (56 off 42) and a 48 from Ollie Peake. South Africa reached 145-4 from 28 overs before the rain returned, with Xavier Bartlett (2 for 25 off five) and Adam Zampa (2 for 34 off six) among the bowlers who held the visitors in check.
Marsh and Travis Head produced an electric opening partnership of 78, with Head scoring 24 off 20 as Marsh recorded his third half-century of the series following scores of 60 and 84 in Durban and Johannesburg. The top order lost Marsh to an lbw from Bjorn Fortuin and Cooper Connolly fell for 23 to a yorker from Gerald Coetzee, but Peake and Carey steadied the innings with a 73-run stand off 88 balls.
Peake was stranded on 48 after a shot off Corbin Bosch was taken by Fortuin at point, and Matt Renshaw added 30 as he and Carey combined for a 66-run partnership. Carey’s innings ended to Bosch and was his first international fifty in 17 ODI and Test innings since his Ashes hundred in Adelaide last December; Bosch finished with 4 for 60 off nine overs.
Australia’s bowling attack, depleted by the absence of Nathan Ellis and Jack Edwards, received early dividends through Xavier Bartlett, who removed Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram. Bartlett’s strikes, combined with Cummins’ probing spell of 0 for 17 off five, left South Africa under pressure before rain curtailed the chase.
Ryan Rickelton was the main resistance for South Africa, scoring 71 not out off 81 balls, but wickets from Zampa — Matthew Breetzke stumped for 25 and Tristan Stubbs trapped lbw for 14 — prevented a sustained recovery and restricted the Proteas to 145-4. By the time the weather ended play, South Africa had not threatened to mount the highest successful ODI chase at the ground.
Cameron Green suffered an on-field blow when a full toss from Bosch struck him; he hit the following delivery for six but was then removed by a short ball and was not fit to bowl afterwards, according to the report. The match also featured rotation in the South African side, with spinner Keshav Maharaj and captain Temba Bavuma among four players rested for the third game.
The rain-interrupted win ended Australia’s series losing streak and provided a morale-boosting finish to the ODI whitewash avoidance; Cummins’ return as a bowler, with figures of 0 for 17 off five overs, suggested he would be in fine shape to lead his troops in the first Test in Durban on 9 October.