Cummins scrutiny and tactical lessons after South Africa complete series win over Australia
South Africa completed victory over Australia in their Test series in South Africa on the final day of the tour, reaffirming the Proteas as the best side in the world. Australia captain Pat Cummins said they are still a "really good side" after the defeat.
The result has exposed several issues within the Australian setup: they were knocked off the top of the Test rankings for the first time in two and a half years, their bowling unit appears increasingly age-affected and their batting lineup sits between generations. For the first time in his career Cummins has attracted sustained scrutiny; the 33-year-old went more than 62 overs without a wicket between the second innings of the first Test and South Africa's second dig in the third. He finished the series with a bowling average of 53.66, a mark only once worse in his career, while his expected wickets return was 29.6 — a figure he has bettered only once in his past 20 series.
Cummins, one third of Australia's pace trinity alongside Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, drew criticism for his decision to bowl first in Cape Town, a move described in the reporting as poor, and for being tactically ineffective when South Africa's openers attacked on the first morning before adjustments were made after lunch. The pace department’s balance was also altered by the influence of left-arm quicks creating footholes outside right-handers’ off stump, which aided spin late in the match.
England’s approach to spin selection is under the microscope after this series. Since Joe Root returned as Test skipper, England have not selected a frontline spinner and have preferred a four-man pace attack consisting of Jofra Archer, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson. South Africa’s use of off-spinner Simon Harmer, who took 10-120 to bowl the Proteas to victory in Cape Town, underlined the potential cost of that policy; Newlands is not typically a spinner’s surface but it turned markedly from day three.
The Newlands Test produced an overall average amount of turn of 4.35 degrees, the fourth-highest on record at the venue, with only last year’s Pakistan match ahead of it on the list. Harmer’s success was amplified by support from the seamers, including Marco Jansen, and while Mitchell Starc will not be a factor against England, the reporting names Jansen as a likely one. The prominence of Harmer has prompted questions about England’s options should they decide to pick a specialist spinner.
Selection choices remain wide open: the article lists Shoaib Bashir, Jack Leach and Mason Crane among candidates, and notes Nottinghamshire’s Liam Patterson-White as a recent recipient of an England development contract who could be considered. The piece also states that since Harmer returned to Test cricket in 2022 no spinner has a better average anywhere in the world, underscoring the challenge of matching his impact.
South Africa’s batting, however, revealed vulnerabilities. Captain Temba Bavuma was dismissed to off-spin in four of his five innings against Australia; his lone exception was the second Test when he scored 179 after Australia omitted Nathan Lyon. The reporting gives Bavuma’s record against spin as 46.85 up until the start of 2025, but since then it falls to 21.37, dropping further to 15.00 against off-spin and to 12.16 when those bowlers bowl over the wicket. The Proteas also showed susceptibility to short-pitched bowling: in the third Test seven wickets fell when batsmen played the hook or pull, and only West Indies and Afghanistan have averaged worse against short balls in Tests over the past four years.
The series emphasised the value of lower-order runs. Australia added 266 after the sixth wicket fell in their first-Test innings; South Africa added 315 in the same phase of the second Test and 206 for the last five wickets in the second innings of the third Test, a surge that the article says effectively won them the match and the series. As innings aged and the ball softened, wickets became harder to take: across the series wickets fell once every 60 balls after the ball was 40 overs old, compared with once every 37 balls in England’s series against New Zealand earlier in the summer. Matt Renshaw emerged as a positive for Australia, finishing as the series’ leading run-scorer at an average of 61.50; his 190 came at number five in the first Test and a later 74 as an opener suggested Australia’s long-running bid to replace David Warner may finally be over. The piece notes Renshaw was born in Yorkshire, has never played against England and averages 42.69 in the County Championship.
Before the Ashes next summer, England will meet Australia in the one-off 150th anniversary Test in Melbourne in March, a match the reporting identifies as an opportunity for Joe Root’s side, under the new leadership of Stephen Fleming, to test plans to dismiss Renshaw. England will need to identify areas of vulnerability and selection solutions ahead of the Ashes.