Another poor Australian batting display confined Mitchell Marsh’s to an 84-run defeat in the second ODI in Mackay against South Africa.
Josh Inglis (87) was unable to find any support as wickets tumbled around him and the Australians meekly surrendered, losing their last five wickets for 18 runs.
The failure of Marnus Labuschagne at No.3 is again in the spotlight, while a South African rising star broke an astonishing ODI record.
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With the ball for Australia, a forgotten bowler made an instant impact after 18 months out of the side.
But despite the bowlers wishing they had kept South Africa to a smaller total, the batting is where Australia’s problems most clearly lie at present.
Scroll down for the biggest talking points from the second ODI between Australia and South Africa.
‘HORRIBLE AGAIN’: AUSSIE BATTING HITS NEW LOW
There has been much criticism of Australia’s diminishing returns with the bat in the Test arena, but the ODI format has been worse.
Australia has been bowled out for under 200 six times in just 11 ODIs since the beginning of last summer.
They have been blown away by Pakistan’s quicks in home conditions.
They have been spun out by the Sri Lankan tweakers away from home.
In the first game, they were undone by left arm spinner Keshav Maharaj’s five-wicket haul.
This time around it was Lungi Ngidi’s turn to snare five-wickets with a combination of on pace and off face deliveries.
One of the most concerning aspects of the Australian demise was that four players were tamely caught on the ring, while two others chipped back return catches.
They were disappointing dismissals as only Inglis and Cameron Green (35) passed 20.
Their 67-run partnership was the only stand to pass 50, and six partnerships were in single digits.
“Once again Australia leaving plenty out there,” Australian women’s captain Alyssa Healy said on Fox Cricket post-match.
“They’ll rue the lack of partnerships and no one going on to get a big score.
“A big impact on the chase, that’s what you need to get over the line in a relatively decent chase.”
Fellow Fox Cricket commentator Brendon Julian put it far more bluntly.
“Horrible again,” Julian said.
“Inglis back to his best, that’s one positive for Australia.
“But in the end, Ngidi’s five-wicket haul bowling out Australia, losing by a big margin.”
Inglis’ innings was a big plus after he fell for back-to-back golden ducks in the T20s and 5 in the opening ODI in Cairns.
But Australia’s batting group as a whole seriously has some work to do, although one player in particular will certainly be in the gun.
‘COULDN’T HELP HIMSELF’: MARNUS’ NIGHTMARE CONTINUES
Marnus Labuschagne’s first two outings in national colours since being axed from the Test have yielded just two runs as he was caught behind for one on Friday night.
Promoted to No.3 following Steve Smith’s retirement from the format, Labuschagne played a loose shot to a wide delivery from Lungi Ngidi, only succeeding in feathering an edge through to gloveman Ryan Rickelton.
Against a moving, new ball, it was not the shot of a player who has batted at first drop in more than 50 Test matches.
“Well, it surprised me that shot, it really did,” Fox Cricket’s Brendon Julian said on commentary.
“I thought that if they bowl a good delivery, he’ll let it go. He won’t chase it. He’ll be patient.
“Couldn’t help himself.”
It was a contrasting dismissal to how he was caught on the crease by Maharaj in Cairns.
Although, chasing balls outside off stump was how the South Africans removed Labuschagne in the World Test Championship final.
But the fact he is falling in various ways, against pace and spin, show that the 31-year-old is badly out of sorts, and he has been for some time.
If runs continue to elude Labuschagne, he may find himself out of the ODI side too.
The Queenslander has scored just one fifty in his 12 innings in the 50-over format since he served as Travis Head’s support act with an unbeaten 58 in the 2023 World Cup final.
He has only averaged 21.9 in that time too.
The numbers are even more dire when the sample size is reduced to more recent matches.
In fact, since his unbeaten 77 in the series opener in England almost a year ago, Labuschagne has passed 20 twice in ten innings.
In South Africa’s innings, Labuschagne played a pivotal role with his leg spinners, snaring 2/19 from five overs.
Australian great Mark Waugh hoped that his success with the ball may flow into his batting, but that was not the case.
“I think sometimes a batting all-rounder like Marnus, the confidence can flow into your batting,” Waugh said on commentary.
Labuschagne has picked up eight wickets in the last six ODIs he has bowled in, and the Australian hierarchy would be pleased with him and Travis Head, who took four wickets in the first ODI, pitching in with important overs.
But Labuschagne’s batting is all at sea at present, and after saying before this series that he wants to do anything possible to earn a recall for the Ashes, he needs to find a way to turn things around soon if he wants to be a serious contender for a top order spot in Perth.
‘UNLUCKY’ QUICK’S IMPRESSIVE RETURN FROM 18-MONTH HIATUS
Xavier Bartlett’s impressive performance in Mackay has reignited debate on why he was left out of Australia’s squad for the recent Champions Trophy campaign in Pakistan.
After helping the Brisbane Heat win a Big Bash League title in 2023/34, Bartlett was rewarded with an ODI call-up against the West Indies last year, taking eight wickets across two matches.
However, the Queensland seamer was a surprise omission for the Champions Trophy, with national selectors instead calling up fellow quicks Ben Dwarshuis, Sean Abbott and Spencer Johnson.
Bartlett earned a long-awaited recall for Friday’s second ODI against South Africa at Great Barrier Reef Arena, replacing Dwarshuis in the starting XI – and it didn’t take long for the 26-year-old to justify his selection, removing both Proteas openers during the Powerplay.
After rival captain Aidem Markram chipped a regulation catch towards mid-wicket for a fourth-ball duck, Bartlett found the outside edge of Ryan Rickelton’s bat for 8, with wicketkeeper Josh Inglis taking a smart catch to low his left.
Following the Rickelton dismissal, Bartlett’s ODI bowling average dropped to 4.50. The right-armed seamer finished the Mackay ODI with figures of 2/45 from nine overs.
Fox Cricket’s Mark Waugh was particularly impressed with how Bartlett, who has been renowned as a swing bowler, has added more tricks to arsenal since he last featured in national colours.
“You can’t always just rely on swing, I think he’s picked up a yard or two over the last year,” Waugh said.
Speaking to SEN Afternoons in February, former Test bowler Damien Fleming questioned why Bartlett wasn’t included in Australia’s Championship Trophy, particularly considering Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc were unavailable for selection.
“One name that I thought was unlucky was Xavier Bartlett,” Fleming said at the time.
“He’s a big, tall, bouncy, outswing bowler.
“In Pakistan, the pictures will be really flat, they won’t turn as much as we see in the Test matches and early wickets are premium in 50-over cricket.
“Once Starc left, I thought we’d see Bartlett opening the bowling with Spencer Johnson, which they do for Brisbane Heat.
“He’s probably the one fast bowler I think’s really unlucky not to be part of this.”
‘I’LL JUST QUIT’: HEALY’S NOSTRADAMUS MOMENT
Australian women’s captain Alyssa Healy showed that despite her playing days not yet being done, she has already taken to the commentary box with aplomb.
With inclusion Xavier Bartlett bowling a tight opening spell, Healy showed off her superb tactical nous when discussing the gap between Australian gloveman Josh Inglis and Cameron Green at slip.
Green was deliberately stationed wider than is convention at closer to a second slip, creating a three metre gap between he and Inglis, in order to be there for a slightly thicker edge.
Healy justified their positioning, by saying as long as they trust each other to cover more ground than usual, than it will work well.
“It’s all about trust, a lot of wicketkeeper, slips stances are all about trust,” she said on Fox Cricket’s commentary.
“Do you trust your slip? And you’ve got to in this instance when you’re three metres apart.
“Luckily he’s two metres tall so he covers a fair bit of that ground.
“But if Josh Inglis says, ‘I’m comfortable diving to my left here, you can go a bit wider’, then you just trust one another and go.”
Of course, the cricket gods were smiling on Healy, with Bartlett finding Ryan Rickleton’s edge the following delivery and Inglis taking a superb diving catch low to his left in front of a diving Green.
“I’m done. I’ll just quit commentary,” Healy said afterwards with a chuckle.
BREETZKE’S BEST EVER START TO ODI CAREER
South African No.4 Matthew Breetzke must be pinching himself as he has enjoyed a dream start to his ODI career.
In fact, no male batter has ever started better.
The 26-year-old right-hander walked to the crease with his side in trouble at 2/23 on Friday afternoon, and proceeded to back the Proteas out of a corner with an impressive 88 off 78 balls.
It was the fourth time in just four ODIs that Breetzke has passed 50, a feat no other men’s international cricket has accomplished in the 50-over format.
“It’s pretty cool,” Breetzke told Fox Cricket after the South African innings.
Also, no man has scored more runs in their first four ODI innings than Breetzke’s tally of 378 runs, who surpassed his captain Temba Bavuma’s record of 280.
“Not a bad start. It’s nice to see some guys find it easy, international cricket,” Alyssa Healy said with a laugh on Fox Cricket’s commentary after Breetzke raised the bat to acknowledge his half-century.
“It won’t be that easy all the way through, but you may as well start well,” Mark Waugh replied.
The pair in the commentary box then threw down the challenge to Breetzke to recreate his debut heroics, where he plundered 150 against New Zealand earlier this year.
“There are a lot more runs out there for Breetzke,” Waugh said.
“Fifties are nice, but they don’t mean much.”
“Yeah, in one-day cricket, you want to get a big hundred,” Healy added.
But Breetzke would have been furious with himself for falling for Nathan Ellis slower ball bouncer ploy on the last ball before drinks.
His top-edged pull shot landed safely in the hands of Alex Carey at the unfamiliar position of deep square leg.
Breetzke walked off 12 short of his century, with 19 overs left in the innings, and Mark Waugh’s feedback showed that maybe ODI cricket is not as easy as it has seemed so far in his career.
“That was, I guess, immature cricket from Breetzke,” the Australian great said.
“Last ball before drinks, you get to drinks and you reassess.
“They had the Australians were they wanted them.”
“You’ve got to box clever one ball before a break,” Kerry O’Keeffe replied on commentary.
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