Dean Elgar:
Not easy at the moment, was a bit of a hammering that. We have to come up to speed with the intensity Test cricket deserves. We were good in periods, but it is not a lot. The inexperience is hitting us hard. We have lost a lot of batters in the last few years. There is opportunities for guys to make their spots their own, but the inexperience is hurting us. A lot to play for, a lot to ride on. 2-1 sounds better than 3-0. We have not been up to speed and have to move on pretty quickly.
Pat Cummins:
The win is right up there. We have had a number of great contests against South Africa over the years. It’s really sweet and something to be proud of. The way the two veterans of our side, David Warner and Steve Smith batted in the heat was as gutsy a performance in the heat. And then for Starc to bowl through injury, and Green to bat like that – we are really proud of that effort. Warner’s energy was great and to do it in his 100th Test was great. Carey is one of our favorites. He has been awesome for us in white-ball cricket. Lyon is good to go, just winded himself [going for the catch]. Boxing Day is a huge event and this year is even more special celebrating Warnie.
David Warner is the Player of the Match:
He collects the Johnny Mullagh medal for his double century in his 100th Test. Phenomenal achievement by the boys. We saw some crazy stuff from Carey and Green and that century from Carey. My Dad couldn’t come here, but this one is up there. Never doubted my abilities. It is all about coming out here, I have trained my backside off in the nets. Just needed to get out there and perform on the big stage. I have obviously committed to play the next year’s WC and I want to carry on for as long as possible.
Australia vs South Africa Highlights today. 2nd Test, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Thursday 29-12-2022, South Africa tour of Australia 2022.
Australia, elected to field first.
Australia team: 1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Scott Boland, 11 Nathan Lyon
South Africa team: 1 Dean Elgar (capt), 2 Sarel Erwee, 3 Theunis de Bruyn, 4 Temba Bavuma, 5 Khaya Zondo, 6 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Lungi Ngidi
Head to Head In Test’s: 99
Australia Won: 53
South Africa Won: 26
Australia Test Rankings: 1st
South Africa Test Rankings: 3rd
Form guide
(Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia WWWLW
South Africa LLLWW
Match Timings: 11:30 AM GMT | 10:30 AM Local
Umpires – Paul Reiffel, Richard Kettleborough
TV Umpire – Chris Gaffaney
Match Referee – Richie Richardson
Reserve Umpire – Phillip Gillespie
Match number – Test no. 2485
