South Africa began this Test series with all the bravado and promise of a side that comes from having won on each of their last three visits to Australia. They conceded their proud streak on the sixth day of cricket on this 2022-23 tour after another limp display of batting succumbed them to a defeat by an innings and 182 runs in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.

At the end of another forgettable day in the series, South Africa’s predicament was perfectly encapsulated by two run-outs on a perfectly good batting surface against an opponent who were one-and-a-half bowlers down, a reflection of the muddle that Dean Elgar has to lift his team out of. For Australia, who are all but assured of playing the Test Championship final after missing out last time due to their overrate transgression at this very venue, this series win sets them perfectly for the India challenge that starts in Nagpur in 40 days’ time.

South Africa began the fourth day 371 runs away from making Australia bat again and while that always seemed like a mountain too steep to climb, the conditions – clear skies and a blameless surface – were in their favour to stretch the fight. South Africa’s overnight batters, Theunis de Bruyn and Sarel Erwee, even made a steady start against Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc even if scoring opportunities were scarce. It took until the sixth over of the day’s play for Australia to create a half chance. Starc drew an edge from de Bruyn but the edge fell well short of Steve Smith in the slips.

While Cummins was at his parsimonious best, it was Starc that seemed most likely to give the hosts their first breakthrough of the morning. And so it proved when the left-armer swung a full ball into the boots of Erwee and cleverly called for a review even when the on-field umpire deemed that the ball may have hit the bat first. Hot Spot proved that the ball had indeed clipped the batter’s toe before striking the bat and ruled Erwee out LBW.

Scott Boland then produced a near-unplayable ball that climbed onto de Bruyn and flew to second slip off the batter’s edge. Smith’s 150th catch was special in that he was blind-sighted by Marnus Labuschagne diving across him. South Africa then slipped further when Bavuma called Khaya Zondo over for a non-existent single only for the latter to be run-out by an under-armed direct-hit by Travis Head.

At 65 for 4, South Africa seemed headed to a collapse that has become ever so familiar on this tour but Bavuma and Vereyyne combined to offer some resistance through a counter-attack that saw them complete a half-century stand in just 70 balls. The two batters didn’t shy away from playing their shots, whether it was sweeping Nathan Lyon or going up and over against the quick bowlers.

But once Boland ended the 63-run stand straight after Lunch by nipping a delivery back into Verreynne’s pads, things unravelled rather quickly for the visitors. Marco Jansen was out LBW to a Nathan Lyon delivery that straightened after pitching before Keshav Maharaj was out run-out after another mix-up. Bavuma then fell to an uncharacteristic slog sweep for a well-made 65. Lyon and Steve Smith polished off Australia’s win with only Lungi Ngidi’s slogs helping South Africa avoid the ignominy of eight straight innings with a sub-200 score.

Brief scores:

Australia 575/8 decl. (David Warner 200, Alex Carey 111; Anrich Nortje 3-92) beat South Africa 189 & 204 (Temba Bavuma 65; Nathan Lyon 3-58) by an innings and 182 runs

(Cricbuzz)