Starc sent the second ball of the second over of his second spell down snarling, a sharp bouncer that followed the batter. Ackerman wanted to ramp, then tried to pull away and ended up edging it onto his helmet on its way to Cameron Green at slip.
He took the full 15 seconds before deciding to review, only to learn it was too late. Happily replays showed that bat had made contact with ball, so even though South Africa lost Ackerman, they didn’t lose the review. And that was the only batter who was dismissed by a ball worthy of his name.
Add Ackerman’s wicket and, in total, South Africa have lost 16 of their 43 wickets in the series so far to short balls. For a batting line-up that prides itself on their ability to face quicks, South Africa’s have been undone by the best in the world. Australia’s three-pronged attack of Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins allow no let-up. The cauldron they create has proved too much in parts of each match and underlined the trio’s status as the most lethal in the global game.
While Harmer himself has not been dismissed by a short ball in this series, he empathised with his team-mates who have and tried to explain exactly how difficult it has been for them.
“There have been chats about the short ball, how we want to play it, how we want to go about our business,” he said. “But I think it’s like everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face. Once you step into a war-zone, it’s a completely different story. There’s a lot of things going on at that moment in time. It is a split-second decision. Sometimes you make the wrong decision and you pay the price. That’s probably the most difficult thing about being a batter, you make one mistake, and that’s the end of your day.”
Bedingham has now experienced that three times. In his five innings in this series, he has scores of 49, 46, 0, 50 and 11, which suggests he has got enough starts but has not been able to convert. In Durban, Bedingham was camped on the back foot and edged a Cummins short ball that kept climbing to second slip, then here at Newlands, he top-edged a pull in both innings which may suggest anything from impatience to anxiety to get the game moving. Whichever it is, it has not helped his long-term cause.
In 18 Tests, Bedingham is 16 short of 1,000 runs and has not scored a century since his breakthrough 110 against New Zealand in February 2024. Since then, he has also been dropped from the Test side, after a run of 12 innings without a fifty between November 2024 and June 2025. He was used in a two-Test series against Zimbabwe but left out of South Africa’s tours to the subcontinent late last year.
With Tony de Zorzi close to returning to fitness after a hamstring injury, Bedingham could find himself in the firing line, but Harmer has urged a little bit of compassion. “I’m sure guys would have preferred to have not got out in certain ways but ultimately it boils down to a lot more factors than something as simplistic as a shot selection,” he said.
Then there is also that conditions, especially in Gqeberha, demanded a slightly fuller length and that spin could come into it at Newlands. For now, Australia has showed, there’s still no substitute for short and nasty.
Firdose Moonda is Cricinfo’s senior correspondent for Africa and women’s cricket
Source: www.cricinfo.com
