- Published
If England fans were in any doubt over the difficulty of this winter's trip to South Africa, they should be no more.
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they → publish → Africa
The superb Proteas completed victory on the final day of their enthralling series against Australia to reaffirm their status as the best side in the world.
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Proteas → complete → world
Cummins endures worst series in years
Australia captain Pat Cummins maintained they are still a "really good side" after the defeat.
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they → endure → defeat
It is undeniable they stand at an intriguing point in their development, however.
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they → stand → development
Knocked off the top of the Test rankings for the first time in two and a half years, they have an ageing bowling attack and a batting line-up caught between generations.
And for the first time in his career there is attention on Cummins himself.
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they → knock → Cummins
One third of Australia's iconic pace trio, with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, he 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.
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he → go → third
Only once has he finished a series with a worse bowling average than the 53.66 he returned in South Africa.
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he → finish → Africa
His expected wickets return of 29.6 suggests he bowled better than those figures suggest, but he has only returned a higher mark on that metric once in his past 20 series.
uncertain
he → expect → series
Of course, Cummins has plenty of credit in the bank but questions are bound to be raised given his age.
Were the 33-year-old not captain, it may have been him under pressure from Scott Boland to play in the third Test.
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it → bind → Test
His call to bowl first in Cape Town also proved poor and he was helpless tactically when South Africa's openers attacked on the first morning before correcting things after lunch.
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openers → bowl → lunch
England need a spinner
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England → need → spinner
Since Joe Root returned as Test skipper, England have not picked a frontline spinner and have instead favoured a four-man pace attack of Jofra Archer, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson.
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England → return → Archer
South Africa's victory in the third Test suggests they will need an alternative before long.
uncertain
they → suggest → alternative
Off-spinner Simon Harmer, who once considered playing for England before opting for the country of his birth, took 10-120 to bowl the Proteas to victory in Cape Town - the venue of the third Test against England.
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who → consider → England
Newlands is not typically a spinner's surface but it turned big from the third day.
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it → turn → day
Harmer was helped by having left-arm pace bowlers Starc and Marco Jansen creating footholes outside the right-handers' off stump throughout.
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Starc → help → stump
England's spin issues are longstanding, meaning there is no easy answer.
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issues → mean → ?
And whether they pick Shoaib Bashir, return to Jack Leach or Mason Crane or hand a debut to Nottinghamshire's Liam Patterson-White – the recent recipient of an England development contract - they will have stiff competition.
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they → pick → competition
Since Harmer returned to Test cricket in 2022, no spinner has a better average anywhere in the world.
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spinner → return → world
The frailties to expose
If England do pick a spinner, it will give them a chance to expose one weakness in South Africa's batting order.
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it → expose → order
This could be needed, given the strength of South Africa's bowling attack with Harmer, Jansen and Kagiso Rabada, backed up by Wiaan Mulder.
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This → need → Mulder
The exception, the second Test when he made an epic 179 to turn the series on its head, came when Australia left out their premier tweaker Nathan Lyon.
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Australia → make → tweaker
Up until the start of 2025, Bavuma averaged 46.85 against spin but since then his record drops to 21.37.
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record → average → 21.37
That drops to 15.00 against off-spin and 12.16 when such bowlers are coming over the wicket.
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bowlers → drop → wicket
More broadly and despite victory, South Africa's problems against the short ball were laid bare again in the third Test when seven of their wickets came when playing the hook or pull.
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seven → lay → hook
It is a problem that has often hampered England but West Indies and Afghanistan are the only sides averaging worse against short balls in Tests over the past four years.
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Indies → hamper → years
Another trend to emerge from Australia's visit was the importance of lower-order runs.
In their first-Test victory, Australia added 266 runs after the sixth wicket fell in their first innings.
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wicket → emerge → innings
In the second Test, South Africa added 315 in the same period while in the second innings of the third Test they added 206 for the last five wickets - something that effectively won them the Test and series.
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that → add → Test
With the ball repeatedly getting soft as innings wore on, wicket-taking became more difficult.
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taking → get → ?
Wickets fell once every 60 balls after the ball was 40 overs old in this series, compared to once every 37 balls in England's series against New Zealand earlier in the summer.
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ball → fall → summer
In recent years, England's lower order have attacked in an attempt to score quick runs.
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order → attack → runs
This series showed the benefit of the lower order batting time, sticking around for the top-order batters and stretching out an innings.
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series → show → innings
Find ways to get Renshaw out
One of Australia's positives from their series defeat was the batting of Matt Renshaw.
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One → find → Renshaw
With issues to solve elsewhere - most notably at number three where Marnus Labuschagne has gone 49 innings without a Test century and now looks likely to lose his place - Renshaw batted well enough to be given an extended run at the top of the order.
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Renshaw → solve → order
His 190 in the first Test came at number five, but 74 in the third as opener suggested Australia's long-running bid to replace David Warner may finally be over.
uncertain
bid → come → Warner
Before the Ashes next summer, England face Australia in the one-off 150th anniversary Test in Melbourne in March.
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England → face → March
Root's men, under the new leadership of Stephen Fleming, can use that match to test plans to dismiss Renshaw.
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men → use → Renshaw
While the left-hander was born in Yorkshire, he has never played against England.
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he → bear → England
He averages a solid 42.69 in first-class cricket in the County Championship.
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He → average → Championship
England will need to locate a weakness by the time the Ashes begins.
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Ashes → need → time
The Aporia
