South Africa vs. Australia: Player Ratings for Proteas, 1st Test at Centurion
South Africa got absolutely hammered in the first Test against Australia, losing by 281 runs. Given it was a collective effort of poor batting and superb bowling from Mitchell Johnson, no one can really be spared from the ratings.
If awarding marks with the heart, everyone except Dale Steyn and AB de Villiers would get a big fat zero, but some logic still exists on these pages.
There is no exact science to ratings, and in a massive loss like this, how much a player contributed to help avoid complete embarrassment goes a long way.
The rest is based on whether the player in question actually managed to do anything right. In this annihilation, very few did.
Graeme Smith
1 of 11
With the bat: 10, 4
Rating: 3/10
Graeme Smith had faced Mitchell Johnson before. He'd had his hand broken by my Mitchell Johnson before. But he's never faced Johnson on this kind of hot streak before.
No matter how assertive you want to be against a bowler being so fierce, you don't go around just hooking him.
Smith was perhaps somewhat unlucky getting out playing his favourite shot in the second innings, with only a miraculous catch preventing four runs, but overall, it was a tough time out for the skipper with the bat.
It's probably somewhat unfair to mark him so low, since both dismissals were somewhat "once in a lifetime," but a little bit more patience and awareness from Smith would have gone a long way to helping South Africa settle.
And then as captain, of course, there was the decision to bat first on a flattish track with loads of hot weather to look forward to. Michael Clarke was happy to bat first—justifiably so.
Alviro Petersen
2 of 11
With the bat: 2, 1
Rating: 1/10
It's been over a year since Alviro Petersen scored a hundred in a Test match. In his last 15 innings, he's averaged just a touch over 20. In the first innings, he played a loose shot to get out against an average ball, and the rot started.
In the second innings, Petersen didn't have much choice but to prod at the ball he got, but he doesn't have a lot of credit in the bank.
He also dropped a catch. David Warner was given so many lives, he might as well have been playing cricket in his backyard. Petersen was one of the culprits and dropped Warner when he was on 27 in the second innings. Warner, of course, went on to score a ton.
Hashim Amla
3 of 11
With the bat: 17, 35
Rating: 4/10
Something about Hashim Amla hasn't looked quite right since South Africa played India. Maybe it's the new baby, born in October, keeping him up at night. He was one of the few players who managed to look somewhat decent during the Test, but he simply couldn't convert either start.
A review in the first innings saw him dismissed leg before, and after starting solidly in the second innings, he was foxed into a rash shot by Ryan Harris.
A couple of fielding errors as a result of South Africa's frustration mean although Amla had one of the better outings of the team, he is still stuck with a low ranking.
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Faf du Plessis
4 of 11
With the bat: 3, 18
Rating: 4/10
Faf du Plessis had a very "what if" Test. The ball which dismissed him in the first innings was a snorter, with even Mitchell Johnson admitting in the post-match press conference to being surprised by the bounce.
In the second innings, du Plessis was showing signs of his doggedness until he was undone by Peter Siddle.
To be fair to du Plessis, the ball which got him was a really good delivery and kept desperately low. Although it was "umpire's call" when examined by review, very few umpires would give it not out. Du Plessis was perhaps one of the unluckiest players of the lot, and although luck can go some way in helping you win Test matches, it had other ideas for him.
AB de Villiers
5 of 11
With the bat: 91, 48
Rating: 7/10
AB de Villiers is a freakish player in the best possible way. He is stupendously talented and, at present, just can't seem to do anything wrong. If he's not breaking records, he's making the best bowler in the world on form look like a backyard cricketer.
If it weren't for de Villiers' efforts with the bat, both in the first innings and the second, South Africa would have been far more embarrassed. In annihilations such as these, players who were head and shoulders above their teammates deserve to be singled out, and de Villiers looked like he was playing on a different pitch and against different opposition compared to his teammates.
In his first innings, he scored 43 off 50 of his runs off Johnson, and that was when Australia's pace ace was at his most fierce. De Villiers not only deserves the highest ranking of the team, but also deserves a key to Centurion.
JP Duminy
6 of 11
With the bat: 25, 10
Rating: 3/10
JP Duminy's position in the side is somewhat dubious. Although he certainly has the talent and the ability to perform an all-round role, he hasn't contributed as much as he should with the bat as of late. His efforts against Australia, although admirable, were all undone by poor shot selection.
In the first innings, he was perhaps somewhat unlucky, although irresponsible. Duminy tried to go after Nathan Lyon, didn't quite middle it and was only out thanks to a startling catch from Johnson. Still, with the team in trouble, was it really needed to play a shot like that?
The second innings was probably one of the most important knocks of Duminy's career.
He had a chance to prove that he has the bottle to be a fixture in the Test team, and he got off to a good start, digging in for 10 off 59 balls. Then he hit the ball straight short leg, where Alex Doolan took another wonderful catch. Although it was hit well enough to earn four on any other occasion, the lack of awareness of that fielder being there wasn't quite up to scratch.
He still has plenty to prove.
Ryan McLaren
7 of 11
With the bat: 8, 6
With the ball: 2-72, 0-47
Rating: 4/10
Poor Ryan McLaren had a torrid return to Test cricket. He probably bowled just one spell that was really impressive. Although he took two wickets, this Test isn't something in which he'll be remembered for his bowling.
He won't really be remembered for his batting either, though, because it was horrid.
An inside edge off Johnson in the first innings and a passive poke for an edge through to the keeper in the second made it a Test return McLaren would rather forget.
He gets a boost in his rating for his bravery in getting up after he got pinned by a Johnson bouncer. Despite bleeding and needing treatment, McLaren got up and soldiered on, even if he was dismissed not long after.
Robin Peterson
8 of 11
With the ball: 2-49, 1-87
Rating: 3/10
Robin Peterson may have picked up the important wicket of Brad Haddin, but he failed in his role of being a containing bowler. Far too often in his spells, Peterson would get whacked all over the place.
After a tough first innings, he fared still worse in the second innings, where his economy rate was 4.57. Usually, Peterson can justify his innocuous performances with the ball by doing something with the bat, but he didn't have that to fall back on this time around.
Peterson could only manage 10 and 21. Both deliveries that got him out were good ones, and although it was all part of a cataclysmic collapse, Peterson's lollipop bowling is probably what he'll be remembered for.
Vernon Philander
9 of 11
With the ball: 1-69, 0-28
Rating: 5/10
South Africa's bowling attack didn't look like the No. 1 attack in the world. Vernon Philander, a key part of that line-up, was economical—but perhaps only because there was so much negative bowling, allowing Australia's batsmen to leave quite often.
Still, under the circumstances, Philander applied himself well. And just to add a little bit of fun to the losing equation, he added an unbeaten 26 off 18 to South Africa's second innings total—not by any means significant but enough to send a message that he was not daunted by the Baggy Greens.
Philander can improve on his fitness, though. He doesn't get through nearly enough overs at present. Although he had a mild case of flu on the first day, he needs to bowl more. If Philander ups his workload, Morne Morkel can change his role to be that same kind of enforcer that Johnson has become for Australia.
Dale Steyn
10 of 11
With the ball: 4-78, 2-61
Rating: 6/10
Even with the runs—and not those kinds of runs—Dale Steyn still managed to take four wickets in the first innings.
Steyn slumped a bit in the second innings, but that might have been down to some negative tactics from South Africa as the game slipped away. Perhaps the hosts just wanted the Aussies to declare and get it over with.
Still, Steyn remains the spearhead of the South African attack, and although he looked a bit off this Tests, he was still one of the keys for the hosts. His batting didn't provide the usual cheeky boost, but it's hard for even the most audacious wannabe batsman to hit out when you're up against bodyline bowling.
Morne Morkel
11 of 11
With the ball: 1-73, 0-38
Rating: 4/10
By his standards, Morne Morkel had a poor Test. Morkel is usually superb at turning the screw to help the wickets fall, but it wasn't quite the case in this Test. You can't really blame him for trying to be more aggressive when the spinners are being whacked all over the show.
Morkel's first innings economy rate was over 3.00, a rare sight for him these days. Morkel has become the king of keeping things tight, but it wasn't on show at Centurion.
What he did manage, though, was a few fierce and fast bouncers. His extra height really aids that approach, and if only South Africa could find a containing bowler, Morkel would have free reign to be just that little bit more aggressive.
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