The most enduring memories of ODIs between Australia and South Africa invoke the shock of seeing Allan Donald inexplicably rooted at the non-striker’s end in a tied World Cup semifinal in 1999 and the thrill of a Protean pursuit of a record 435 in 2006 at Johannesburg in a match that gave 50-over cricket its first taste of 400-plus totals.
Between these events and beyond, South Africa has reinforced its ‘choker’ tag while Australia has added four World Cup titles.
But with the winds of change blowing across cricketing meadows and knocking down cherished ideals and dogmas, South Africa is showing signs of shedding that tag and injecting life into the one-dayers.
