Smith proposes Ponting disposes

A 19th century record was broken with sweat-free ease as the SCG conditions and the match turned dramatically. Australia were behind from the second session of the opening day, but they were buoyed by Graeme Smith's courageous and positive declaration, and when the sun came out and the pitch flattened they cantered to a 2-0 series victory. It was a shame the finish of a gripping series came too easily.

Pushed to five days in three consecutive Tests, Australia have survived the constant harassment from worthy opponents and regained their pre-Ashes reputation for success. Ricky Ponting made sure of it by becoming the first player to mark his 100th Test with twin centuries in a match neither captain will forget easily. With Matthew Hayden by his side for most of the time, Ponting strode towards the target of 287 and achieved it with eight spare wickets.

History told Smith to be aggressive - the previous largest SCG chase came in 1897-98 when Australia reached 276 against England - and he went against his country's conservative instincts to gamble on a closure that gave both sides hope of victory. Ponting grabbed at the charity and within 61 overs, more than 15 short of the day's minimum requirement, had led his sixth victory in seven home Tests this summer with an unbeaten 143.

The chase began slowly as the opening bowlers swung the ball sharply - no delivery was better than Charl Langeveldt's inswinger to hit Justin Langer's middle stump - but as Ponting arrived in a shower of pulling and driving the rain that regularly disrupted the Test disappeared. Australia were fortunate with the weather change, and they also benefited from the umpiring errors on the third day, which disappointed Mickey Arthur, the visitors' coach, who was cleared of a code of conduct breach this morning.

Scoring 75 in 11 overs after lunch, Ponting and Hayden, who muscled his way to 90, swept the game away from South Africa in a shocking manner. Each bowler was punished and none of Smith's subsequent dice-throwing was successful as Ponting left Allan Border on 27 Test centuries and adjusted his sights on Bradman's 29.

He is already Australia's modern version of The Don, a superb No. 3 who guides his team through batting deeds. In Ponting's last 52 Tests, the same number as Bradman played in his career, he has scored 5386 runs at 70.86 with 20 hundreds. He still can't reach Bradman's shadow, but it is an incredible record for the 21st century.

While Ponting, the Man of the Match and Player of the Series, danced and grinned, Smith grimaced. The demoralising loss may haunt him. It shouldn't, even though the declaration sped from competitive to sporting to generous to ridiculous. Aggressive decisions can backfire and if he wants to match Australia in the three-Test series in South Africa in March he can't hold conservative cards.

What Smith really needed was more runs, and the stalling of the batting progress on the second and fourth days cost his side today. A series finished in 21 days has offered South Africa many valuable lessons and showed they can hold the gaze of their opponents. The result was 2-0, but South Africa ensured it was not a walkover like the lead-up Super Test and West Indies series, and their competitiveness enlivened the summer.