Batting		R	B	M	4s	6s	SR
Matthew Hayden	c Duminy b Ntini	8	17	31	1	0	47.05

Simon Katich	b Steyn	54	109	153	6	0	49.54

Ricky Ponting (c)	c Amla b Harris	101	126	197	10	1	80.15

Michael Hussey	c †Boucher b Steyn	0	9	16	0	0	0.00

Michael Clarke	not out	88	208	330	4	1	42.30
Andrew Symonds	c Kallis b Morkel	27	55	56	3	0	49.09

Brad Haddin †	c Smith b Ntini	40	71	88	5	0	56.33

Brett Lee	c Kallis b Steyn	21	21	33	5	0	100.00

Mitchell Johnson	b Steyn	0	3	3	0	0	0.00

Nathan Hauritz	c Smith b Steyn	12	21	29	2	0	57.14

Peter Siddle	c de Villiers b Kallis	19	49	54	1	0	38.77

Extras	(b 5, lb 12, nb 7)	24
Total	113.4 Ov (RR: 3.46, 500 Mins)	394
Fall of wickets: 1-21 (Matthew Hayden, 7.2 ov), 2-128 (Simon Katich, 33.6 ov), 3-143 (Michael Hussey, 37.3 ov), 4-184 (Ricky Ponting, 51.2 ov), 5-223 (Andrew Symonds, 66.1 ov), 6-277 (Brad Haddin, 88.3 ov), 7-322 (Brett Lee, 95.2 ov), 8-326 (Mitchell Johnson, 95.5 ov), 9-352 (Nathan Hauritz, 101.5 ov), 10-394 (Peter Siddle, 113.4 ov)

Bowling	O	M	R	W	ECON	0s	4s	6s	WD	NB
Dale Steyn	29	6	87	5	3.00	136	9	0	0	0
33.6 to SM Katich, bowled him! Steyn pitches the ball on a good length and angles it into the left-hander, Katich moves across and tries to drive on the up through the off side, the angle into him forces the inside edge and the ball thuds into the stumps off the bat, South Africa have struck just when Australia were getting away. 128/2 37.3 to MEK Hussey, caught! Hussey was in two minds whether to leave the ball or not, he began to push forward to a good length ball just outside off stump but then decided to lift his bat out of the way, he was late in doing so and the ball clipped the bottom of his bat and went through to Boucher who took an easy catch. 143/3 95.2 to B Lee, but the fun is over for Lee, courtesy a sharp catch from Kallis at second slip! Steyn comes back after going for a boundary, pitching the ball up and inviting the drive, gets the ball to move, Lee doesn't play it well at all and gets a thick outside edge to Kallis who cups it in front of his face. 322/7 95.5 to MG Johnson, see, thats all you need to do, Steyn, its simple ... pitch it on the stumps! The change of angle eventually works after two wayward deliveries to Johnson, who gets one on a near-perfect length, watches it swing a shade, doesn't defend in time and loses his stumps. 326/8 101.5 to NM Hauritz, edged and it doesn't carry, or does it? Steyn draws a regulation thick outside edge off the bat as Hauritz plays off the back foot, which starts dipping on Smith at first slip as Boucher doesn't go for it ... the ball hits the fingers on the full, sort of jamming them, Smith is not sure and so the two umpires get together and after some communication with the television umpire it is decided that Smith took it cleanly ... still some confusion but Hauritz has to go, I saw replays a couple times and it looked a very tough call to make .. it looked like Smith jammed his fingers under the ball in time, though he was quick to say he wasn't sure. 352/9
Makhaya Ntini	27	7	108	2	4.00	114	14	1	0	1
7.2 to ML Hayden, caught! Loose drive from Hayden and he's fallen at his fortress! He moves forward to drive a good length ball which moves away from him a touch, he slices it in the air straight to Duminy at point who takes a pretty simple catch, a hush falls over the tens of thousands of fans at the MCG. 21/1 88.3 to BJ Haddin, edged and caught! Ntini has struck a vital late blow! He pitched it on a good length outside off and got the ball to straighten off the pitch, Haddin got on the front foot and drove away from his body, the ball flew off the outside edge towards Smith at first slip who held a sharp catch towards his right. 277/6
Jacques Kallis	18.4	4	55	1	2.94	84	3	0	0	0
113.4 to PM Siddle, nicked to second slip and thats the end of the innings! Kallis ends Siddle's impressive resistance with another shortish delivery which squares up Siddle, who edges into de Villiers' lap, so no century for a stranded Michael Clarke. 394/10
Morne Morkel	22	3	89	1	4.04	97	8	1	0	6
66.1 to A Symonds, gone! that was short outside off, Symonds tries to cut that powerfully towards point, gets a thick outside edge and Kallis dives well to his right at second slip to pouch onto a sharp chance. Australia five down now and McKenzie can breathe easy. 223/5
Paul Harris	17	3	38	1	2.23	78	3	0	0	0
51.2 to RT Ponting, caught! In the last over before tea! Ponting lunges forward at one that angles into him, he gets an inside edge on to the pad and it bobs up to Amla to short leg who takes an easy catch, what a boost for South Africa. 184/4

South Africa 1st Innings

Batting		R	B	M	4s	6s	SR
Graeme Smith (c)	c †Haddin b Siddle	62	113	166	6	0	54.86

Neil McKenzie	b Siddle	0	5	7	0	0	0.00

Hashim Amla	c Symonds b Johnson	19	30	35	1	0	63.33

Jacques Kallis	c †Haddin b Hauritz	26	53	81	2	0	49.05

AB de Villiers	b Siddle	7	51	57	0	0	13.72

Jean-Paul Duminy	c Siddle b Hauritz	166	340	448	18	0	48.82

Mark Boucher †	c Hussey b Hauritz	3	15	22	0	0	20.00

Morne Morkel	b Johnson	21	39	45	4	0	53.84

Paul Harris	c Johnson b Hussey	39	67	74	4	0	58.20

Dale Steyn	b Siddle	76	191	238	9	1	39.79

Makhaya Ntini	not out	2	29	49	0	0	6.89
Extras	(b 5, lb 13, nb 15, pen 5)	38
Total	153 Ov (RR: 3.00, 615 Mins)	459
Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Neil McKenzie, 1.4 ov), 2-39 (Hashim Amla, 8.3 ov), 3-102 (Jacques Kallis, 26.4 ov), 4-126 (Graeme Smith, 37.6 ov), 5-132 (AB de Villiers, 41.5 ov), 6-141 (Mark Boucher, 46.4 ov), 7-184 (Morne Morkel, 57.1 ov), 8-251 (Paul Harris, 77.5 ov), 9-431 (Dale Steyn, 141.3 ov), 10-459 (Jean-Paul Duminy, 152.6 ov)

Bowling	O	M	R	W	ECON	0s	4s	6s	WD	NB
Brett Lee	13	2	68	0	5.23	55	7	0	0	7
Peter Siddle	34	9	81	4	2.38	167	9	0	0	4
1.4 to ND McKenzie, he's bowled him! Siddle succeeds in the first over, justifying Ponting's move to hand him the new ball ahead of Johnson, McKenzie's woeful form continues as he plays all over one pitching on length and deviating fractionally back into him, he was rooted to the crease and playing down the wrong line and the ball hit the top of off stump. 1/1 37.6 to GC Smith, edged and taken! Siddle dismisses Smith by following up with a half-volley, real wide of off stump and Smith admonishes himself for falling to such a poor delivery, nicking to Haddin. 126/4 41.5 to AB de Villiers, he's on a roll is Siddle, and he's being mobbed in the middle! He pitches on a length, jags it back ever so little and, like McKenzie, de Villiers is beaten for pace and hears the ball clip off stump, while Siddle goes red-faced in exaggerated appeal for the lbw only to realize he's bowled the batsman when his team-mates converge on him. 132/5 141.3 to DW Steyn, finally, finally, Australia have a wicket! Siddle bowls a fast and full delivery that swings into the right-hander, Steyn defends down the wrong line and the ball seams through the bat-pad gap and hits middle stump. 431/9
Mitchell Johnson	39	6	127	2	3.25	177	14	0	0	3
8.3 to HM Amla, oh well held Symonds! Johnson gives Amla room outside off stump and he crashes the cut rather forcefully but Symonds intercepts it at backward point in front of his chest. 39/2 57.1 to M Morkel, and he cleans up Morkel first ball! A punchy innings comes to an end with a Johnson specialty, the full attempted yorker, drawing the thinnest of inside-edges onto off stump. 184/7
Nathan Hauritz	43	13	98	3	2.27	209	8	1	0	1
26.4 to JH Kallis, massive strike on the stroke of tea! Kallis perishes to the sweep, lobbing the ball up off bat, glove, then forearm and offering the dolliest of catches to Haddin and Australia celebrate. 102/3 46.4 to MV Boucher, and he goes sweeping! Hauritz picks up a second wicket with a batsman perishing to this shot, though Boucher's attempt was far more attacking than what Kallis had tried to play, he gave the ball a mighty thump but straight to Hussey at square leg who intercepted it. 141/6 152.6 to JP Duminy, and he's been caught! Duminy tries to sweep once again from outside off but gets a top edge that lobs up towards Siddle at short fine leg, he's gone for 166, I'll stick my neck out and say it's probably the best innings he'll ever play!. 459/10
Michael Clarke	8	0	26	0	3.25	34	4	0	0	0
Michael Hussey	5	0	22	1	4.40	17	2	0	0	0
77.5 to PL Harris, caught! Harris plays one attacking shot too many! He lines Hussey up and lofts the ball over mid-on, he hasn't timed it well though and Johnson runs back from mid-on and takes a well-judged catch while looking over his shoulder. 251/8
Andrew Symonds	11	3	14	0	1.27	54	0	0	0	0

Australia 2nd Innings

Batting		R	B	M	4s	6s	SR
Matthew Hayden	c Duminy b Steyn	23	28	48	3	0	82.14

Simon Katich	c †Boucher b Steyn	15	40	57	2	0	37.50

Ricky Ponting (c)	c Smith b Morkel	99	169	257	7	0	58.57

Michael Hussey	c Amla b Morkel	2	8	15	0	0	25.00

Michael Clarke	c McKenzie b Steyn	29	79	113	4	0	36.70

Andrew Symonds	c Kallis b Steyn	0	5	4	0	0	0.00

Brad Haddin †	c Kallis b Ntini	10	35	38	0	1	28.57

Brett Lee	b Kallis	8	21	23	1	0	38.09

Mitchell Johnson	not out	43	85	111	5	0	50.58
Nathan Hauritz	b Kallis	3	23	33	0	0	13.04

Peter Siddle	c †Boucher b Steyn	6	18	25	0	0	33.33

Extras	(b 1, lb 3, nb 5)	9
Total	84.2 Ov (RR: 2.92, 370 Mins)	247
Fall of wickets: 1-37 (Matthew Hayden, 10.4 ov), 2-40 (Simon Katich, 12.2 ov), 3-49 (Michael Hussey, 15.3 ov), 4-145 (Michael Clarke, 43.1 ov), 5-145 (Andrew Symonds, 43.6 ov), 6-165 (Brad Haddin, 53.1 ov), 7-180 (Brett Lee, 58.3 ov), 8-212 (Ricky Ponting, 71.3 ov), 9-231 (Nathan Hauritz, 78.6 ov), 10-247 (Peter Siddle, 84.2 ov)

Bowling	O	M	R	W	ECON	0s	4s	6s	WD	NB
Dale Steyn	20.2	3	67	5	3.29	93	5	0	0	1
10.4 to ML Hayden, and he's gone! Smart captaincy from Smith to put in a short extra cover, Steyn pitches just back of a length and an aggressive Hayden drives it straight into Duminy's lap. 37/1 12.2 to SM Katich, edged and gone, and a silly shot! Katich sees a full and wide ball and chases it only to get a faint edge through to Boucher, who dives to pouch it low to his left, well held there. 40/2 43.1 to MJ Clarke, a sharp catch to a short ball! This pretty much sums up Clarke's innings, as he gets back and reaches out to slap a short and wide ball off the lower half of the bat to short cover, where McKenzie dives to his left and cups the catch. 145/4 43.6 to A Symonds, now thats well taken by Kallis at second slip! A superb delivery to Symonds again, pitched up on nearly a perfect length and a leaden-footed Symonds goes for a duck, pushing hard and sending the ball low to Kallis, who cups it low in front of him. 145/5 84.2 to PM Siddle, 150 wickets from 29 Tests! Steyn bursts into tears after Siddle tickles a shorter off cutter through to Boucher, capping a wonderful Test match, ten wickets and a fifty. 247/10
Makhaya Ntini	14	1	26	1	1.85	69	2	0	0	0
53.1 to BJ Haddin, edged and taken! Ntini gets into the action with a full ball just outside off stump and sucks Haddin forward, the ball bounces a shade and Haddin's wide shot goes nowhere but into the safe hands of Kallis at second slip. 165/6
Morne Morkel	15	2	46	2	3.06	72	6	0	0	4
15.3 to MEK Hussey, he's gone! The MCG is stunned! Morkel gets into the wickets column with a ripper of a short ball, banged in on the stumps to unsettle Hussey, hopping on his crease, the ball rears up and takes his helmet before it balloons up for a simple catch for Amla at midwicket, South Africa celebrate but Hussey and Ponting are livid ... a poor call indeed from Aleem Dar, as ball missed the bat by some distance. 49/3 71.3 to RT Ponting, oh would you believe it? He's gone for 99! Morkel hits a tempting length, up goes Ponting's back foot as he pushes at the ball, and Smith at short cover snaps it up. 212/8
Paul Harris	21	1	47	0	2.23	94	1	1	0	0
Jacques Kallis	14	1	57	2	4.07	58	8	0	0	0
58.3 to B Lee, bowled em and thats Kallis' 250th Test wicket! Lee drives and gets a thin inside edge back onto middle stump and South Africa take tea on a high. 180/7 78.6 to NM Hauritz, bowls em with the off cutter! Hauritz stands rooted and pushes at one that pitches back of a length and breaches his defences, making it 9 for 231. 231/9

South Africa 2nd Innings (T: 183 runs)

Batting		R	B	M	4s	6s	SR
Graeme Smith (c)	lbw b Hauritz	75	94	133	10	0	79.78

Neil McKenzie	not out	59	140	204	3	1	42.14
Hashim Amla	not out	30	62	70	2	0	48.38
Extras	(lb 9, nb 8, w 2)	19
Total	48 Ov (RR: 3.81, 204 Mins)	183/1
Did not bat: Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Dale Steyn, Mark Boucher †, Makhaya Ntini, Morne Morkel, Paul Harris
Fall of wickets: 1-121 (Graeme Smith, 28.5 ov)

Bowling	O	M	R	W	ECON	0s	4s	6s	WD	NB
Brett Lee	10	0	49	0	4.90	45	6	0	0	6
Peter Siddle	14	5	34	0	2.42	68	4	0	0	0
Mitchell Johnson	11	1	36	0	3.27	49	2	0	2	1
Nathan Hauritz	10	0	41	1	4.10	41	2	1	0	1
28.5 to GC Smith, a good shout and Billy Doctrove gives it! A quicker delivery gets Smith playing forward, the bat is just a fraction late to come down, its not a big stride and that ball would have taken out middle and leg, so another excellent innings from Smith comes to an end. 121/1
Michael Clarke	3	0	14	0	4.66	10	1	0	0	0

Unlocking the magic of Statsguru

Close of Play

Fri, 26 Dec - day 1 - Australia 1st innings 280/6 (Michael Clarke 36*, Brett Lee 0*, 90 ov)

Sat, 27 Dec - day 2 - South Africa 1st innings 198/7 (Jean-Paul Duminy 34*, Paul Harris 8*, 63 ov)

Sun, 28 Dec - day 3 - Australia 2nd innings 4/0 (Matthew Hayden 1*, Simon Katich 2*, 3 ov)

Mon, 29 Dec - day 4 - South Africa 2nd innings 30/0 (Graeme Smith 25*, Neil McKenzie 3*, 6 ov)

Tue, 30 Dec - day 5 - South Africa 2nd innings 183/1 (48 ov) - end of match

Match Flow

Day 1

Australia 1st innings
Drinks: Australia - 28/1 in 13.0 overs (SM Katich 17, RT Ponting 3)
Australia: 50 runs in 15.1 overs (92 balls), Extras 1
2nd Wicket: 50 runs in 76 balls (SM Katich 26, RT Ponting 21, Ex 3)
SM Katich: 50 off 84 balls (6 x 4)
Lunch: Australia - 89/1 in 26.0 overs (SM Katich 50, RT Ponting 27)
Australia: 100 runs in 27.6 overs (171 balls), Extras 4
RT Ponting: 50 off 80 balls (4 x 4, 1 x 6)
2nd Wicket: 100 runs in 157 balls (SM Katich 41, RT Ponting 56, Ex 6)
Drinks: Australia - 143/3 in 37.3 overs (RT Ponting 74)
Australia: 150 runs in 41.3 overs (255 balls), Extras 8
RT Ponting: 100 off 119 balls (10 x 4, 1 x 6)
Tea: Australia - 184/4 in 51.2 overs (MJ Clarke 11)
Australia: 200 runs in 56.2 overs (345 balls), Extras 14
Attendance: 63,263
Drinks: Australia - 232/5 in 71.0 overs (MJ Clarke 20, BJ Haddin 8)
Australia: 250 runs in 75.4 overs (461 balls), Extras 14
New Ball Taken: Australia 262/5 after 82.4 overs (MJ Clarke 30, BJ Haddin 28)
6th Wicket: 50 runs in 112 balls (MJ Clarke 13, BJ Haddin 37, Ex 0)
End Of Day: Australia - 280/6 in 90.0 overs (MJ Clarke 36, B Lee 0)
Australia 2nd innings
Attendance: 19847

Day 2

Australia 1st innings
Australia: 300 runs in 93.1 overs (566 balls), Extras 14
MJ Clarke: 50 off 170 balls (2 x 4)
Australia: 350 runs in 101.2 overs (615 balls), Extras 19
Drinks: Australia - 352/9 in 101.5 overs (MJ Clarke 70)
Lunch: Australia - 394/10 in 113.4 overs (MJ Clarke 88)
South Africa 1st innings
South Africa: 50 runs in 13.1 overs (83 balls), Extras 5
Drinks: South Africa - 60/2 in 14.0 overs (GC Smith 27, JH Kallis 9)
3rd Wicket: 50 runs in 83 balls (GC Smith 20, JH Kallis 25, Ex 5)
South Africa: 100 runs in 25.2 overs (160 balls), Extras 10
Tea: South Africa - 102/3 in 26.4 overs (GC Smith 46)
GC Smith: 50 off 90 balls (5 x 4)
Drinks: South Africa - 141/5 in 46.0 overs (JP Duminy 10, MV Boucher 3)
Attendance: 42,800
South Africa: 150 runs in 49.1 overs (307 balls), Extras 14
End Of Day: South Africa - 198/7 in 63.0 overs (JP Duminy 34, PL Harris 8)

Day 3

South Africa: 200 runs in 64.1 overs (399 balls), Extras 18
8th Wicket: 50 runs in 90 balls (JP Duminy 17, PL Harris 33, Ex 3)
JP Duminy: 50 off 87 balls (5 x 4)
South Africa: 250 runs in 77.3 overs (480 balls), Extras 20
Drinks: South Africa - 260/8 in 80.0 overs (JP Duminy 56, DW Steyn 7)
New Ball Taken: South Africa 260/8 after 80.1 overs (JP Duminy 56, DW Steyn 7)
South Africa: 300 runs in 93.2 overs (575 balls), Extras 24
Lunch: South Africa - 304/8 in 94.0 overs (JP Duminy 78, DW Steyn 25)
9th Wicket: 50 runs in 97 balls (JP Duminy 24, DW Steyn 25, Ex 4)
Penalty: 94.5 - Ball striking Fielding Team helmet
DW Steyn: 50 off 102 balls (8 x 4)
South Africa: 350 runs in 110.5 overs (680 balls), Extras 29
9th Wicket: 100 runs in 198 balls (JP Duminy 36, DW Steyn 56, Ex 9)
Drinks: South Africa - 355/8 in 111.0 overs (JP Duminy 90, DW Steyn 56)
JP Duminy: 100 off 222 balls (9 x 4)
Tea: South Africa - 399/8 in 127.0 overs (JP Duminy 120, DW Steyn 70)
South Africa: 400 runs in 127.3 overs (780 balls), Extras 32
9th Wicket: 150 runs in 298 balls (JP Duminy 66, DW Steyn 72, Ex 12)
Drinks: South Africa - 441/9 in 143.0 overs (JP Duminy 150, M Ntini 1)
JP Duminy: 150 off 305 balls (16 x 4)
South Africa: 450 runs in 145.2 overs (887 balls), Extras 37
Innings Break: South Africa - 459/10 in 153.0 overs (M Ntini 2)
Australia 2nd innings
End Of Day: Australia - 4/0 in 3.0 overs (ML Hayden 1, SM Katich 2)

Day 4

Drinks: Australia - 49/3 in 15.3 overs (RT Ponting 8)
Australia: 50 runs in 16.1 overs (98 balls), Extras 1
Lunch: Australia - 86/3 in 30.0 overs (RT Ponting 32, MJ Clarke 9)
Australia: 100 runs in 32.3 overs (197 balls), Extras 5
4th Wicket: 50 runs in 103 balls (RT Ponting 36, MJ Clarke 13, Ex 4)
RT Ponting: 50 off 83 balls (3 x 4)
Drinks: Australia - 145/5 in 44.0 overs (RT Ponting 70)
Australia: 150 runs in 45.5 overs (278 balls), Extras 6
Tea: Australia - 180/7 in 58.3 overs (RT Ponting 87)
Australia: 200 runs in 66.3 overs (402 balls), Extras 6
Drinks: Australia - 228/8 in 77.0 overs (MG Johnson 32, NM Hauritz 2)
New Ball Taken: Australia 238/9 after 80.3 overs (MG Johnson 40, PM Siddle 1)
Innings Break: Australia - 247/10 in 84.2 overs (MG Johnson 43)
South Africa 2nd innings
End Of Day: South Africa - 30/0 in 6.0 overs (GC Smith 25, ND McKenzie 3)

Day 5

South Africa: 50 runs in 11.3 overs (73 balls), Extras 4
1st Wicket: 50 runs in 73 balls (GC Smith 35, ND McKenzie 11, Ex 4)
GC Smith: 50 off 58 balls (9 x 4)
Drinks: South Africa - 82/0 in 19.0 overs (GC Smith 54, ND McKenzie 19)
South Africa: 100 runs in 22.1 overs (140 balls), Extras 11
1st Wicket: 100 runs in 140 balls (GC Smith 60, ND McKenzie 30, Ex 11)
Lunch: South Africa - 132/1 in 33.0 overs (ND McKenzie 37, HM Amla 7)
South Africa: 150 runs in 37.3 overs (234 balls), Extras 18
ND McKenzie: 50 off 118 balls (3 x 4, 1 x 6)
2nd Wicket: 50 runs in 100 balls (ND McKenzie 22, HM Amla 20, Ex 8)

Match Details

Melbourne Cricket Ground
Toss	Australia, elected to bat first
Series	South Africa tour of Australia
Season	2008/09
Player Of The Match	Dale Steyn
Series result	South Africa led the 3-match series 2-0
Match number	Test no. 1902
Hours of play (local time)	10.30am start, Lunch 12.30-13.10, Tea 15.10-15.30, Close 17.30
Match days	26,27,28,29,30 December 2008 - day (5-day match)
Umpires	Aleem Dar Billy Doctrove
TV Umpire	Bruce Oxenford
Reserve Umpire	Tony Ward
Match Referee	Ranjan Madugalle