South Africa vs Australia, 5th ODI at Johannesburg, Apr 17 2009 - Ball by Ball Commentary

Australia have taken the No.2 spot with that win. They won it comfortably in the end, given the margin, but there was a time when Gibbs and Kallis were going strong, when it seemed South Africa could pull it off.

Barring the top four, who all got starts, there were hardly any contributions from the batsmen who followed. Duminy, Boucher and Morkel all failed to put the match firmly back in Australia's control.

Spin had done the trick for South Africa when they bowled, but it was Bracken who turned things Australia's way with the wicket of Kallis. Not that the Australia spinners were ineffective; Hauritz chipped in with 2 for 34, including the important wicket of Albie towards the end, who was caught stunningly by Laughlin, a wicket that proved critical in the outcome.

Stay put for a couple of minutes and we'll get you the details from the presentation shortly.

Ponting: "It's a good way for us to finish the tour, and to bounce back tonight is good for the group, Hopefully, the guys who will tour the UAE will have a good series against Pakistan. We lost a bit of momentum after a good start, but 303 was always going to be pretty daunting. We have a lot of other guys (Symonds, Lee, Clark) coming back in so the absence of some players will not affect us too much as they go to the UAE. On behalf of the Australian cricket team, I hope the crowd have enjoyed the way we have played. They've been great throughout the series."

Hauritz is the Man of the Match for his allround effort: "It was good to come back and play well today. It is good to finish the series on a high, and it's going to be pretty hot in the UAE so I'm looking forward to playing there."

AB de Villiers is the Man of the Series for his 240 runs in this series at an average of 60.

AB: "It's going pretty well this season. I've been focusing on my batting, and I'm enjoying my cricket at the moment. 303 was gettable but unfortunately, we got bowled out in the end. It's been a long tough season, but that's our job."

Smith: "We would have taken 7-3. It's been a terrific summer, and both teams deserve credit for the way they've played. It's been an interesting summer for me, there have been some highs and lows, but it's been exciting. I'm proud of what this team has achieved over the last 18 months, there have been many firsts. The IPL is going to be exciting and hopefully it will live up to its hype."

Well, that brings to an end an enthralling series of matches between these two teams. South Africa came up trumps in the ODI's in both countries, while the Test honours were shared 3-3. Australia needed this win going into the ODI series in UAE, and some of their younger players, like Hauritz and Laughlin will take hear from their performance as they take on Pakistan fairly soon. Thanks for joining us throughout the summer, and sending us all your feedback. Do join us for the IPL extravaganza that begins tomorrow. Until then, it's goodbye from all of us here at Cricinfo. Take care.

Coming round the wicket now

Apparently, there was a streaker on the field who was taken down, just after the wicket. It was a man.

Johnson's into the attack

Steyn comes in

Nishant: "RE van der Merwe shld take the proteas through...was amazed by his power and skill....the sixes which he tried over mid wicket and the ball flying over the point for six was brilliant !!"