Australia ride on bowling resurgence

Australia may have suffered their first innings defeat in more than ten years, but they won the Test series convincingly, dominating every aspect of the game and ensuring that the contest - while enthralling at most times - was far less competitive than the one witnessed at home just a few months ago. Then, the two teams had fought an even game for most of the three Tests but in South Africa, the differences were glaring. The average first-innings lead in this series was over 300 - the lead exceeded 200 in each of the three Tests - and the clear favourite had emerged well before the games had reached their halfway stage.

South Africa's defeat was a result of their failure to compete in the very areas they dominated in their 2-1 win in Australia. Their top-six wickets struggled to build partnerships and the lower order failed to resist. Their bowlers faced a stiffer challenge from the Australian batsmen, and once again, they found it difficult to dismantle the tail which rallied around Mitchell Johnson, who completed a successful transition from a frontline bowler to a full-fledged allrounder.

In their defeats in Johannesburg and Kingsmead, South Africa's top six wickets averaged 34.04 per stand, as opposed to 57.41 in Perth and Melbourne. The 187-run third-wicket stand between Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers in Durban was their only century-partnership in the first two Tests. Boosted by the 180-run stand between JP Duminy and Dale Steyn in the Melbourne win, South Africa's last four wickets added 45.12 in the first two Tests in Australia, but crumbled here, adding just a little over 14 runs-per-wicket. (Click for South Africa's partnership averages for all three Tests in this series and in Australia.) The figures for the first six Australian wickets, compared to their performance in Australia, are markedly different, proving crucial in the outcome. (Click for Australia's partnership averages for the three Tests in this series and in Australia)

South Africa's bowlers were dealt with well and their statistics bear a significant decline from their impressive display in Australia. Steyn conceded 13 more runs-per-wicket than he did in the first two Tests in Perth and Melbourne, and though Makhaya Ntini and Jacques Kallis bowled better, the failure of their strike bowler to deliver cost them. Though Paul Harris bagged a career best 6 for 127 in Cape Town, he managed just five wickets in the first two Tests. (Click for South Africa's batting and bowling records for all three Tests this series and in Australia)

For Australia, the figures tell a different story. Johnson was even more effective this series, following up on his stellar display in Australia, but the decisive factor for his team was the support he received from Peter Siddle, something that he was deprived of in Perth and Melbourne. Then, Brett Lee averaged 204, Siddle was not as peneterative, and the spinners failed badly. However, in this series, Siddle had the best average - among frontline bowlers in the first two Tests - and even Andrew Macdonald hit the spotlight with a three-wicket burst in Durban. (Click for Australia's batting and bowling records for all three Tests in this series and in Australia)

The emergence of Phillip Hughes and Marcus North proved timely for Australia, and eased the burden off Ricky Ponting, who was among the runs in the first two Tests of this series.

For South Africa, the problem lay with the performance of their top-order. Graeme Smith, Neil McKenzie and Hashim Amla, who all contributed significantly to their team's success in Australia, faltered this time around, especially in the first innings when they needed strong starts in response to substantial totals set by Australia. de Villiers was consistent and Kallis put in an improved effort but with little support from the rest, their efforts were inadequate.

Head-to-head contests

Johnson got the better of most of the South African batsmen over the last three months, but one player clearly won the battle against him: de Villiers faced 270 deliveries from Johnson over the two series, but was dismissed only once, scoring 130 runs in the process. South Africa's premier batsman could do worse than take some tips from him the next time they face Australia - Kallis was dismissed five times in 256 deliveries, and averaged 16 runs per dismissal. Duminy struggled too, averaging a shade more than 20.

Ponting handled South Africa's best bowler quite superbly, though: in 146 balls he scored 115, a run-rate of 4.73 per over, and fell to him only once. Hughes had plenty of success too against Steyn, but the going wasn't as smooth for the two Michaels, Clarke and Hussey. Hussey, especially, had a terrible time, averaging 11.25 against Steyn over the two series. In the battle between the two fast bowlers, Johnson did an excellent job against Steyn, scoring 63 from 55 in the series in South Africa, and averaging 39 over the two series.

Johnson had excellent numbers against Harris too, while more than one specialist batsman struggled against him: Ponting averaged 23 against him, while Clarke fell to him four times and averaged less than 32.