South Africa seek missing ingredient

Andre Nel squared up to Adam Gilchrist during the batsman's assault late on the fourth day © Getty Images

Not for the first time this winter, South Africa have been outwitted and outplayed and, requiring an unlikely 410 to square the series, questions must be asked of their resilience in the face of a confident, bullish team such as Australia. A side so evidently passionate to make their mark on the world, South Africa have matched Australia's verbal volleys in the dressing-room, but fallen short on the pitch with Ricky Ponting's aggressive tactics exposing worrying flaws in their makeup.

As disappointing as they have been, it is also somewhat of a surprise that South Africa have allowed Australia to be so dominant. Aside from their personnel - an astute leader in Graeme Smith, a run machine in Jacques Kallis and the inimitable Shaun Pollock - just two weeks ago they successfully chased down 435 to win that most extraordinary of one-day matches. Herschelle Gibbs' blitzkrieg innings of 175 ought to have lit up South Africa's summer; provided them with momentum and bounce and, crucially, proved to them that Australia are mortal. So far this series, and especially in this Test, the only bounce evident has come from the odd delivery from Makhaya Ntini. Australia have ruled in every sense. And all this without Glenn McGrath.

However, you sensed South Africa knew their one-day triumph was a one-off; that the thrill and euphoria owed as much to the alignment of the stars than the alignment of Gibbs' bat. And so it has proved. A golden opportunity to gain the upper hand in the Test series was lost at Cape Town. In preparing a pitch more suited for seam than spin - in an attempt to counter Shane Warne - they fell foul to a metronomic journeyman, Stuart Clark, making his debut. In a blink of an eye, the euphoria had been replaced with, well, normality.

Similarly here at Durban, they have failed to grasp the key moment of a session in which to attack. After going wicketless before lunch, they watched Ponting better his first-innings hundred with a sublime 116 and, in doing so, became the second man behind Sunil Gavaskar to hit twin-centuries in a match for the third time. South Africa lacked spark and spunk and were drifting - where was the fight, the aggression and the 'brave' cricket which Smith and his coach, Mickey Arthur, spoke about before the series?

For all Smith's admirable punch as a leader and his passionate patriotism, he desperately needs a go-to man. When his side are up against it, Kallis invariably digs them out with a backs-to-the wall hundred, but there lacks dynamism in South Africa's play. Gibbs, too, has had glittering moments in his career - not least in that one-dayer - but has not scored a Test century since January 2005. Indeed, perhaps more worrying are his mode of dismissals: in his last three innings, Australia have crashed through his defence with ease.

Of all his men, Andre Nel is perhaps Smith's most outspoken player, bristling with pride and passion. However today, the passion bubbled over into farce when, faced with a pumped-up Adam Gilchrist - which, to be fair, is a far from comforting sight as a bowler - he fell victim to a controlled assault by the batsman. Gilchrist hit him for 22 in a single over, prompting Nel to launch a tirade of abuse - some of it audible to the stump mic. That Gilchrist was to fall two runs later, caught by Nel in the deep, was beside the point: South Africa were clearly rattled, and Australia knew it. Not so much brave cricket as thoughtless and slightly desperate.

As the gloom descended on Kingsmead, a similar shadow is cast over South Africa's dressing-room. In times of desperation, South Africa could do worse than apply the same go-for-broke attitude which won them the most unlikely of one-dayers. Playing for the draw will not be playing the Australians at their own game - something which, so far this series, South Africa have failed to do.