‘Most mortifying I’ve ever seen’: Brutal verdict on Aussie as great roasts bizarre failed tactic

Cameron Green’s dismissal to Simon Harmer in the second innings of the final Test against South Africa has left an Australian cricket great stunned, after a bizarre tactic to protect the all-rounder backfired.

Australia had seemingly spent 23 overs trying to keep Green away from Harmer, with the Aussie avoiding the South African spinner from the 16th over through to the 39th.

But South Africa had other ideas, switching Harmer to the opposite end, and with the very first ball Green faced from the spinner, he was clean bowled ending his day on 27 runs from 110 deliveries.

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The dismissal left Simon Katich in disbelief, with the former Australian batter struggling to comprehend what had unfolded as Australia slumped to 8/62.

“You can run, but you can’t hide in Test Cricket,” Katich said on SEN.

“South Africa have outsmarted Australia once again in this series. All they had to do was change ends.

“Straight in the rough… bang. Top of off stump, bye-bye.”

Green had returned to the Australian side for the third Test after missing the opening two matches with an abdominal muscle tear, making 65 runs in the first innings before his second-innings dismissal.

But for SEN’s Gerard Whateley, the manner in which Green was dismissed was one of the worst he had witnessed in Test cricket.

“In my time calling Test Cricket, that is the most mortifying wicket I have ever seen,” Whateley said.

“Australia hid its number four from Simon Harmer from the 16th over to the 39th over.

“So, they switched his ends and first ball, Green got clean bowled.”

It was a brilliant tactical move from South African captain Temba Bavuma, who recognised Australia’s attempts to keep Green away from Harmer and made the switch on a wearing day-five pitch.

Australian cricket great Kerry O’Keeffe had warned foxsports.com.au before play about the danger Harmer posed to Australia’s right-handers.

“He bowled pretty well in the first innings, and he’ll trouble the right-handers more because there’s that rough patch outside their off stump,” O’Keeffe told foxsports.com.au before day five’s play.

“The left-handers have it a little bit easier, but he’s a wily customer, and really Harmer’s day will decide the match.”

Harmer did exactly that, finishing with six wickets in the second innings and 10 for the match as South Africa secured the series victory.

But it was the manner of Green’s dismissal that left Whateley stunned, with the SEN commentator issuing a stern warning to Australia over their decision to shield their No.4 batter from the spinner.

“There are certain ways to meet your fate. This is not it for Australia,” Whateley said.

“Do not meet your fate like this, and it is going to be a big part of the postmortems. They are proper postmortems.”

Katich followed with a strong assessment of Australia’s batting struggles, suggesting the problems had been building for some time.

With constant changes, questionable selections and poor performances throughout recent series, Katich questioned the excuses being made for Australia’s struggling batting group.

“This has been brewing for a while,” Katich said.

“If you constantly keep making excuses for the players, guess what? They will latch on to them.

“That has got to change, because it has come from within this set-up and protected this batting group for too long.”

Katich finished with another warning for Australia, who will now turn their attention to a Test series against New Zealand on home soil this summer.

“This is exactly what Matthew Hayden was talking about prior to the series about mediocrity,” Katich said.

“If you are going to allow that mediocrity to grow, this is the sort of performance you get.”

Australia’s batting struggles ultimately proved costly, with South Africa claiming a 2-1 series victory after winning the final Test by 176 runs, following their innings and 31-run victory in the second Test.