Ahhhh! What a glorious Summer. That is if you are South African or if you love to see Australian cricket taking a boot in the ribs, head and groin. Yes we are down and writhing in pain.

We only managed to win one test — the final test in a dead rubber — and one limited overs match. We did win both 20-20 matches but that only emphasizes my point really. The South Africans even sent a second eleven onto the park last night. Didn’t matter to us. We managed to lose as badly as we did on Australia Day, thank you very much. Even I gave up hope when the asking rate went over three runs per over.

So where now? Losing the series 4-1 means that our number one ranking is gone. We can regain it by winning the first one-dayer against New Zealand tomorrow but we don’t deserve it. Besides, given our performance so far, a victory against New Zealand is far from a given. Our top order, with the exception of Ricky Ponting, has failed consistently this Summer and even Ricky failed to capitalize on good starts more often than not. This is, ironically, the only bright spot for us – the top order can’t keep failing. Right? Right? So our batting will improve. Just don’t talk about the bowling.

We had to win the match to level the series. We may have lost our test cricket muscle but we were still a formidable one day side. Supposedly. The Australia I know didn’t even show up. Where was the intensity? The determination? The common sense? Australia Day should have seen all of that but we insisted on inviting South Africa to the party. They came and they watched the host staggering around and falling all over. Then they stole the silverware.

Watching Australia bat was an exercise in torture once Ponting and Mike Hussey lost their wickets. The level of ineptitude displayed by our middle order was breathtaking. They heaved. They flailed. They missed. On a good batting deck, in front of a parochial Australia Day crowd, we could only manage 28 off a slow bowler’s ten overs. We now have the happy knack of setting up scores in excess of three hundred only to fall well short. Spectacularly short in this case. The final score of 222 was an apology of a run chase: “sorry about making you bat lads but they did pay their money.”

I didn’t get a chance to further torture myself by watching our bowlers trying to defend 222. I might have lost a perfectly good flat screen TV if I had. South Africa only lost two wickets. They passed the total with more than ten overs to spare. I wonder if we can even defend 400.

Well done, South Africa.

Australia, take a good, long look at yourselves.

The series was lost but the final test match at Sydney was very much alive. For Australia there was a chance to restore a litlte pride; for South Africa there was a chance to wrest the number one spot in the world rankings. What we got was another wonderful example of the best that only test match cricket can offer.

The roller coaster ride that began in Perth and continued in Melbourne didn’t stop at Sydney. Every time one side looked like taking the initiative the other side would wrest it back. This was test cricket at its very best and when Ponting declared with Australia 375 ahead he gave us every opportunity for a finale that was worthy of a remarkable series.

Granted, the pitch was dicier than both Perth and Melbourne. Granted, the injured Graham Smith was unlikely to bat, so South Africa were effectively one wicket down before they even began the second innings. The question was not so much could South Africa win but could Australia take nine wickets — or ten if Smith decided to fight through pain.

The scorecard shows that the Aussies did take the wickets. The scorecard does not show the drama that we witnessed after tea: the threatening dark clouds; the ninth wicket stand between Steyn and Ntini that took their team to within ten overs of saving the match; the fact that Smith braved the pain in his finger to try and save the match. These are memories that will live on long after the shorter games are forgotten.

So well done South Africa for winning the series in such emphatic style and grace. Well done Australia for salvaging some pride in the final test. The world rankings show Australia still at number one. What this summer has shown is that the ranking is shaky. The prospects are exciting for world cricket.

Long live test cricket.