Australia have taken a 1-0 series lead over South Africa after crushing the Proteas by 214 runs in Durban, with Matt Renshaw's extraordinary batting and Josh Hazlewood's six-wicket haul the standout performances across five days of Test cricket.
Renshaw earns a perfect 10 with bat and ball
Matt Renshaw (10/10) produced what many observers are calling one of the finest Test innings by an Australian in the past decade, compiling 190 in the first innings to set the platform for victory. He then returned to strike a punishing 82 in the second innings, giving the tourists' lead a commanding shape. His contribution did not stop there: Renshaw claimed the wicket of Temba Bavuma with his off-spin, adding to a week that has firmly cemented his place in the side regardless of whether he bats in the middle order or returns to the top of the order.
Renshaw also shared a crucial lower-order partnership with Nathan Lyon (7/10), whose batting proved as valuable as his bowling across the match. Lyon spoke of the discipline and hard work he has invested to prolong his career, and those efforts paid dividends in unexpected fashion in Durban. His two-wicket haul did not fully reflect how well he bowled, and his combination with Steve Smith in the slip cordon produced some stunning moments, including two anticipatory catches from reverse sweeps that Lyon himself described as freakish. Smith added a sharp legside take on day five to dismiss Kyle Verreynne, though his own batting produced two modest starts and he was also required to undergo a concussion assessment after taking a blow to the helmet.
Hazlewood and Cummins deliver nine-out-of-ten performances
Josh Hazlewood (9/10) produced arguably the best bowling of his Test career. Relentlessly accurate and carrying genuine pace, he combined new-ball seam movement, bounce and reverse swing to keep South Africa's batsmen guessing throughout. His figures of 6-49 in the second innings represent a new personal best, and the one-two punch he delivered with the second new ball effectively closed out the match.
Pat Cummins (9/10) matched Hazlewood's rating through an outstanding all-round captaincy display. Cummins has grown steadily more inventive as a skipper, and here he used every option available to him on a pitch that demanded patience, including deploying six spinners in the second innings, a bold tactic rewarded with two key wickets for Renshaw. With the ball in hand, Cummins bowled at some of the highest speeds of his career, a sign of the refreshment a year of lighter workloads following a back injury has given him.
Mitchell Starc (8/10) provided sturdy if less spectacular support, his most critical contribution being the dismissal of South Africa's batting linchpin Aiden Markram in both innings. Starc's follow-through also carved out the rough patches that allowed Lyon and Renshaw's spin to take effect late in the game.
Mixed returns for the rest of the touring party
Alex Carey (7/10) was tidy behind the stumps and chipped in with a couple of batting starts, also claiming a fine legside catch on day five to break a stubborn partnership between Wiaan Mulder and Markram. He will be keen to convert one of those starts into a larger score in the second Test.
Marnus Labuschagne (5/10) illustrated his current predicament neatly: two scores of 37 from 58 balls showed he is striking the ball well and looking to attack, yet he continues to fall short of converting promising starts into centuries. It has now been more than three years since his last Test hundred, and the mental challenge of batting on is clearly weighing on him. Travis Head had a difficult opening assignment, bagging a 33-ball duck on debut in the role, but responded with a swift 48 to give the second innings early momentum, earning himself another opportunity in the second Test.
For more on how players have been graded in recent Australian campaigns, see our earlier Australia player ratings analysis.
