Tour of South Africa 2011-12             Captain: Michael Clarke

92nd official Test tour

Thirteenth Test-playing tour of South Africa by Australia

(October - November 2011)

The Argus report had just arrived at Cricket Australia and the composition of the backroom staff was in flux as the tour began.

The two Tests were highly dramatic with some superb individual performances but there was a strong feeling that the series was far too brief.  Cricket Australia would would have preferred to play three matches rather than two;  but this tour was beyond the requirements of the Future Tours Programme and was made in recognition for South Africa agreeing to play a Boxing Day Test in Australia on its last two tours in 2005 and 2008.

The new fast bowler Pat Cummins was clearly a star player but this tour proved too much for his back muscles and he was rarely able to feature again in Australia’s Test eleven.

Michael Clarke led a most successful tour:  after winning the one-day series his team recovered from a Test defeat at Cape Town to draw the Test series with a extraordinary win at Johannesburg.

Other Australian Tours

Previous tour

Sri Lanka 2011

Next tour

West Indies 2011-12

Next tour of South Africa

2013-14

Members of the Test tour party (15)

Opening batsmen  Phillip Hughes, Shane Watson.

Middle-order batsmen: Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh

Wicket-keeper:   Brad Haddin

Spin bowlers  Nathan Lyon, Michael Beer

Fast bowlers:  Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Trent Copeland, Pat Cummins.

⋄ Contracted players for 2011-12

State representation

  Sheffield Shield teams

N   New South Wales (6)

Q  Queensland (2)

S   South Australia (2)

T   Tasmania (1)

V   Victoria (1)

W  Western Australia (3)

Average age of  team at time of first Test match

(9 November 2011) :

   28 yrs  7 months

T20 member of T20 squad

ODI  member of squad for the Castle Lager one-day internationals

⋄ contracted players

Test Appearances made before the tour

Ponting 154,  Clarke 72,  Hussey 62,  Johnson 45,  Haddin 35,  Watson 30,  Siddle 23,  Hughes 13,  Harris 7, Khawaja 3,  Copeland 3,  Lyon 3,  Marsh 2,  Beer 1,  Cummins 0,  Warner 0.

Tour Officials

Troy Cooley was named as interim coach after Tim Nielsen resigned in September 2011. This was a temporary appointment and he remained head coach of Australia’s Centre of Excellence in Brisbane. Mickey Arthur was still coach at Western Australia

Selectors

Interim selection committee while the Argus Review was completed :

Andrew Hilditch, Greg Chappell, Jamie Cox,  Michael Clarke (captain),  Tim Nielsen (coach)

Selection

Limited-overs team announced:   27 September 2011

Unavailable   Tim Paine had a broken finger ; Brad Haddin had announced his retirement from Twenty20 internationals;  John Hastings sustained an injury to his right shoulder during traing and needed surgery.

Test team announced:  17 October 2011

Not selected:   Ben Hilfenhaus

Time between selection of limited-overs squad and departure from Australia

        11 days

(27 September -  8 October)

Travel   

Sydney    Q    Johannesburg      

The Twenty/20 team, captained by Cameron White, flew out for South Africa on Saturday 8 October and arrived in Cape Town on Sunday.  Cummins, O’Keefe, Smith, Watson and Warner joined the group from India, where they had been playing for New South Wales in the Champions League T20.

Of the Australian one-day squad, captain Michael Clarke and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin arrived first. Other players completed their Sheffield Shield commitments before arriving on Saturday 15 October

Time spent in South Africa

   44 days

(9 October  - 22 November)

On-tour selection

Andrew Hilditch (selector on tour),  Troy Cooley (coach - and appointed as an interim national selector),  Michael Clarke (captain).

The Argus Review recommended  that captains join the tour selection panel for each match format.

Reinforcements

Brett Lee had to withdrew from the T20 squad before the matches began because appendicitis was diagnosed, and on 13 October announced he would be replaced by Mitchell Marsh.

David Warner was brought back into the side because Shaun Marsh suffered a back injury during the first Test. Warner re-joined the tour party on Monday 14 November.

Ryan Harris (pain in right hip) also flew home before the second Test..

Fixtures/Results

Cricket South Africa announced the Test itinerary on 6 May 2011

ϯ not first-class

⊕ T20 internationals

§  one-day internationals (Castle Lager

Time spent in South Africa before First Test: 

  31 days

(9 October - 9 November)

Test appearances on tour

2  -    Clarke,  Haddin,  Hughes,  Hussey,  Johnson,  Lyon,  Ponting,  Siddle,  Watson

1  -    Cummins,  Harris,  Khawaja,  Marsh.

0  -  

Highlights

•   Michael Clarke scored 151 over the first two days at Cape Town, regarded as his best innings.

•   Shane Watson (5-17) and Harris (4-33) then dismissed South Africa for only 96.

•   However, Australia was shot out for 47, their lowest total since Edgbaston in1902. The ninth wicket fell with their score at 21 before the last wicket put together 26 more runs.

•   Shane Watson combined with Phillip Hughes for a 174-run opening stand at Johannesburg.

•   At 18 Pat Cummins was the country's second-youngest Test debutant after Ian Craig. He took 6 for 79 at Johannesburg and hit the winning runs.

•   Australia scored 310 in one of the highest successful run-chases (Ponting 62, Haddin 55 and Johnson 40)

Tour Summary

Return to Australia

Johannesburg   Q    Sydney

Five members of the T20 squad - Skipper Cameron White, David Hussey, Matthew Wade, Aaron Finch and Mitchell Marsh - were not in the one-day internationals team and returned on 18 October.

The one-day international players went home on

David Warner re-joined the tour party as a reinforcement on Monday 14 November.

Shaun Marsh and Ryan Harris flew home before the second Test.. Michael Beer was on the same plane home because the selectors thought he would benefit from playing in matches back in Australia.

The team returned from Johannesburg on 22 November

Time away from Australia 

    46 days  

(8 October to 23 November)

Finances

Castle Lager sponsored the Test and ODI teams

Accounts of the tour

……..

Postscript

On 13 October Cricket Australia appointed Pat Howard as its Performance Manager.  As envisaged by the Argus Review, he would oversee the roles of coach, captain, chairman of selectors and team manager.

The Australian domestic season was well under way when the team returned home in late November meaning a late start to the Test series (against New Zealand).