Australia (554 and 54 for 0) beat South Africa (154 and 451) by 10 wickets, and won series 3-0
scorecard

Australia beat South Africa by ten wickets at Sydney, to wrap up a clean sweep in what started out as the Test Championship decider series. Fittingly it was Australia's batsman of the season, Matthew Hayden, who crashed a four through the covers to seal their triumph. Hayden and Justin Langer average over 120 as an opening pair, so 53 to win was a mere bagatelle for them.

This victory, however, was not quite as comfortable as seemed probable when South Africa subsided yesterday. An heroic innings from Gary Kirsten, and a late flourish from Shaun Pollock, at least ensured that the embarrassment of an innings defeat was avoided – but not a first series whitewash since 1931-32, when Don Bradman averaged 201.50 as Australia romped home 5-0.

South Africa's gallant fightback stalled shortly before tea. The key wicket was that of Kirsten, who had grafted his way to a defiant 153. It was his 14th Test century, equalling Daryll Cullinan's national record, and the sixth time he'd passed 150. It was also the highest score by a South African at the SCG, surpassing Billy Zulch's 150 in 1910-11. Kirsten, who was dropped yesterday by Mark Waugh when he had only 12, batted for 437 minutes and faced 359 balls, 19 of which he hit for four.

Many of those fours came from scything drives through the covers, but it was this shot that eventually proved his downfall. He reached out to drive Stuart MacGill, but the ball turned in, took the under-edge, and clattered into the stumps (372 for 6).

That was Australia's second wicket of the afternoon. Justin Ontong had conjured up memories of Azharuddin with a wristy, whippy 32, putting on 74 with Kirsten, when he tried to sweep Shane Warne. But it was Warne's faster one, which dipped in a little and beat the bat. It hit Ontong on the back leg as he knelt down, and Daryl Harper okayed Warne's impassioned appeal (356 for 5). The all-seeing TV replay suggested that Ontong might have been unlucky, as the ball seemed to be spinning enough to miss the stumps.

Thoughts of an early finish had flickered briefly when Warne dismissed Jacques Kallis with the 13th ball of the day. Kallis (34) tried the sweep which brought him three fours yesterday, but got the toe-end of the bat to the ball, which looped through to Adam Gilchrist. Kallis didn't budge, but Daryl Harper, the Australian umpire, raised the finger (211 for 3).

Neil McKenzie helped Kirsten put on 71. He was less certain against the spinners, once edging Warne out to where gully might have been, using a homespun technique that often left him squared up by sharp turn. But after thick-edging McGrath over the slips for four to reach 35, McKenzie tried to work Lee through the vacant on side. He managed only a leading edge, which flew quickly to MacGill at mid-off (282 for 4).

South Africa suffered two more mortal wounds after Kirsten's castle was breached. First Mark Boucher fell for a rapid 27. He greeted Glenn McGrath's return with copybook drives for four to the long-on and long-off boundaries. Perhaps slightly carried away, Boucher then went up on his toes to force a shorter one through the covers, but it nicked the edge and whistled through to Gilchrist (392 for 7).

Nicky Boje, a left-hander with two one-day centuries to his name and South Africa's last realistic hope, had made only a single when he tried to turn MacGill to the on side. He left a gate through which the ball snaked back to bowl him (393 for 8).

Shortly before tea Pollock turned MacGill for three to midwicket, the runs that ensured Australia would have to bat again. But Claude Henderson fell for 2 in the second over after the interval. MacGill set him up beautifully: a legbreak was edged just short of Warne at slip, and next came a perfectly pitched googly which snapped back into the stumps (403 for 9).

Pollock hit out defiantly for an unbeaten 61, thrashing three big sixes off the legspinners and also taking three impudent fours in one McGrath over. He and Allan Donald (2) piled on 49 for the last wicket, but Pollock won't have been impressed with Donald's sucker-punch skyer to Lee at mid-on off Warne, just when a ticklish target was becoming a possibility.

At the end the crowd roared, appreciative of South Africa's fighting effort second time around in the follow-on. But there was a certain amount of relief mixed in – relief that the book labelled "Laxman, Calcutta" and that dusty old volume "Botham, Headingley" had been kept firmly shut.

Teams
Australia 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Mark Waugh, 5 Steve Waugh (capt), 6 Damien Martyn, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Stuart MacGill, 11 Glenn McGrath.

South Africa 1 Gary Kirsten, 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Boeta Dippenaar, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Neil McKenzie, 6 Justin Ontong, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Shaun Pollock (capt), 9 Nicky Boje, 10 Claude Henderson, 11 Allan Donald.

Steven Lynch is database director of Wisden.com.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd