So, Sorth Efrica's plan was to come out firing and put Straya on the back foot from the start. That worked well.
"The latest chapter in South Africa's sorry World Cup history was put down to a case of stage fright as South Africa once again suffered semi-final heartache at the hands of Australia. The much-vaunted South African top order, including Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith, was back inside the pavilion within the first ten overs as they collapsed to 27 for 5 in a sequence that left some of their former team-mates stunned."
Listening on the wahless it was obvious that as soon as Smith and Kallis were gone, so were SA.
Striking a top-order balance between sensible tonking and recklessness is the key to one day cricket. Maybe they were goaded into it by the Strayans' pre-match barbs, maybe not. Certainly it was out of character for Jacks. Whatever way you look at it, they got the balance wrong.
(Mind you, Gilly's been getting it wrong, too; fortunately, Flatty's been getting it very right.)
Then, on the back of those two dismissals, the rest of the lineup decided they'd better not move their feet. AB, Prince, Boucher (What's he doing coming in fifth drop?), Gibbs and Hall - rubbish shots. Nor would their bowlers trouble us on anything other than a minefield. What a lame attack.
It's tempting to label SA chokers, but this time round they didn't choke, they weren't good enough to choke.
Last word to Adam Bacher: "It was boys against men," he said on public television. "They taught us a cricket lesson."
"Kemp is beaten having a hard-handed grope at the wrong'un."
Yes, it's only a decimal point, but surely if you are going to detail a rule, you get your rule right:
Caught Out: Tempers frayed in the 42nd over of Australia's innings when an Andrew Symonds shot was grabbed on the mid-wicket fence by Kevin Pietersen. In trying to make the catch, Pietersen struggled to avoid stepping on the rope and eventually threw the ball back into play before he toppled over the boundary. Under cricket's Rule 3.23, the fieldsman "must have complete control over both the ball and over his own moment". Symonds was ruled not out.
That would be Rule 32.3, which relates to the fieldman's movement.
What to make of Jon Pierik's claim "skipper Mike Brearley said [my emphasis] later he had tried to con the umpire". In fact what Vaughan said was "I was trying to say that he [KP] had it in his hand in control, his weight was in control. It was a difficult one, but being honest he had no control of his waist. We were clutching a bit there." This journalistic license, this putting words in player's mouths, is something that really grates. Still, imagine the fuss had it been Ponting trying to "con the umpire".
Crash Craddock has an article in the Herald Sun relating to Australia's part-time bowlers (Clarke and Symonds) being targetted by opposition batsmen. It's a fair call. It always struck me that the reason Australia were able to get to the 1999 World Cup final was because when South Africa had Australia under pressure in the Super Six match, Nicky Boje came on to bowl.
Let's hope Tait, McGrath, Bracken and Hogg can continue to deliver, and that our opponents fail to capitalise on our fifth bowler.
And since Wicky & Bruce were right - Sunday's Monday morning match was indeed a humdrum, low key drubbing - let's hope Australia hand out many more humdrum, low key drubbings.
No time to post yesterday, but it's never too late to revel in the Proteas getting whipped.
But it would be a lousy cheap-shot to raise the spectre of Hansie Cronje, so I won't.
