Marsh rues Australia's ODI capitulation after Durban defeat
Mitch Marsh expressed deep dismay as Australia suffered a 67-run defeat to South Africa in the opening ODI in Durban, collapsing to 230 all out.
Australia slipped to a disappointing 67-run defeat in their opening ODI against South Africa at Durban after a sorry collapse in the run chase. Stand-in captain Mitch Marsh could not hide his dismay as the visitors managed only 230 all out in 41.2 overs in pursuit of a 298-run target.
The world champions now face mounting pressure to turn the series around at The Wanderers in Johannesburg on Sunday, especially with their dismal record of not having won a bilateral series against South Africa since 2014. Regular captain Pat Cummins is set to be recalled for the fixture.
South Africa had earlier posted 297-8 after being asked to bat first, fueled by a brilliant 112 from Matthew Breetzke and a destructive 75 off 59 balls from pace-bowling allrounder Marco Jansen.
Marsh initially laid strong foundations for the chase with a blistering 36-ball knock of 60, sharing an explosive opening stand of 90 in 9.2 overs with Travis Head. His explosive innings featured three sixes, including a 104-metre strike over the Kingsmead dressing room roof.
However, once Marsh perished to the spinning wiles of Keshav Maharaj, the innings unraveled dramatically. Travis Head contributed 36, Cooper Connolly made 38, and Matt Renshaw added 44, but all fell to airy shots when the required rate was under control.
The slow left-arm spin combination of Maharaj (4-20) and Bjorn Fortuin (2-34) strangled the middle order before Josh Inglis fell to an ill-executed reverse sweep. Australia ultimately lost their last six wickets for just 54 runs to allow the Proteas to draw first blood.
The turning point arguably arrived when Jansen held onto a sensational running, diving one-handed catch in the outfield to dismiss Renshaw off Gerald Coetzee, leaving Australia stranded at 215-7.
Reflecting on the collapse, Marsh admitted: “I’m pretty disappointed, South Africa outplayed us. It was a good game of cricket, but we fell well short. We had our opportunities, I am probably going to sound like a broken record speaking about having partnerships in our batting, but we weren’t able to form many tonight.”