Scorecard
Commentary
South Africa rue missed chances
1st Test - WACA
A brilliant 6th wicket stand between Michael Clarke and Adam Gilchrist has seen Australia home on the 5th morning of the first test in Perth. The pair withstood a turning pitch and some dangerous spells from Makhaya Ntini to carry Australia to a tense victory, assisted by a number of missed chances on the fourth evening. South Africa had many opportunities to take control of the match, but Australia came out ahead at key moments.
South African captain Graeme Smith won the toss and elected to bat on a flat WACA surface that promised spin later in the match, and his side dominated the opening stages thanks to a brilliant century from AB de Villiers. The young opener combined well with Hashim Amla to add 191 for the second wicket, and in what would become a familiar tale throughout the match, South Africa were well in control until the late stages of the day. The second new ball and a firey spell from Brett Lee triggered a collapse, and the tourists lost their final six wickets for just 16 runs.
Makhaya Ntini ensured the second morning also belonged to South Africa with a three wicket burst before lunch. He blasted out Jaques, Ponting and Hayden in quick succession and had Australia strugging at 3/13. Ntini grabbed two more wickets in his second spell, but Paul Harris suffered at the hands of Gilchrist in the afternoon session, and the rest of the South African attack struggled to find breakthroughs. A series of simple dropped catches didn't help the cause, as Brett Lee and debutant Mitchell Johnson both posted half-centuries and career high scores to take Australia to an unlikely first innings lead. Ntini took two more wickets on the third morning to finish with a stunning haul of eight, but Australia still led by 41.
AB de Villiers and Amla both added half-centuries to their first innings efforts, but South Africa's middle order failed to fire again and Johnson and Clark bowled telling spells, ensuring Australia needed under 300 to take the match. Australia appeared in control at 1/100, but some good bowling from Paul Harris and some questionable shot selection led to a flurry of wickets either side of tea, and Gilchrist come to the crease with almost 150 still needed.
After an early drop, Gilchrist brought his attacking instincts under control and played a mature innings, offering support to the in-form Clarke. Another let-off came for Gilchrist when Mark Boucher missed an easy stumping, while Clarke was in rare touch and took particular toll on Ntini as he raced past 50. By stumps Australia needed just 26 to win, and gathered the remaining runs without incident on the final morning. Clarke remained unbeaten just short of a deserved century, but South Africa will have more reason to be disappointed, after missing so many crucial chances.
South Africa 318
AB de Villiers 126, HM Amla 89
SR Clark 4/56, B Lee 3/72
Australia 359
B Lee 74, MG Johnson 71
M Ntini 8/100, SM Pollock 1/51
South Africa 333
AB de Villiers 79, HM Amla 79
SR Clark 4/56, SCG MacGill 2/58
Australia 5/293
MJ Clarke 95*, AC Gilchrist 59*
PL Harris 3/95, M Ntini 2/92
Australia win by 5 wickets.
Man of the Match: AB de Villiers
