Before the start of Day Four at the Gabba, there was still a chance that South Africa could engineer a victory. All they had to do was make early inroads by sending Cowan, Clarke and Hussey back to the pavilion. One out of three all day was not what the doctor ordered!
The much-vaunted Saffer attack reduced the Aussies to 40-3, including a duck for Ricky Ponting, but there was no certainty that Ed Cowan, without a Test hundred to his name, and Michael Clarke, could build on yesterday afternoon's partnership. Even with Steyn, Morkel and Philander blazing in, the opener could be dismissed only by a run-out for backing up too far, on 136. This was also Cowan's first 50 in first-class cricket since August, so he really needed such an innings.
His captain, on the other hand, has made a habit of making big hundreds in 2012, so Clarke's unbeaten 218 should not be too much of a shock. However, it was only the fifth to be scored in a Brisbane Test and took his aggregate for the calendar year to 1000. With Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis looking on, sometimes bowling, their own centuries were soon eclipsed and, when Mike Hussey replaced Cowan, the runfest merely stepped up a gear and Clarke could soon claim his second double-century stand of the innings. Had the second day not been completely washed out, this match could yet have yielded an exciting finish. However, with a draw now almost a formality, these two could conceivably set more records. Could Clarke make it a Bradman-esque statistic of two triples in 2012?
Even if both men at the crease fail in the first over, it will nevertheless be a moral victory for the home team and a reminder for Graeme Smith et al that they have a real battle on here. When the Aussies have their tails up, even without a proven Test Eleven, they can be a formidable opposition on home territory.
