South Africa will battle to beat the Kiwis, too Peter Robinson The prospect of finishing third in a tri-nations tournament involving Australia and New Zealand would be too gloomy for words were it not for the fact that the Springboks have hardened South Africans to this bleak possibility over the past few years. In other words, we should be getting used to it by now. Except, of course, that we’re not used to South Africa’s cricketers in distress, let alone regarding them as outsiders. And that, as the one-day series gets under way in Melbourne today with Australia taking on New Zealand, is exactly what they are. The evidence of the past two months cannot be disputed. New Zealand drew a three-Test series against Australia in November and came close enough to upsetting the home team to count a 0-0 result as a moral victory. South Africa, as we are all too sadly aware, got smeared out of sight by Australia in the Tests. But, you might ask, didn’t we wipe out New Zealand in South Africa last season? Well, yes, but roughly half of last summer’s Kiwi side staggered through South Africa on one leg. Chris Cairns and Geoff Alott, for instance, just made it through the one-day series while Daniel Vettori, the New Zealander with the most legitimate claim to being a world-class bowler, didn’t even make it to South Africa. They were a disappointing and a disappointed side. Oh well, so much for the good old days. South Africa start their one-day campaign, also in Melbourne, against Australia on Sunday and we shall see what scars have been left by the Tests. On South Africa’s two previous post-isolation tours of Australia, they reached the one-day finals without too much trouble, with New Zealand filling the role of expendable third party on each occasion. This time around, however, it’s by no means as straightforward. Australia will expect to coast into the finals, possibly dropping a couple of games along the way because nothing can be taken for granted in one-day cricket, but South Africa and New Zealand will view their four matches against each other as the key clashes. Whoever wins most is also likely to qualify for the finals. And at this point, if you were a betting man a Marlon Aronstam for instance you might be inclined to forego patriotism, just for the moment, and put your money on New Zealand. It is difficult to escape the obvious point that in their Test series against Australia, New Zealand knew what they wanted to do and were prepared to go toe to toe with the opposition. South Africa capitulated. Which brings us to Lance Klusener. The most obvious example of South Africa’s collective lack of fight was the man who became something of an icon during the 1999 World Cup. Klusener flew back to South Africa after the second Test, ostensibly to be with his pregnant wife and to gather his thoughts. You can see this in one of two ways: either Klusener raised the white flag before cutting and running or he took a brave and sensible decision in the team’s interest to step back and reorganise himself. No prizes for guessing which view is held by Australians and, if nothing else, Klusener’s state of mind will be given a thorough going over when he next bats against Australia. Has Klusener lost his bottle, with the World Cup only just over a year away? Has he the stomach for the fight? Has he, in fact, the depths of courage shown by young Justin Ontong when he went out to bat for the first time in a Test match in the worst possible circumstances? With a storm over his selection raging about his head, with 35 minutes to go before the close and his side collapsing helplessly, with the world’s best leg-spinner at one end and another leggie turning it square at the other, and with the world’s shrewdest fast bowler limbering up for a final burst, Ontong went out to bat. And he didn’t flinch, not even when a Glenn McGrath bouncer knocked the peak of his helmet down around his nose. No matter that he was out early the next morning, Ontong had done his team proud. Let’s be honest, he doesn’t have the same credentials as Jacques Rudolph at this stage of his career, largely because the Titans’ tyro is further along the road towards understanding his own game. But Ontong has talent and potential and, most importantly, ticker. It is this last quality that has so sadly been absent from South Africa’s cricket in Australia so far. Peter Robinson is the editor of CricInfo South Africa