SA ease to Australia series win
Captain Graeme Smith led by example with an assured 75
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Tuesday, 30, Dec 2008 09:26
South Africa have beaten Australia by nine wickets in Melbourne to seal an historic series victory in the three-match Test series down under.
Having won the first Test, the Proteas now have an unassailable 2-0 lead going into the final match in Sydney, which begins this weekend.
The tourists looked on course for the win heading into the final day - resuming on 30-0 with both openers Neil McKenzie and captain Graeme Smith at the crease.
And the skipper carried on where he left off on Monday by continuing to take the attack to the Australian bowlers, particularly Brett Lee who appeared to be struggling with an injury before being withdrawn by Ricky Ponting.
Chasing a victory target of 183, the South Africans cruised home - Smith (75) being the only man to lose his wicket after he was trapped lbw by spinner Nathan Hauritz with the score on 121.
However, McKenzie (59 not out) and number three batsman Hashim Amla (30 not out) comfortably saw the tourists home in front of a sparsely populated MCG and a virtually silent home crowd.
South Africa will now attempt to seal a clean sweep of the series in the third Test, which would see them leapfrog their hosts into top spot in the ICC world rankings.