'It's un-Australian, there's no fight whatsoever, it's disgraceful': Former greats slam Cummins & co after Newlands Test defeat to Proteas

Cape Town: Australia faces mounting pressure to overhaul its Test squad following a dramatic capitulation to South Africa in the third Test at Newlands, triggering a fierce backlash led by former opening batter David Warner over the team’s "utterly disgraceful" batting performance.

Chasing a target of 288 runs for victory on day five, the visitors crumbled to 111 all out. The defeat handed South Africa a 2-1 series victory after Australia had initially taken a 1-0 lead. The result also elevated the defending world champions South Africa above Australia to claim the top spot in the International Cricket Council Test rankings.

Australia entered the tour with persistent questions surrounding an ageing lineup, particularly its veteran bowling attack of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, and Nathan Lyon. The series defeat follows a shock nine-wicket loss to Bangladesh in Darwin in August.

However, the final innings collapse in Cape Town—marked by poor shot selection and erratic decision-making—drew the sharpest condemnation.

"I'm just upset, it's terrible, it's un-Australian. There's no fight whatsoever, it's disgraceful," Warner said during television commentary.

"Chasing 288, you're winning a Test match, you could win a series, it's on the line, and this is the way that they're playing. I think it's deplorable but the batters have let the bowlers down the whole series."

Former Australian batsman Mark Waugh, who featured in the 2002 Australian side that completed a successful run chase at the same venue, echoed Warner’s frustration.

"That was a terrible two hours of batting. That was immature ... it was terrible," Waugh said. "The shot selection, the technique and the execution was not good enough."

Top-order instability and batting struggles

Australia’s top-order struggles have persisted since the retirements of long-time openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja. Nic Maddinson became the latest player to miss an opportunity to cement the spot during the South Africa tour.

Additionally, Marnus Labuschagne’s future at number three remains uncertain following another low score, raising questions over his position despite extended opportunities from national selectors.

Despite the series loss, certain individual performances offered positive signs. Matt Renshaw capitalised on his recall by scoring 190 batting at number five in the first Test, followed by a resilient 74 while opening alongside Travis Head in the decider. Josh Inglis, brought into the side after Steve Smith was ruled out with a neck injury, also scored a century to push his case for regular selection.

Calls for succession planning

With a home series against New Zealand scheduled for December and January, Australian media outlets have called for a clear long-term strategy.

"Undeniably, these results provide the impetus for further regeneration of the Test team," The Sydney Morning Herald reported. "There will now be a strong case that the current approach -- patching up an ageing team with more senior players -- must make way for something more dynamic."

The national broadcaster ABC similarly highlighted the need for a strategic review of the team's direction and selection policies.

"The national selection panel should be interrogated first, and at length, yet so should several experienced batsmen who batted brainlessly at the critical moments," the ABC reported. "Some tough and maybe unpopular decisions now await Australian cricket -- not knee-jerk reactions to public outcry, and not wholesale personnel changes for now. But there are matters of strategy and succession planning far more complicated than Marnus's sad slump into redundancy."

Australian captain Pat Cummins, who drew criticism for electing to bowl after winning the toss at Newlands, acknowledged that selectors and team management must evaluate the side's composition moving forward.

"I think it's fair to be asking those questions. So we'll be asking them internally as well," Cummins said.

"We are a very good side, but I think we need to get a little bit better if we want to get back to number one and where we think we can be. So yeah, maybe that's a change of style. Maybe it's a change of personnel in some instances." (AFP)