Australia and South Africa have one of the fiercest rivalries in Test cricket and the next chapter in their rich history will be written when the sides meet on Saturday to kick-start a blockbuster series.
The great cricketing nations have contested some epic Tests since South Africa returned to the international fold in 1994 following the end of apartheid.
The results have usually been decided by the brilliance of one player, with their clashes having produced some of the best individual performances in cricket history.
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Here are the 10 greatest performances – in no particular order – in Tests between Australia and South Africa this century.
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PONTING HITS TWIN TONS IN 100TH TEST
The great Ricky Ponting owns a host of individual records but perhaps few as satisfying as his feat against the Proteas in 2006.
Ponting became the only batsman in history to score centuries in each innings of his 100th Test, with two sensational knocks at the SCG.
South Africa won the toss batted before declaring at an imposing 9/451 and Ponting came to the crease in the fourth over with Australia in early trouble at 1-22.
The skipper then hit 120 runs off 174 balls over the next 60 overs before he was dismissed LBW and walked back to the pavilion at 5-222.
The tourists declared again in the second innings and set Australia 287 runs for victory as Ponting licked his lips at the prospect of a famous win.
Ponting blasted 143 not out as Australia cruised to an eight-wicket victory to secure a 2-0 series win.
AB DE VILLIERS DELIVERS SECOND-HIGHEST RUN CHASE
AB de Villiers is one of the greatest cricketers of all time and this record-breaking performance in 2008 was his best on Australian soil.
Australia won the toss at the WACA and batted, posting 375 runs with Simon Katich top scoring on 83.
The pitch proved just as challenging for South Africa as de Villiers and Jacques Kallis hit 63 runs apiece with the tourists bowled out for 281 following a Mitchell Johnson masterclass.
Australia posted 319 in their second innings which set Graeme Smith’s men a daunting 414 runs for victory.
Smith set the platform beautifully with 108 off 147 balls before de Villiers arrived at the crease at 3-179 with South Africa still needing 235 runs.
But cometh the hour, cometh the man. De Villiers stepped up with a sublime 106 not out to clinch a famous six-wicket win, which set the platform for a 2-1 series victory.
MITCHELL JOHNSON RUNS RIOT AT THE WACA
There wouldn’t be an Australia cricket fan in the land who hasn’t pulled up Youtube clips of Johnson terrorising tourists in Perth.
The left-arm quick’s performance against South Africa at the WACA in 2008 is arguably his most destructive on Australia soil.
Johnson opened the bowling and immediately went to work, dismissing five of the top six batsmen – including the prized wickets of Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers.
He then went to work on cleaning up the tail and finished with an incredible 8-61, which would go down as the best figures of his career.
Johnson took another three wickets in the second innings but South Africa still somehow managed to win the Test thanks to a de Villiers masterclass.
Johnson bowled a mammoth 58.2 overs in the Test and finished the match with figures of 11-159, incredibly nobody else took more than one wicket.
PHIL HUGHES BURST INTO TEST CRICKET
This prodigious talent arrived with a bang in Test cricket when the 20-year-old scored twin tons in 2009 in just his second Test.
Hughes became Australia’s youngest Test centurion since Doug Walters in 1965 when he opened the batting and made 115 off just 151 balls.
Hughes was the top scorer, contributing a third of Australia’s runs as they were bowled out for 352 in Durban.
In the second innings, Hughes plundered another 160 runs and became the youngest cricketer in history to score centuries in both innings of a Test match.
Australia won the Test by 175 runs and Hughes was named man of the match, with his 160 going down as his highest score in his 26 Tests.
The cricket world was shaken to its core when Hughes was killed by a bouncer at just 25 in 2014, but his heroics at Kingsmead will live in the history books forever.
PAT CUMMINS’ MAN-OF-THE-MATCH DEBUT
Cummins was just 18 when he made his stunning Test debut at Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg in November 2011.
It marked just the fourth first-class match of his career and he became Australia’s youngest Test cricketer since Ian Craig in 1953.
It turned into one of the best debuts from a teenager in Test cricket history as Cummins took 1-38 and 6-79.
Cummins’ devastating second innings spell saw him become the second-youngest Test cricketer behind Enamul Haque Jr. to take six wickets in an innings.
The dream debut only got better from there as Cummins hit a four to score the winning runs to secure a two-wicket victory and he was man of the match.
However, the young gun had been playing through a heel injury that sidelined him for the rest of the summer, and a devastating run with injuries meant he didn’t play his second Test for another five years.
MITCHELL JOHNSON 12 WICKETS AT CENTURION
At the height of Mitchell Johnson’s Test career he was almost unplayable as he terrorised batsmen with the perfect mixture of brutal pace, bounce and pinpoint accuracy.
Johnson backed up his 7-68 in the first innings at Centurion in 2014 with 5-59 in the second to finish with figures of 12-127 in a match-winning display as Australia clinched a 281-run victory.
The stunning performance saw Johnson take his tally to 49 wickets in just six Tests amid the greatest purple patch of his 73-game career that saw him become Australia’s most prolific fast bowler since Dennis Lillee.
“He’s bowling as good as any bowler I’ve played with in my career, and I’ve been fortunate to play with some of the greats,” Australian skipper Michael Clarke said at the time.
Johnson admitted he revelled in the role of being Australia’s intimidator.
“I wouldn’t say I like inflicting pain, I like to just intimidate, use the conditions that we have, and they were perfect for that,” Johnson said.
GRAEME SMITH’S BROKEN HAND HEROICS
South Africa won their first ever away series against Australia in 2008/09 with a famous 2-1 victory.
Australia won the third Test – a dead rubber in Sydney – however the match is best remembered for South African skipper Graeme Smith’s heroics.
A brutal short-pitched delivery from Mitchell Johnson in the first innings broke Smith’s hand and he retired hurt.
Smith revealed he was never meant to bat in the second innings, but came out at No. 11 to help try and save the Test.
“I was packed and ready to go home and I had no playing clothing at the ground, so I stole Jacques Kallis’ whites,” Smith recalled.
“The next minute, they were taking the cast off. I was ready to go. Now, it suddenly hit me, ‘how am I actually going to do this? I can’t hold the bat!”
Smith batted with immense bravery for 17 balls, before Johnson eventually bowled him to secure a face-saving victory for Australia.
MICHAEL CLARKE TONS UP WITH BROKEN SHOULDER
Australian skipper Michael Clarke’s 161 not out in the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in 2014 was a sublime knock in itself.
But it was made more remarkable after it was discovered he batted for the majority of the innings with a fractured left shoulder.
Clarke batted for 430 minutes and hit 17 fours in his 301-ball knock to set up a match-winning lead in the first innings.
The injury came as Clarke endured a barrage of bouncers from Morne Morkel, but its severity wasn’t discovered until scans upon his return to Australia.
The No.4 batsman was hit on the forearm, elbow, shoulder and helmet in a fierce spell of short-pitched bowling, and later on the thumb when Morkel returned with the second new ball.
Clarke showed his immense toughness to even bowl five overs with his damaged left shoulder in the second innings as Australia hunted wickets in a match they eventually won by 245 runs.
ADAM GILCHRIST’S RECORD DOUBLE CENTURY
Big-hitting Test match batting is commonplace in the modern game, but Adam Gilchrist was a trail-blazer when he produced a match-winning double century in Johannesburg in 2002.
Gilchrist blasted 204 not out from just 213 balls in a brutal exhibition that was seldom seen in Test match cricket at the time.
The Australian wicketkeeper hit 19 boundaries and eight sixes to set Australia up for a thumping victory over the Proteas in the first Test.
Gilchrist’s fifth Test ton showed off his immense power and full range of shots as he smashed his way to the then fastest Test double century of all-time.
“Appreciative teammates and supporters all around the ground have seen one of the great Test knocks,” former Australia skipper Allan Border said.
Wisden summed up the stunning innings saying: “Gilchrist was playing with them like a cat keeping a half-dead mouse alive for entertainment.”
DE PLESSIS’ EPIC KNOCK TO SAVE ADELAIDE TEST
Faf du Plessis backed up his 78 in the first innings with a match-saving 110 from a whopping 376 balls in Adelaide to earn a draw in the second Test of the 2012 series.
The South African No.6 batted bravely with the tail after Jacques Kallis was dismissed for 46, in an innings that lasted 466 minutes and included 14 boundaries.
The sight of Australian paceman Peter Siddle – who was leading an undermanned attack – on his haunches gasping for air remains an enduring image from du Plessis’ stoic innings.
The knock was equal parts concentration, sheer bravery and single-mindedness.
“Credit to Peter Siddle, but I could see that his tank was lower than mine, and that gave me more strength. I was winning the battle,” du Plessis said.
After reaching his ton, du Plessis battled cramp and exhaustion in his steely knock, but ultimately walked from the field having saved the Test for his country.
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