Extra Covers: South Africa’s sly tampering dig; son of a gun’s ‘debut’

South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis questions Australia’s inability to get ball reversing swinging, son of Steve makes Test ‘debut’, good guy Kohli — it’s all in EXTRA COVER.

South African captain Faf du Plessis has taken a veiled swipe at Australia. Picture: AAP

A lot has been made of Australia’s inability to get the ball to reverse swing this series, and the fact hasn’t been lost on South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis, whose side was involved in the infamous sandpaper scandal last year.

Speaking in Cape Town earlier in the week, du Plessis was asked whether he was surprised by Australia’s struggles to extract movement with the old ball.

With tongue — and no cough lozenge — planted firmly in cheek, the star batsman replied: “That feels like a trick question! That’s going to be the challenge for them now, how well they do with that old ball. They’re still a good team but, yeah, the old ball isn’t doing that much…”

South African captain Faf du Plessis has taken a veiled swipe at Australia. Picture: AAP

The Aussies were punished for overpitching early in the day as they searched for traditional swing, eventually battering the batsmen with a short-ball barrage in the hour before lunch.

But when it came to reverse swing later in the day…*crickets*.

SON OF A GUN’S TEST ‘DEBUT’

Things have come full circle for the Waugh family, with Austin, son of former skipper Steve, called in as the team’s substitute fielder 15 years after his father’s final Test against India at the SCG.

The 19-year-old was limited to drink-carrying duties on day one of the fourth Test, but will gain valuable experience from his time in and around the squad.

It’ll be interesting to see whether the all-rounder is handed a memento after the

match, given Steve refused to present a fresh-faced Brett Lee with any memorabilia when he was a fill-in fielder.

Substitute fielder Austin Waugh. Picture: Getty

The move was an incentive to make Lee hungrier to earn his spot in the side, and it would be a poetic turn of events if Tim Paine implemented a similar policy.

In the meantime, Austin will be hoping to emulate recalled batsman Marnus

Labuschagne, who pulled off a stunning grab against India when he was on

substitute fielder duties back in 2014.

NEW YEAR, SAME KOHLI

The Aussies would have hoped a New Year meant a change of fortune for Virat Kohli. How wrong they were.

The Indian skipper headed into the Sydney Test with the incredible record of zero losses from 21 matches when he’d won the toss.

With 18 wins and three draws, heads would have dropped in the Australian dressing room when they saw the master batsman call correctly yet again.

It’s a different story for Tim Paine who has lost six of seven tosses since taking over the captaincy. Perhaps a coin toss master class is required to turn things around.

GOOD GUY KOHLI

It’s been a hard-fought series on and off the field, but Indian skipper Virat Kohli has drawn plenty of praise for his efforts to help promote the McGrath Foundation.

The usually deep red MRF stickers on his bat were replaced by a much brighter shade of pink, while Kohli’s gloves were also splashed pink in a classy touch that was appreciated by Glenn McGrath in the Channel 7 commentary box.

LISTEN: Ben Horne, Andrew Menczel and Gav Joshi Review the best and worst of 2018 before legendary Indian broadcaster Harsha Bhogle joins the show to dissect the series.

To Listen search ‘Cricket Unfiltered’ on all Podcast Apps and Spotify

WAUGH V GANGULY

Rivalries were renewed during the week when former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly poked former sparring partner Steve Waugh on social media after ‘Tugga’ had a crack on Instagram at picking the Aussie Test side.

There were fireworks of a different kind on New Year’s Eve when Ganguly quote tweeted Waugh’s post, adding: “Australian cricket selection at its lowest ever … greats have to put teams in their Instagram posts to give direction...”

The post received 16,000 likes and rubbed salt into the wounds after India retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy following their win in Melbourne.

The pair had their moments during heated confrontations in the early 2000s, with Ganguly provocatively mopping his brow with a red handkerchief, a clear shot at Waugh’s fondness for his trusty piece of cloth.

SAD START TO 2019

It was a sombre start to the year with both sides wearing black armbands in a show of respect for the passing of national heroes.

Indians mourned the loss of Ramakant Achrekar, the childhood coach of Sachin Tendulkar, with ‘The Little Master’ paying tribute to his former mentor on social media.

“His contribution to my life cannot be captured in words. He built the foundation that I stand on,” he wrote.

You’ll always be in our hearts. pic.twitter.com/0UIJemo5oM

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 2, 2019

Speaking on ABC Grandstand, commentator Harsha Bhogle shared an anecdote about the unique — yet effective — methods Achrekar used to bring out Tendulkar’s best.

“Mr Ramakant Achrekar would put a one rupee coin on Tendulkar’s stump and say to him, ‘If someone knocks over the stump they get the coin, if it stays, Tendulkar could keep it’. He had a bag full of coins.”

The Aussies also wore armbands in memory of former Australia and New South Wales batsman Bill Watson, who passed away recently aged 87.

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