Can Australia v South Africa clash match some of the great Bellerive Oval Test matches?

WHEN you play a word association game with the word ‘Hobart’ it’s natural to think ‘Yachts’ or ‘Consanguinity’ - but ‘Cricket’ should come to mind too.

Justin Langer and Adam Gilchrist guided Australia to an extraordinary win in 1999.

THERE’S hopefully no better cure to Australia’s current ails then a visit to a ground where they have enjoyed plenty of Test success.

Indeed Fortress Bellerive has only been breached once in 12 attempts. New Zealand - with Doug Bracewell proving the unlikely hero - stunned the hosts in 2011 in a seven-run victory.

Nine wins - four by over 200 runs and two others by an innings - shows just how dominant they have been.

It’s helped that it’s usually the second Test of every second (or sometimes fourth) summer after the Gabba - where Australia hasn’t been beaten since 1988.

So this one - after a heavy WACA defeat - will be even more interesting.

Here are some of the best.

1989

Centuries by the bucketload

Sri Lanka - on their first official Test tour of Australia - were the first visitors to Bellerive Oval. And they were never in the hunt once Mark Taylor, Dean Jones and Steve Waugh all scored second innings centuries. The Aussies won by 173 runs with Merv Hughes taking eight wickets for the match.

1993

Tons, tons and more tons

Four years later and it was the first of New Zealand’s four visits - and their only defeat. The innings and 222-run success is Australia’s best win in Hobart and achieved on the back of centuries from Michael Slater, David Boon and Mark Waugh. The Kiwis were outclassed as first Tim May and then Shane Warne guided the hosts to victory.

1995

Aussies excel despite Warne hell

Warne will remember Pakistan’s first visit to Hobart for all the wrong reasons. The champion leggie had his toe broken by a Waqar Younis yorker in Australia’s first innings. Not that his absence mattered too much. Glenn McGrath and Paul Reiffel picked up the slack to guide the hosts to a 156-run win.

1977

Kiwi final-wicket heroics

The Kiwi visit two years later brought about one of the more remarkable Tests. A draw beckoned as rain tumbled down but a series of enterprising declarations saw a fantastic finish. New Zealand were left with a gettable 288 off 61 overs but quickly found themselves in trouble and had to hang on desperately for the last 40 minutes through last pair Simon Doull and Shane O'Connor.

1999

Glorious Gilly slays Pakistan

Welcome to the big time Adam Gilchrist! In just his second Test, Gilly, in arguably his greatest-ever Test knock, swung the game back the hosts’ way against the Wasim Akram-inspired Pakistan when everything looked lost. Set 369 to win, the Aussies were in big trouble at 5-126 before Gilchrist (149 not out) and Justin Langer (127) turned the tide. The hosts eventually won by four wickets.

2005

Woeful Windies exposed

The Windies were on the slide and it showed up big time in this Test. They managed just 149 off 68.3 overs. Brian Lara - near the end of his career - scored just 13 in over 70 minutes at the crease. Matt Hayden (110) and Michael Hussey (137) - in just his second Test - put on 235 for the first wicket and the match was essentially done and dusted. The Aussies won by nine wickets.

2007

Sanga nearly pulls off upset

Kumar Sangakkara almost singlehandedly guided Sri Lanka to what would have been a record-setting victory. And it was only a dodgy umpiring decision that probably denied them such was his momentum. Set 507 to win, Sangakkara and Lasith Malinga were going along nicely until the champion batsman deflected a short ball from Stuart Clark to Ricky Ponting at slip. Umpire Rudi Koertzen gave him out but replays showed it clearly missed the bat and hit him on the shoulder. Ah, the days before the referral. Australia won by 96 runs.

2011

Kiwis bring Aussies back to earth

David Warner announced himself to the world but his heroics weren’t enough to save the Aussies from their only Hobart defeat to date. Warner carried his bat in Australia’s second innings, eventually finishing unbeaten on 123, but he had little support as Doug Bracewell lifted the Kiwis to a seven-run victory. Unheralded Bracewell took 6-40 - and nine wickets for the match - as the Aussies lost 8-74 in a dramatic collapse.

2015

Voges smashes unbeaten double ton

West Indies were at the lowest of low ebbs here. And Australia were ruthless in taking advantage, cantering to an innings and 212-run success. Adam Voges was the star with 269 not out while Shaun Marsh blasted 182. James Pattinson, returning from injury, took a fearful first innings beating but recovered to take five wickets in the second dig.