One of our bravest cricket wins

Mitchell Starc bowled 18 second innings overs to help win the Boxing Day Test against South Africa. His finger, injured while diving for a catch on day one of the Test, was bruised and bloodied, but he refused a painkilling injection to keep the feeling in his middle finger, crucial to his deliveries. Cameron Green’s finger, struck by a ball from South African paceman Anrich Nortje, was probably “a bit worse”, Starc reckoned, and Starc didn’t want to leave the team “a man down”. On Wednesday, Green also battled and batted through pain to score an unbeaten half-century and keep Alex Carey at the crease long enough to score his first Test century and set Australia up for a 2-0 victory.

Aside from superior batsmen and more determined bowlers, what distinguished the home team in this match was indomitable team spirit. The South Africans did not fold. But the men in the baggy green caps were always going to find a way to win, injuries, 37C heat, express bowling and all. Opener David Warner, deservedly, was man of the match after his dogged return to form put Australia into an almost unassailable position. After such a drubbing, the Proteas will want to salvage some pride at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the third and final Test of the series in the first week of the new year. For Australia, that match will be a chance to blood a couple of new players while Starc and Green recover.

With an upcoming tour of India, our arch rivals, especially on their home turf, and later the Ashes in the English summer, Australia goes into 2023 full of confidence. The side is one of our great Test teams, individually and collectively.