ANALYSIS: Making the case for South Africa as the Australian men's team's best rivalry
In a Test cricket climate where winning away from home seems as rare as a cow that's still mooing, the shamefully as yet unnamed series between Australia and South Africa is an outlier.
South Africa captain Dean Elgar was unimpressed by the Gabba pitch for the first Test this year, but both bowling attacks thrived and both batting line-ups struggled. But let's stick to the past five series, which have offered more than enough drama to last a lifetime of rivalries.Because 43 of Pat Cummins's 44 Test matches have come in the past five years, it can be easy to forget just how long ago he made his debut.
The pieces were there, with Hughes, Shaun Marsh, Nathan Lyon and Ryan Harris all in the early days of their careers, with David Warner, Mitchell Starc and Usman Khawaja's debuts just months away, but none of that helped Australia in the series opener in Cape Town. It was the lowest Test score by an Australian men's side since 1902, with only Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon's 26-run stand for the last wicket preventing them from the worst outing ever.
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