Australian media slams loss

Australia's first series defeat in 16 years on home soil hasn't gone down too well with the local media.

Aaron Timms of Sydney Morning Herald says: "Our cricketers are turning into Pinters. Already there are signs of irreversible Pinterisation among many members of this Australian team: recall any of the Ford backyard cricket ads from this season and it is abundantly clear that most of our cricketers are hopelessly in thrall to their own acting talent. But it has not all been in vain. Yes, Hussey's batting may be atrocious. But his acting is even worse."

In the Courier Mail Robert Craddock writes that "Australia's capitulation against South Africa is embodied by the story of Andrew Symonds and the shameful way he was mismanaged this summer. By picking Symonds in the first place at the start of the summer, the selectors ignored whispers on every street corner in Brisbane that the all-rounder was simply not mentally ready to return after being dumped for the "gone fishing" scandal."

"South Africa knew early in the first Test Australia were not the team of old because of how timid they were. Australia are now the oldest Test team in the world. But when you are in a recession that normally means it is time to change."

The Daily Telegraph came out with a mock obituary of Australian cricket and Ray Chesterton believes that "Australian cricket is dead and buried, the echo of the ball flying off the confident bat of South Africa's Hashim Amla yesterday was the death rattle of Australia's record 16 years without a series loss at home. It simply followed a short illness complicated by player arrogance, chronic selection short-sightedness, poor captaincy decisions, unreliable batting, indecisive bowling and fielding clumsiness."

Mike Coward of The Australian thinks "the South Africans were smart enough and good enough to exploit Australia's yawning weakness - the impotence of its bowling. South Africa took 40 wickets while the Australians scratched and scraped for 25 - 13 of them to Mitchell Johnson who will enter the fray on Saturday feeling considerably older than 27 having bowled 108 overs in Perth and Melbourne.

While the criticism levelled at Andrew Hilditch and his co-selectors is appropriate after the bizarre selection of Andrew Symonds here, there is an urgent need for cool heads and calculated thinking at this time in evolution of the Australian team."