THE TOP cricket test playing nations of the world have been at loggerheads with one another for some time now. When nations like India and Pakistan fight it out or England Vs Australia or South Africa Vs Sri Lanka, etc., take place, there is always a sense of expectations that the match is going to be a cliff hanger. But, no two countries can match the rivalry that takes place between Australia and South Africa in any format of the game, in terms of the quality of cricket on display.

The recent example that one can talk about is the Test match, which was won by South Africa today at Newlands, where the quality of cricket in the Test match was parallel to none. The match saw some good display of batting in both the innings as well as the quality of bowling was excellent. The match also witnessed a century by the Australian captain, Michael Clarke as well as the South African leader, Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla. The same match also witnessed 23 wickets falling on the same day too. Do we see this kind of stats when some other countries play?

They have played some of the best matches in the history of cricket. The ICC had conducted a poll, asking fans as to which was the best match that was played in the history of ODI cricket. The fans were very prompt as most of them voted the Australia Vs South Africa game in the year 2006 to be the best match ever.

Indeed, the game witnessed galore of records being broken, to top it all, it was the highest chase by a team batting second. The South African team chased 434 runs in the stipulated 50 over which was a big effort by them, after most experts had counted them out even before they came into bat. This match would surely be adjudged the best by many experts too, if we look at the quality of batting.

But, if we look at the most nail biting finishes, one has to count the World Cup Semi Final, 1999 between Australia and South Africa, where the Australian team reached the finals inspite of the match finishing tied. When these two teams play, anything is possible. Hence, it would not be surprising if these two teams are involved in another classic match in the future too.