The Oddsworth Smell Test
Claim
“Australia's batting problem in the ODI series against South Africa was spin.”
Smells right
Data Australia averaged 27.8 against spin in the three ODIs, against 35 in their ODIs since 2023 and South Africa's 66.3 in the same games.
South Africa bowled spin at Australia for 398 balls across the three ODIs in September, and the Australian batters never got on top of it. The scoring rate was close to normal, a strike rate of 83.7 against the 85 they managed in their men's ODIs from January 2023 to August 2026, so the trouble was all in the wickets: one fell every 33 balls to spin, where Australia normally last 41.
Better than usual against the quicks
Australia averaged 30.3 against pace in the series, up on their usual 27.7, and whatever went wrong did not happen against the seamers. The quicks took 17 wickets to the spinners' 12, but the runs kept coming against them.
How South Africa played spin
Four wickets in 228 balls is all South Africa's batters lost to Australia's spinners on the same pitches, and they scored off them at a strike rate of 116.2, quicker than the 94.8 they managed against the quicks. Spin was the easiest bowling they faced.
Three matches is a short series, but every comparison comes back the same way. Australia batted above their norm against pace and below it against spin, and South Africa's batters had no such trouble. Facing spin was the only part of Australia's batting that went backwards.