Aussies finish fourth in Hong Kong Sixes

Australia had to settle for a fourth-placed finish as South Africa edged past Pakistan to claim victory in the Hong Kong Super Sixes final on Sunday.

The Australia team - captained by recently retired Victoria veteran John Hastings - bowed out of contention at the semi-final stage of the two-day tournament at the Kowloon Cricket Club in Hong Kong.

The tournament sees teams consisting of six players each play five-over matches, with every member of the fielding team (bar the wicketkeeper) bowling one over apiece and batsmen forced to retire after reaching 31.

Shortly after losing their semi-final to Pakistan, Australia were defeated by New Zealand in the third-place playoff.

Hastings found the conditions to his liking on the opening day of the tournament as he retired in each of Australia's first three matches after passing 30, but couldn't match those heroics on the second day as his team fell short.

Matched up against Pakistan in the semi-finals, Australia could only manage 3-80 from their five overs in reply to their opponents' 2-115.

In the fight for third Australia fell narrowly short of reeling in New Zealand's score of 0-124, with Queenslander Nathan Reardon and Victorian Matt Short (both retired not out on 32) making up for Hastings' first ball duck as Australia lost by six runs.

The final was a tight affair, with South Africa clinching a thriller on the final ball of the competition thanks to a boundary from Aubrey Swanepoel.

Chasing Pakistan's score of 6-123, Swanepoel stood back and hit Sohail Khan over his head for the match-winning boundary on the last ball of the tournament to help the Proteas defend the title they won in the last instalment of the Hong Kong Sixes in 2012.

Hong Kong’s Nizakat Khan won the player-of-the-tournament award, while he also finished as the leading run scorer with 192.

Reardon (166 runs) was Australia's leading run scorer, while Short (127) and Hastings (110) were also prominent.