Hazlewood's five not enough

The Carlton Mid ODI series is locked at 1-all after South Africa defeated Australia by three wickets with 134 balls remaining in Perth.

Towering Proteas paceman Morne Morkel was named man-of-the-match for his career-best figures of 5-21, while skipper AB de Villiers hit 48 off 41 balls to help the Proteas to a nervy win in front of 10,956 fans at the WACA Ground.

For Australia, Josh Hazlewood claimed his first five-wicket haul for his country, taking 5-31 off 9.4 overs, and Mitchell Marsh made a defiant 67 (88) as wickets crumbled around him.

Both teams head to Canberra tomorrow for Wednesday’s third instalment, with Australia’s set to rest pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson (1-47) for the remainder of the series.

After Australia had posted 300 in the first match on Friday, captain George Bailey elected to bat when he won the toss, but unlike two days ago, his side got off to a sour start. 

Dynamic opening batsman David Warner gloved a nasty Morkel bouncer to Proteas keeper Quinton de Kock to fall for a duck, before partner Aaron Finch picked out Morkel at mid-on to hand Dale Steyn his first wicket of the day. 

Playing only his third ODI at the WACA Ground since his first game at the venue in 2002, Shane Watson teamed up with the recalled Steve Smith to safely navigate Australia to the end of the 10-over Powerplay. 

But they went no further, as Watson succumbed to the medium pace of Farhaarn Behardien to be trapped for 11 (25) and see skipper Bailey come to the crease at 3-27.

Morkel dragged the hosts deeper into the mire when his sky-scraping bowling action troubled Smith into a skied pull shot to Hashim Amla at mid-on to depart for 10 (20) and leave Australia floundering at 4-34. 

The poor start meant Bailey and Marsh had to briefly shift their target to a score of 71 to avoid the ground's lowest score, and when the West Australian clipped Behardien to the on-side for a single, the pair had avoided the unwanted record. 

In the stifling Perth heat, the Aussie duo put on 50 in 74 balls, but the return of Vernon Philander brought the determined combination undone eight runs later when Bailey’s flat pull shot was scooped down low by Faf du Plessis at mid-on to end the captain’s innings on 25 (45).  

De Villiers said after the match on Friday that he wanted to immediately address his side's poor fielding performance, and his chargers responded with a flawless effort in the air to hold onto every chance offered by the home side. 

Australia's fragile position forced Marsh and Matthew Wade to take little risk through the middle overs, collecting ones and twos and, where possible, hitting the bad ball to the boundary.  

With the game drifting, de Villiers re-introduced Morkel from the Lillee-Marsh stand end, and like he did with Warner, he had Wade jumping and fending a ball underneath his ribcage to the keeper.  

And like Warner's case, umpire John Ward believed there was no glove or bat to the dismay of Morkel and his teammates, who in unison called for a referral. 

Warner's dismissal showed clear contact with the glove, but Wade's was much murkier, with Snicko and HotSpot failing to detect a clear reason to dismiss the batsman. 

However, third umpire Nigel Llong found a mark on the glove to send Wade back for 19 (29) and give Morkel his third wicket.

And it only got better for the imposing South African quick when he had Glenn Maxwell playing on for a second-ball duck and Mitchell Johnson (3) caught behind to complete his second ODI five-for.  

The one highlight for Australia with the bat was Marsh, whose 75-ball half-century came via a neat tuck to fine-leg off Morkel for four to the rousing applause of his home crowd. 

Steyn returned to remove Nathan Coulter-Nile for 2 (10) before Marsh went on the attack, first launching Imran Tahir for six straight down the ground, then Steyn for six more after the allrounder had been felled the ball prior from an inside edge that crashed into his unmentionables.  

Steyn would get his man two balls later, caught at short-fine leg by Morkel, to set up a modest target for his batsmen to chase.

Defending Australia’s lowest score at the WACA in 20 years, Bailey needed quick wickets, and Josh Hazlewood provided early, edging out de Kock to a high-flying Watson at first slip to see the Proteas opener fall for his sixth single-figure score in his past eight innings.

Johnson, bowling at 90mph, gave Finch at chance at second slip to remove Amla, but the ball rocketed through the Victorian’s hands to the boundary to let a golden opportunity go begging. 

The drop would only cost nine runs, Johnson getting his man in his next over as Amla's attempted uppercut found Wade’s keeping gloves and not the boundary to make it 2-21.

Replacing allrounder Ryan McLaren, left-hander Rilee Rossouw came out brimming with confidence, dispatching Friday’s man-of-the-match Coulter-Nile for three boundaries in the fast bowler’s first over.

Du Plessis survived another wayward lbw decision on review, but still there was no breakthrough for Bailey and Australia, so the captain turned to his off-spinning allrounder and he delivered - Maxwell removing the dangerous Rossouw caught at slip for 30 (25).

The wicket did come at a cost, 14 runs came off Maxwell’s over, but more importantly, it brought du Plessis and de Villiers together and allowed the latter to get off to a flyer.

Coulter-Nile’s potency from two days before had completely dissipated when de Villiers sent two balls the cover fence, then du Plessis one straight down the ground for 13 off the over to leave the bowler with figures 0-42 from five overs. 

With only 42 runs required, Hazlewood re-entered the attack and gave the subdued fans something to cheer about, removing du Plessis caught behind for 19 (39), and then next ball squaring Behardien to Warner at gully to have two in two and be on a hat-trick.

David Miller calmly negotiated the hat-trick delivery, but Hazlewood’s double-wicket maiden brought the Aussies back into the contest with one big obstacle remaining in their way.

De Villiers, like he did throughout his 76-ball 80 on Friday, looked immovable. It took a moment of impulse to see him lose his wicket, charging Hazlewood and edging behind to all-but guarantee his side home.

With two runs to win, there was still time for Hazlewood to take his first five-wicket haul for Australia, delivering a wicked bouncer at Philander’s throat first ball to be caught at backward point and arouse muted celebration.

Steyn had enough, hitting through the line to ice the game, with Miller unbeaten on 22 (27) at the non-striker’s end as the two teams head to the nation’s capital deadlocked.