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A pantheon of Australian greats have faced the stern South African challenge in Test match cricket, a format that besides being the most arduous in terms of the skill set involved to succeed, is also the one that requires its pursuers to practice patient.
And while the Waugh brothers, Ricky Ponting, Michael Bevan, the legendary Sir Don Bradman (4 Tests hundreds v SA and a best score of 299*) and the great Victor Trumper have all locked horns against the mighty South African side, there are so many others too, who have scored hundreds, made their test sides win and ruled the roost for commanding the batting charts.
In these last few decades, which Australian batters have emerged as champions in their surge to outpace South Africa, who have always fielded bowling legends of the class and might of Shaun Pollock, Allan Donald, Jacques Kallis and then, as seen in the decades later, Dale Steyn and company?
Let us find out:
Neil Harvey
A legend of his day and someone whose standing as the best Australian batter in a list of their supremest talents is absolute, Sir Neil Harvey, a famous Victorian born in Melbourne, was as talented as they come in Test match cricket. The gifted left hander, someone who as just as good a fielder as he was a batter scored no fewer than 8 Test hundreds, the most by any Australian batter versus South Africa.
Still, at the ripe age of 96, Harvey remains one of the most electrying batters to have ever played Test cricket for his country.
Ricky Ponting
Punter, as he is famously called, was a live wire of a fielder and a gutsy batter, someone who was described by the great wall of Indian cricket Rahul Dravid as an 'eternal trier'.
A fearless right handed batter known for his remarkable stroke play and that audacious pull stroke from the frontfoot, Ricky Ponting has hit, no fewer than 8 Test match centuries against the mighty Proteas attack. Once, he even hit back-to-back Test hundreds versus the big burly South Africans.
In that sense, he's struck the second most number of Test centuries in the post Neil Harvey-era for Australia. His highest test score versus the Protea bowlers remains the 143 unbeaten runs he made at the SCG. As a matter of fact, his first-ever test played vs the opposition culminated in a fine 105 at the MCG.
Matthew Hayden
An exceptionally attacking and fearless man, Haydos' mere presence instilled a sort of fear in the minds of his opponents. He was big, burly and didn't give a darn about who he was to face, whether Allan Donald, Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock or even Dale Steyn or Morkel in the latter years.
What's rather interesting about the daring left-hander, particularly in his career against the mighy Proteas bowlers is that besides hitting 6 Test centuries against the team, two more than Ponting's tally, once Matthew Hayden hit two consecutive centuries against this very side and that too, inside a fortnight.
His 131 at the Adelaide Oval would be followed by a glorious 138 against the same opponent.
Now that he's not an active cricketer anymore and a seasoned expert, it could be said the onus of scoring heavily and quickly rests with none other than a certain Travis Head.
Honourable mention: Steve Smith
Smith, will undoubtedly, play a key and decisive role for Australia in the big Test match final against the mighty South Africans at Lord's. And the man who has already hit no fewer than 36 Test hundreds against the Proteas will be raring to go.
Thus far, he's hit just 2 Test hundreds versus South Africa, unlike some of the other top players like David Warner and Michael Clarke from his nation, who have many more, but below is a telling fact, concerning a bit where South Africa stand.
The very last inning that Smith, a potent right hander, played vs South Africa resulted in a glorious hundred: a 104 off 192. Interestingly, his first-ever Test century against the same opponent was an exact score of 100 that came off 213 deliveries, circa 2014. Can Smith score more this time around?
