Australia has failed to win a test for the first time this summer, with South Africa batting out a draw on day five of the final game at the SCG.
After four rain-affected days, including a complete washout of day three, Australia had to take 14 wickets on the final day of the three-test series to complete a 3-0 clean sweep of the Proteas to go with a 2-0 series win over West Indies.
But they could only manage six wickets in the day as South Africa salvaged a modicum of pride from an otherwise sorry series, ending the match 2-106 in their second innings, having been bowled out for 255 earlier in the day.
Usman Khawaja was named player of the match for his unbeaten 195, while David Warner received the player of the series accolades.
After frontline attack of Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood and Ashton Agar were resisted by the overnight not out pair of Simon Harmer and Marco Jansen, it was part-timer off-spinner Travis Head who finally got the first wicket in the 15th over of the day, finding Jansen's outside edge through to Alex Carey for a 78-ball 11.
It proved to be the only wicket of the opening session, with Harmer and Keshav Maharaj resisting until the lunch break, threatening to take South Africa beyond the follow-on target and forcing Australia bat again.
Maharaj notched the fifth half-century of his Test career just after the break but was trapped LBW on 53 by Hazlewood, having put on 85 off almost 27 overs for the eighth wicket.
That took South Africa to within 24 runs of avoiding the follow-on, but the final three wickets of Maharaj, Harmer (47) and Kagiso Rabada (3) fell for just three runs, meaning Australia sent them straight back in to bat.
That left the Proteas 47 overs to survive to salvage a draw from their dismal tour, and it got off to a familiarly rough start when captain Dean Elgar was caught off his hip down the leg side for 10 in the ninth over.
It left him with just 56 runs from six innings at an average of 9.33 and, up until this final innings, where he led, the rest of the South African line up duly followed in a procession back to the dressing room.
However, mercifully for South Africa, Sarel Erwee and Heinrich Klaasen stopped them from losing another one before tea, leaving Australia with nine wickets to take in the final session.
Twice in one Lyon over after the break, Australia was adamant they had Klaasen — first LBW, which was cannoning into the middle of middle stump but stayed with umpire's call in terms of hitting outside off, then caught at slip, only for third umpire Richard Kettleborough to find grass on the bottom of the ball in slow-motion replays for the third time this Test.
Three overs later, Hazlewood took the decision out of the officials' hands by collecting the top of Klassen's off stump with an in-swinger, ending his vigil on 35.
The truncated nature of the game means the Australian selectors are no closer to knowing whether Agar would be an appropriate selection for the upcoming tour of India.
With no red ball cricket until the first Test in Nagpur on February 9, will have to rely on their gut as to whether they should stick with Agar, or trust the part-time off spin of Head and the leg spin of Smith and Marnus Labuschagne — who was not used until the final throes of this Test, extracting serious turn out of the rough to boot — to supplement their usual battery of quicks.
Agar took 0-58 in the Test, although perhaps more concerning will be lack of penetration from Lyon (2-120) on a slow turning wicket of the type that he will doubtless face plenty of in India — although his success in 2017, where he took 19 wickets at 25.26, should negate those fears.
While Australia can look forward to tours of India and England later this year, South Africa has just three more Tests in 2023, two against Bangladesh at home and the first of two against India in December.
