Head, Marsh and Green ton up in consolation win

After two insipid batting performances Australia tucked in for a run-fest on the Queensland coast as Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Green all struck centuries to set up their second-highest total in the format. Green's 47-ball maiden hundred, the second-fastest by an Australian, capped a remarkable day where the top-three all reached three figures, a feat seen only once before in ODIs. Australia racked up a staggering 431 for 2 and then buried the visitors under his mountain of runs as Cooper Connolly picked up a five-fer to seal a 276-run win. South Africa won the series 2-1, their fifth straight in the format dating back to 2016.

The tone for Australia's consolation victory in Mackay though was set early after Mitchell Marsh won the toss. His opening partner clipped Kwena Maphaka for a four first ball. It set the ball in motion for a 250-run opening stand - Australia's fourth-highest - in just 34.1 overs. Head was the aggressor in the stand, blitzing 142 off just 103 balls - his first international ton since 2024. Marsh batted largely within himself and despite matching his partner for sixes struck - five - he finished with a more sedate 106-ball 100.

South Africa already had Kagison Rabada missing with an injury. Having won the series, they also accorded rest to Lungi Ngidi and the inexperience in the attack showed. Teenager Kwena Maphaka conceded 73 from six overs and Wiaan Mulder 93 from seven. Only Keshav Maharaj - introduced as early as the fifth over - managed to hold his own and was the only bowler in the ranks to go under six runs an over.

Maharaj also ended the opening stand when Head couldn't clear long-off. But what should have brought South Africa respite instead opened them to a different, more belligerent attack from Green, who was pushed up to No. 3 above Marnus Labuschagne. Marsh also fell for an even 100 when he miscued a slog-sweep off Senuran Muthusamy but Alex Carey joined Green for another round of double-barrelled assault.

Green reached 50 off just 28 balls in a Maphaka over that cost 20. The young seamer then putdown a straightforward chance at deep square leg when Carey pulled Corbin Bosch slower ball in that direction. Carey still didn't cause as much mayhem as Green did, who took down Muthusamy for a hat-trick of sixes. Two more sixes off Mulder took him into the nineties before Green got to the three-figure mark just seven balls slower than Glenn Maxwell's 40-ball effort against the Netherlands in 2023. Green finished on 118 off 55 balls with six fours and eight sixes.

Whatever faint hopes remained of South Africa becoming the first team to inflict an ODI whitewash upon Australia at their home dissipated when they slipped to 50 for 4 in the chase. Aiden Markram fell early to Sean Abbott, who also cleaned up Temba Bavuma after South Africa's returning skipper struck four boundaries in his 10-ball 19. The only semblance of a fight in the chase came through a 57-run stand off just 32 balls between Dewald Brevis and Tony de Zorzi. The former was reprieved when Cooper Connolly failed to gather the ball to effect a run-out.

But there were no such lapses with the ball in hand for Connolly, who first dismissed de Zorzi and then ran through the lower order to register the best figures for an Australian spinner in ODI cricket. He also became only the second left-arm spinner for Australia to claim an ODI five-fer, after Michael Clarke's 5 for 35 in Dambulla 21 years ago.

Brief scores:Australia 431/2 in 50 overs (Travis Head 142, Cameron Green 118*, Mitchell Marsh 100; Keshav Maharaj 1-57) beat South Africa 155 in 24.5 overs (Dewald Brevis 49; Cooper Connolly 5-22) by 276 runs.