Warriors pair take SA home

The Proteas looked dead and buried at the Wanderers last night. With seven wickets down they still needed over 60 runs off the final five overs to beat Australia in the second T20 international.

Batting first, Australia, who won the first T20 clash at Newlands, set the home side a target of 148 and had them on the ropes before a blistering lower-order fightback from the Warriors' Rusty Theron and Wayne Parnell propelled the Proteas to victory by three wickets, giving them a 1-1 share of the series. Theron hit the winning runs - a huge six- with just five balls to spare.

However, another failure by the Proteas' top order will be a concern for coach Gary Kirsten. The front-line batsmen once again left it to the tail to do the job and it was the lightning 64-run eighth-wicket partnership off 27 deliveries between the Eastern Cape pair that took the game away from the visitors. Theron finished with 30 off 16 balls and Parnell made his 29 off just 11 balls.

Parnell was the only change to the Proteas line-up, replacing Robin Peterson, whereas Australia handed a debut to Mitchell Marsh in the place of injured Shane Watson.

Good bowling by Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Morne Morkel, with two wickets each, pinned the Australians back and their 148 looked an easy target on the small Wanderers ground.

Tsotsobe was the pick of the bowlers, with 2/11 in four overs.

Marsh made 36 off 21 balls after launching a late onslaught in the final over of the Aussies' innings by hitting three sixes off Morkel to take the visitors to a competitive score.

Australia got an early breakthrough when opening bowler Doug Bollinger claimed the wicket of captain Hashim Amla in the first over for four.

JP Duminy failed to reproduce his heroics of the first match, in which he made 67, and was out for nought, and Johan Botha made a gallant 34 runs off 28 balls.

The two sides now go straight into the first one-day international at Centurion on Wednesday.