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South African batsman Jacques Rudolph has held off a desperate Australia to guide his side to a draw in the first Test at Perth.
Rudolph, a late replacement for the injured Jacques Kallis, batted all day to be unbeaten on 102 at stumps, his vigil lasting over seven hours in which he faced 283 balls.
Resuming at 85/2, South Africa faced an uphill task on a turning WACA wicket to save the match. Only on Boxing Day eight years ago had an attack including Shane Warne been thwarted on the final day trying to bowl a side out - that side being South Africa.
Australia snared a couple of wickets in the first session; Herschelle Gibbs edged Lee very low to the safe hands of Warne at slip, and Ashwell Prince was adjudged lbw by umpire Billy Doctrove after being tormented all morning by Warne's guile.
Prince's downfall brought Kemp to the wicket, and Australia wouldn't taste success for another 52 overs. Not only that, but they were rarely offered a chance. A shy at stumps in the last over before tea would've had Kemp well short of his ground, but McGrath was off target.
With the ball doing little and the track offering consistent bounce, Warne was Australia's only hope. Kemp struggled at first but found his feet, while Rudolph played him brilliantly all day. Bad balls were dealt with accordingly, but defence was the order of the day. It wasn't so much that the batsmen survived that made their contributions great, but that both innings were virtually chanceless.
Ricky Ponting will come under fire for some unimaginative captaincy; at one point, he was conceding Rudolph the singles despite Kemp being well set at the other end. He brought Andrew Symonds on for a bowl when the match was pretty much over, and even gave Brad Hodge a run in the dying stages when Australia needed a last-gasp effort from its pacemen.
However, McGrath and Lee were made to look unthreatening, while Bracken was unimpressive when given an opportunity. Rudolph played with an assuredness of the position of his off stump and experience and grit normally associated with someone of much later years.
Kemp's support role may be partly forgotten, as he finally fell to Warne with twelve overs remaining, but by then Australia's hopes had been snuffed out and the calm Mark Boucher ensured there would be no tragic collapse.
The South African selectors now face a slight, but good, dilemma, with Jacques Kallis set to return on Boxing Day. Rudolph cannot be dropped following his match-saving knock, while Kemp was integral in securing the draw, and proved to selectors that he does not deserve to be pigeonholed as a one-day specialist. The man on the chopping block is most likely Prince, who was all at sea against Warne, falling to the leg-spinner in both innings.
And so we head to Boxing Day at nil-all after a valiant effort from Kemp and Rudolph. The latter may go on to score many more runs and hundreds, but this is the innings for which he will always be remembered.
