As we won't be seeing another red ball, or men in whites, until May 17 now, it was only right that the last day of Test cricket for five months was, well, Test cricket through and through. In the morning session, particularly, the game was at its peak, cricket as it was meant, with two sides more evenly matched than any of the three results really indicate trying to disprove that very assertion.
Early wickets fell to up the pressure, whereby followed a four-way battle as compelling to follow as when the Beatles were breaking up over matters artistic. Mohammad Asif and Danish Kaneria flung just about everything they had at Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince. All types of deliveries, ideas, plans were hurled at the batsmen and verbals too. Lucky there were no kitchen sinks, for they would have been tried as well.
Kallis and Prince were perturbed but unmoved. Run-scoring and self-preservation wage a daily battle for a batsman's top priorities but only the latter mattered here. It's a horrible, over-used statement, but South Africa wouldn't have wanted anyone else batting for their 'life' here. Kallis was immense, cocooned fully from any rashness, any temptations. Prince partnered him well, trying to up the rate but when realising he couldn't, just biding his time. Both faced hairy moments aplenty but both knew it was only ever a question of time.
What they were both waiting for was someone not called Asif to come on. Only 18 runs came from the first 23 overs of the morning, yet as soon as Mohammad Sami replaced Asif, half of that came from his first, last and only six balls. The game was up then, merely the formalities left for both men to complete, which with half-centuries apiece they duly did. Much of this series has been scripted on scenarios precisely like this.
Kallis and Prince have been present at all key moments; they haven't scored big runs, certainly not the kind associated with Kallis, but each of their 512 runs has been critical. Possibly as important is the nearly 1200 balls they faced between them, mostly from Asif and Kaneria, and each one survived, a small victory in itself. When those two haven't been at the crease, South Africa's batting has looked as watertight as a sieve.
Similarly, when Asif and Kaneria haven't been bowling, either in tandem or at one end, Pakistan's attack has been irrelevant, barring 11 overs from Shoaib Akhtar. The pair took 34 of the 48 South African wickets to fall and bowled 305 overs between them. The rare occasions they weren't on, South Africa prospered, and in those moments slipped away Pakistan's best chance to win a Test series in South Africa.
It is unlikely that Test cricket will dominate the thinking of either side from now till late this year but they might want to jot down a few, hasty notes on a laptop or two as a reminder of what needs sorting when they do wear whites again.
Both could do with some openers, Pakistan with two. South Africa wouldn't mind two more solid middle-order batsmen and more opportunity for Paul Harris. Pakistan will ponder Kamran Akmal's position, who dropped another chance today to add to the host he has spilled through an awful series (he might not buy Danish Kaneria a drink but he owes him something for sure). They should also consider setting up a travelling hospital, given the ridiculous number of injuries they have suffered over the last year and their last two away series.
Probably neither side will, as coloured pyjamas come out of their closets, the white ball arrives and thoughts of Powerplays begin to loom. Never mind, for today, and indeed the series, they left us with a nice reminder of what we won't have for a while.