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5 unforgettable incidents from South Africa- Australia Test matches

When two fiercely competitive sides battle it out for top honours, tempers are expected to fly.

However, in the ongoing Test series between South Africa and Australia, the hostility between the two sides has certainly gone up by a few notches, overshadowing some brilliant individual performances both with bat and ball.

However, series marred by controversies are not new in a contest involving both these sides and we, here look at five instances which remain etched in public memory.

#5 When Graeme Smith was threatened to be killed by Brett Lee

Lee and other Australians were quite vociferous in their words back in 2002
Lee and other Australians were quite vociferous in their words back in 2002

During Australia's tour to South Africa in 2002, Graeme Smith, who at the time was taking baby steps into international cricket, was targetted verbally by several Australian players as he came out to the middle to bat.

Brett Lee, Smith later said, had threatened to kill him. Matthew Hayden told him he wasn't good enough and questioned how he was going to tackle the spin of Shane Warne.

It was a baptism by fire for a young Smith, who later in his career created a legacy for himself as well as South African cricket, by taming the Aussies in their own den, not once but twice in two consecutive series.

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