VB Series game 10, Melbourne (Telstra Dome):
Australia 281-7 bt South Africa 201-9 by 80 runs
The early dismissal of Smith set the South Africans back
Brett Lee took 4-27 as Australia limited South Africa to 201-9 to clinch an 80-run VB Series win in Melbourne.
The Aussies had Andrew Symonds (65) and Mike Hussey, who smashed 62 off 44 balls, to thank as they made 281-7.
Graeme Smith was lbw to Lee off the second ball of the Proteas' reply and they were always up against it.
Johan Botha made 46 but no-one got going on a slow pitch and South Africa need a win from the last two games to seal a finals place against Australia.
They began promisingly at the Telstra Dome as the miserly Shaun Pollock (0-20 off 10 overs) kept the home side's top order in check.
In fact, after Andrew Hall bowled Adam Gilchrist (33) and Simon Katich (25) drove Johan Van der Wath to Pollock at mid-on, the bowlers were well on top.
Damien Martyn (34) and Ricky Ponting (53) steadily accumulated 74 runs but three wickets went down for 18 runs to leave Australia on 167-5 after 37 overs.
First Martyn was caught at backward point by super-sub Botha off Smith, then Ponting holed out to Van der Wath on the square-leg boundary off Botha, while Clarke was run out after a mix-up with Symonds.
However, Symonds and Hussey cut loose as 60 came off the last four overs to leave the Proteas up against it.
Their task became even stiffer when captain Smith was trapped by an inswinging Lee full-toss that looked to be missing leg-stump and Stuart Clark got Boeta Dippenaar to edge behind early on.
Lee had been drafted in when Glenn McGrath withdrew because of his wife's health problems.
A mix-up with Herschelle Gibbs saw Jacques Rudolph run out by sub James Hopes and it was 69-4 when Gibbs played across the line to Hopes and was bowled.
Botha and Ashwell Prince plodded away but the run-rate was soaring when another fine piece of fielding from Brett Dorey accounted for the latter.
Justin Kemp is usually a good man to have on your side in these circumstances but he too was subdued by tight bowling.
He gave a straightforward chance to Hopes on the cover boundary off Clark only to earn a reprieve, but was not so lucky in the next over when he pulled Lee to the same man at fine-leg.
After that, the tourists surrendered meekly to Lee as Boucher skied a pull and Botha fended the ball behind.
Pollock top-edged Symonds to Martyn and although Hall and Van der Wath batted out the remaining overs, it was scant consolation.