Key events
-
Tea: Australia 50-1, trail by 276
-
Head dropped on 5!
-
WICKET! Maddinson c Rickelton b Rabada 8 (Australia 8-1)
-
Australia all out 99, and South Africa enforce the follow on
-
WICKET! Cummins c Breetzke b Mulder 7, Australia all out 99
-
WICKET! Starc c Rickelton b Rabada 1, Australia 97-9
-
WICKET! Smith b Mulder 28, Australia 96-8
-
WICKET! Webster c b Jansen 12, Australia 84-7
-
Lunch – South Africa are all over it, with Australia 69 for 6
-
WICKET! Carey c Rickelton b Jansen 0, Australia 65-6
-
WICKET! Renshaw c Harmer b Jansen 12, Australia 65-5
-
Nortje goes off injured
-
WICKET! Labuschagne c Harmer b Nortje 14, Australia 45-4
-
WICKET! Head lbw Jansen 14, Australia 22-3
-
WICKET! Boland c Rickelton b Jansen 2, Australia 11-2
-
Preamble
Before I nip off for a cuppa, let’s hear from reader, Guy Honrsby:
What a day this has been Daniel. Sure, as an England fan, I’m absolutely not impartial, but I think I’ve earned the joy of watching Australia folding for less than 100 after 40+ years of mostly demoralising outcomes at the hands of the visitors. It’s so life-affirming seeing KG Rabada back bowling, but a crying shame that his partnership with Nortje lasted so few overs. Harmer will be key here to tie up an end, and Australia will want to put pressure on him but it feels too early to risk that yet. There’s still so long in the game left, but it’ll test this depleted attack. I’d not be surprised to see Australia pile on the runs, but who knows? What a glorious game this is!
Tea: Australia 50-1, trail by 276
Just the one wicket for South Africa this session, but they’re still in control of this match.
Harmer bowls the last over before the break. Head gets low and nails a slow sweep for four before taking one down to deep point.
The Australians have brought up their 50, but they’re still a long way behind. Head will resume on 26 with Labuschagne alongside him on 16.
16th over: Australia 45-1 (Head 21, Labuschagne 16) Rabada continues. Just the one off it but not very threatening. Games within games.
15th over: Australia 44-1 (Head 20, Labuschagne 16) Oh, was that a chance at short leg? It was. Beddingham got his fingers on the Labuschagne clip, but couldn’t get them around the ball. Smiles from Harmer but he’ll know that was close. Three singles off the over.
14th over: Australia 41-1 (Head 18, Labuschagne 15) These Aussies are staying patient. Marnus is forcing KG to bowl at him. When he gets what he wants, he clips a couple down to fine leg. Earlier in the set, Head collected a single through point. South Africa have to stay equally patient for this wicket.
13th over: Australia 38-1 (Head 17, Labuschagne 13) Spin now as Harmer replaces Mulder. He’ll be expected to hold an end as the three seamers rotate. Bavuma will want him to bowl all day if he can. There’s just a run off Head, and then a quarter of a chance at short leg as Labuschagne flicks a ball straight to the man under the lid, but that would have been the greatest catch you’d ever seen if he pulled it off.
12th over: Australia 37-1 (Head 16, Labuschagne 13) Head launches into a bit of width from the returning Rabada and heaves him over cover for four. Swashbuckling, is the word that springs to mind. Two singles elsewhere means it’s another productive over for Australia. More to the point, they’re looking comfortable out there.
11th over: Australia 31-1 (Head 11, Labuschagne 12) They could have had the wicket of Head. They should have had the wicket of head. You’d back Jansen to take that catch in the gully. Instead it’s four runs down to deep third and frustration for the South Africans. Head then clips two down to fine leg when Mulder gets too straight.
Head dropped on 5!
Oh how costly will that be? Short and wide, he chucks his hands at it and it flies with a thick edge towards gully where it bursts through Jansen’s hands. Mulder, the bowler, can only look on with frustration.
10th over: Australia 25-1 (Head 5, Labuschagne 12) Just the one off this Jansenover, a single to Head. Australia are bedding in. Watchful. Nothing loose. They’re looking to play the long game here. A reminder that a draw in this match will mean they can’t lose the series.
9th over: Australia 24-1 (Head 4, Labuschagne 12) Mulder continues. There’s a catcher at short extra cover for Head, but he pings a single off the back foot down to the sweeper at deep point. That brings Labuschagne on strike and he’s moving across his pads, bringing ooohs from the South Africans when he’s defending. A ball later he clips a lovely clip through midwicket for four. Mulder over corrects and it’s short and wide and Marnus scythes it through point. Good from the Aussies. The pitch, which got the heavy roller treatment between innings, is looking a little flatter than it did earlier.
8th over: Australia 15-1 (Head 3, Labuschagne 4) Something has flown into Marnus’ eye and he needs some attention. Maybe that’s why he misses out on a half volley, scuffing his drive off Jansen. But he does pick up two through backward square leg.
7th over: Australia 13-1 (Head 3, Labuschagne 2) Change of bowling a Mulder comes into the attack. Reminder that Nortje is injured so a big shift is needed from the medium-pacer. He starts with a maiden to Head.
Here’s some correspondence from Will Ellen:
“If any Test series deserves 5 tests its surely Australia South Africa. Your almost guaranteed a brilliant contest. Both sides sheer bloodyminded determination, ability, and pride in performance means contests are rarely just one way traffic. Folding is simply not in their natures. If the Aussies went 2-0 down you just know they’d fight back to make it 2-2, and vice versa.
“Brave decision to enforce the follow on here with a bowler down..”
6th over: Australia 13-1 (Head 3, Labuschagne 2) Head gets up the other end where he’d want to be. Jansen then shifts to round the wicket to Marnus, looking to angle it into his stumps. But Marnus is tidy and keeps him out.
5th over: Australia 13-1 (Head 3, Labuschagne 2) A maiden from KG to Marnus including one ball that almost, almost, comes back off a length to bowl him as he shoulders arms. To repeat a cliche, there are two types of leaves.
4th over: Australia 11-1 (Head 1, Labuschagne 2) Head won’t just let the South Africans bowl at him. Off the first ball of this Jansen over, he goes after a short one with a mighty swing of his bat, but the pull shot finds nothing but air. A couple of deliveries later he creams a drive off the front foot but finds the fielder at mid-off. Jansen gets one to spit off a length before Head drops into the covers to scamper a single off the last ball.
3rd over: Australia 10-1 (Head 0, Labuschagne 2) Exactly what Bavuma would have wanted having sent the Aussies in to bat again. Maddinson showed a glimmer of what he can do with one stroke, but then underlined why his future in the side remains in serious doubt. Marnus in at first drop steers a couple off his pads through midwicket to get off the mark.
WICKET! Maddinson c Rickelton b Rabada 8 (Australia 8-1)
KG has him again! For the second time in two days, Maddinson hangs his bat outside the off stump against Rabada and is caught behind the stumps. This time it’s off the back foot and the nick is finer and to the keeper, but it’s an equally poor shot. He’d just thwacked a lovely punch through cover for four and was looking to get bat on ball again. But there wasn’t the width and there was extra lift off the surface. Hard not to think that Maddinson has played his last innings for Australia.
2nd over: Australia 4-0 (Maddinson 4, Head 0) Jansen, only bowled 11 overs earlier today for his 5-33, starts over the wicket to Head, looking to get one to land on the stumps and hold the line off the surface. He’s a bit wider than he’d like to start and Head can let it go safely, but he clearly wants something to cut. Jansen goes straighter with the last ball and Head blocks firmly. Maiden over.
1st over: Australia 4-0 (Maddinson 4, Head 0) Maddinson survives the first over and also avoids bagging a pair. He’s nicely in line on the forward defence when Rabada goes full and steers a lovely late cut behind square for four when Rabada drags down. The follow up, though, is an absolute seed! On a great length and jags back into the left hander to cut him in half. But there’s no nick and the stumps remain in place. So that’s a first assignment complete for the opening bat.
Daniel Gallan
Thanks Geoff. Hi everyone. Who saw this coming?
From 110-6 in their first dig, South Africa are now chasing an innings victory. Funny game.
Here’s KG with the new nut.
Geoff Lemon
Right then! Australia trail by 326, following on. A huge moment for Nic Maddinson here, he simply must do something to justify his spot. A tough test for Australia, a big opportunity for South Africa, and so it’s the perfect time for me to make way for Daniel Gallan.
Here’s a nice message from George van Zijl.
“Greetings from Potchefstroom. I’m so glad I can actually follow the OBO with skin in the game. Just because the OBO is so good as reading material I even started following the Ashes, which I think is a ridiculous sporting event as it just breeds arrogance from whoever the winner is, when more often than not it is being played by a mediocre team vs Australia (This will probably age terribly later this year when England tours South Africa, in which case I apologise in advance to Bavuma and co). Anycase, thanks for the coverage of this series and all others covered by the OBO, I have spent hours otherwisely productive reading the cricket, philosophy, music and whatever discussions are on.”
That very much captures the spirit of it, George, thank you. And I agree about the Ashes, which often don’t have the quality to deserve the kind of billing they receive.
Australia all out 99, and South Africa enforce the follow on
That goes down in the Hall of Ignominy for Australian cricket, with a fair few entries against South African sides. All out 47 in Cape Town, all out 85 in Hobart, and this one here, where any half reasonable batting effort today would really have put a South African win out of reach. Instead Australia have burned one whole innings and remain 326 runs behind.
South Africa will be buzzing. Jansen was fierce, ending with 5 for 33. Mulder chipped in with 2 for 14, while Rabada topped and tailed the innings with 2 for 33. Nortje had time for one wicket, but won’t take any more in this match, off the field injured.
So now we see a rare sight in modern Test cricket: the follow-on enforced. South Africa could have batted for a couple of hours to rest their bowlers, pushed the lead back up past 400, and then had a burst before stumps with a full day to bowl tomorrow.
But with weather and light a factor here, they’ve decided to try to keep the Aussies down while they’re down, and have at them again immediately with a new ball. That’s a big call when you’re a bowler down, but they do have Mulder, so they still have four frontliners to work with.
They’re 1-0 down in the series, so they have to take some risks. Either approach would have an element of danger.
WICKET! Cummins c Breetzke b Mulder 7, Australia all out 99
He only had one route in mind, the Australian captain, which was to try to hit some sixes to improve the balance sheet. I’m really not sure that would have done any good, as opposed to taking more overs out of the game. Big swipe into the leg side, and Breetzke at deep midwicket holds it.
42nd over: Australia 98-9 (Cummins 7, Hazlewood 1) Just one wicket to go for South Africa. Hazlewood wafts, then again, and gets a run at his second attempt. Cummins is looking to score anything while he still can, and shapes to clean out Rabada over long on, but the length is nowhere near full enough, and it’s a fresh-air shot.
WICKET! Starc c Rickelton b Rabada 1, Australia 97-9
One step closer! Another poor stroke. Rabada comes back on, Starc plays and misses at the first ball, then punches at the second even though it’s ribcage height and going over the middle stump. Backs away to leg slightly but still fiddles as the ball follows him. Edges, simple catch.
41st over: Australia 97-8 (Cummins 7, Starc 1) Mulder joins the wicket party.
WICKET! Smith b Mulder 28, Australia 96-8
What a working over. The pitch seems to have developed some little ridges that are helping the ball to move a touch, and it’s hard work even at Mulder’s more modest pace. Smith has getting more physio attention for this stiff neck. It’s bothering him, and he’s not moving freely. So the second ball of the over jumps, beating Smith and the keeper for four byes. The third ball cuts in, hitting Smith in the stomach. And the fourth, he’s nowhere near it. Distracted perhaps by the jagging around. He’s jumping to play it, he’s bringing his bat across the line of it, but that ball isn’t short enough to need to jump. It jags in again, stump height, and takes the top of off.
That’s the last big fish in the lake. Now to scoop up the minnows.
40th over: Australia 92-7 (Smith 28, Cummins 7) Jansen to Smith, who nudges a single into the off side, and that is 11,000 runs in Test cricket for him.
Joins the former XI of Border, Jayawardene, Chanderpaul, Lara, Sangakkara, Cook, Dravid, Kallis, Ponting, Root, Tendulkar, making them a dozen.
Cummins is doing more of the scoring, though, pushing a brace and then clipping four square of the wicket.
39th over: Australia 84-7 (Smith 27, Cummins 1) Australia need Cummins out there. He’s responsible for four balls of Mulder’s over, but prods at one and has a wild drive at another. Can’t be offering more slip catches…
38th over: Australia 84-7 (Smith 27, Cummins 1) I was asked yesterday whether Jansen was among the world’s top ten bowlers, and prevaricated. Might need to revisit that assessment, he’s seized this game by the scruff. Cummins squeezes out a single behind square.
WICKET! Webster c b Jansen 12, Australia 84-7
Three slips and a gully for Jansen, and Webster feeds them for Jansen’s fifth. Brainless shot again from an Australian player, a big forcing drive with no footwork, movement going nowhere, weight leaning back, thus a very low chance of connecting convincingly. Instead he edges, and Markram at second slip dives to his left in front of first slip to hold the catch. This is bordering on an epochal collapse.
37th over: Australia 84-6 (Smith 27, Webster 12) DRS reprieves Webster! Given out caught behind off Mulder, the South Africans think that they are right amongst the pigeons in their feline forms, but the moment is retracted. The ball beats the outside edge and just beats the off stump, Webster saying that he thinks it clipped the bail. But DRS shows no spike from bat or stump, and the decision is overturned. Webster celebrates by blazing four through the covers, off a no-ball as well.
36th over: Australia 78-6 (Smith 27, Webster 8) Jansen to Webster, and Beau is one player who isn’t mismatched due to Jansen’s height. He clouts the short ball, because it’s harder to get one up to his head height. Two runs there. They turn over a few singles to follow. Nobody looks comfortable against Jansen though.
35th over: Australia 73-6 (Smith 26, Webster 4) Nortje is out of the game. He’s wearing the full training kit on the balcony. They’re saying it’s a groin strain. Jansen had one of those yesterday when he had his fruitbowl turned into a smoothie.
Mulder joins Jansen as the post-lunch bowler. Presumably now Bavuma wants to go Jansen, then Rabada, rather than using them both up in tandem. Mulder is less of a threat in these conditions, more an honest operator, and he tries to stay on Smith’s off stump. Given some of Smith’s wild shots though, it might not be the worst idea to feed that wider line.
34th over: Australia 73-6 (Smith 26, Webster 4) We’re back after lunch, with Jansen unsurprisingly opening up after his burst before the break. Webster is batting all the way down at No8 thanks to the nightwatch scenario, but he still has a specialist bat’s job to do today. Simply must stay with Smith for a while. He’s beaten early in the over, but whacks his first boundary through cover late in the piece.
Gervase Greene writes in. “Not judging anything on one innings, or even one series, but isn’t it about time we had a sensible discussion about whether Head remains as opener As I recall, originally the main argument for his opening was to balance Uzzie Khawaja’s important but increasingly stolid presence. Some miracle innings notwithstanding, fact is I would love to see Trav coming in tonight at 5 or 6. But he’s already gone, as he so often has been in the past two years. The issue is not so much the perennial Australian debate about ‘can he fill the opener spot?’ but whether we are really getting the best out of Trav while he’s with us. He is a one-in-a-generation talent, a rare diamond in the rough, and I fear we are chucking a lot of his remaining time in the big league away.”
That was exactly my concern after the wild hundred at Perth. It was so much fun that of course everyone wanted to let him keep doing it, and it did work through the rest of that series, but it never felt like a long term solution, especially against better bowling in foreign conditions. Head further down the order was someone whose style had a better chance to work; opening you’ll always have a greater attrition rate. The classic taking from a strength to look after a weakness.
Lunch – South Africa are all over it, with Australia 69 for 6
High octane session, starting intensely and ending intensely. The South Africans have taken five wickets and given away only 66 runs, adding to their late wicket last night. Rabada has been unbelievable, and mostly what’s hard to believe is that he only has one of the wickets. Jansen has four, and has bowled just as well. In the meantime, Nortje is off injured having bowled 3.3 overs.
The Australians are in all sorts. Bad shot last night from Maddinson, who you can’t expect much from. Basic error from Head, bad technique from Labuschagne plus a stunning catch. Boland as expected from a night guard. Renshaw got a beauty, Carey played a shocker. Smith has looked terrible, but is somehow still there. His team desperately need him to carry on. Still 156 from the follow-on.
33rd over: Australia 69-6 (Smith 26, Webster 0) Rabada is the last act before the tray of sausage rolls. Smith leaves a couple, then walks across and shovels a leg glance, unorthodox way of playing it, to fine leg where he gets a couple of runs thanks to a tangled attempt to save. Was that the draw shot? Did Smith glance that between his legs? He gets back on strike, and sees out the over.
32nd over: Australia 67-6 (Smith 24, Webster 0) Not that Smith is having an easier time than anyone else. Where was this sense of threat from the Australian bowlers yesterday with an older ball? Jansen has Smith jumping to defend, then jumping out of the way. Next, a swish outside off stump, then a loud appeal for a ball that cuts in and thuds into pad. It’s just going over the bails on the projection, and Bavuma correctly guessed that, gesturing height to his teammates. Smith pushes a run to cover fifth ball. One over to go before the break.
31st over: Australia 66-6 (Smith 23, Webster 0) Interesting byplay here. Not that you’d need to shield Webster from strike, but I wonder whether a cricket strategist would want the set Smith to take a single first ball of Rabada’s over, five minutes from lunch. It very nearly brings about Webster’s wicket, the ball a beauty that seams away slightly, similar to the way that Cummins does it, and so nearly takes the edge of Webster’s bat.
30th over: Australia 65-6 (Smith 22) Two wickets in three balls, ten minutes before lunch. Jansen has ripped the game open anew. Follow-on back in the projections.
WICKET! Carey c Rickelton b Jansen 0, Australia 65-6
Now they’re in real trouble. Carey the firefighter, so often in the past, can’t douse a lit match today. The move to six, was that really necessary? Again this wicket is about Jansen’s bounce from his prodigious height. His first ball to Carey beats the outside edge, his second takes the top edge of an angled bat, but did Carey need to be attempting to fiddle that down to backward point or deep third with his blade in that position? He’s made a few dreadful choices with the bat lately.
WICKET! Renshaw c Harmer b Jansen 12, Australia 65-5
There’s the big one! In the context of this series as it is, bigger than Smith. And that’s a brilliant piece of bowling from Jansen. Has Renshaw leaving, leaving, blocking, then suddenly pulls the length back, same line, Jansen using all of his height in getting the ball to jump at the batter, and while Renshaw is also tall, he can’t ride that bounce. Gets his hands up to try, but the ball takes the shoulder of the bat and flies low into the gully where Harmer takes another very good one, low down.
29th over: Australia 65-4 (Smith 22, Renshaw 12) Smith is playing with fire against Rabada. Can’t help himself reaching for width outside the off stump, not once but repeatedly. Rabada keeps bowling there. The first shot is the safest, relatively close to him and a bit back of a length as he punches square. But then he aims a huge drive at a very wide ball that swings away, missing it completely and astounding Rabada. Another drive at width, inside half goes to the leg side. He doesn’t need to be playing these balls. It’s a weird innings from Smith today.
