Key events
70th over: South Africa 253-9 (Harmer 18, Nortje 2) Two singles off Hazlewood as the deficit is lowered to 137. The sunlight in Durban is just beginning to get hazy, it might not actually be bad conditions in which to have a dart with the new ball soon. Silver linings and all that.
69th over: South Africa 250-9 (Harmer 17, Nortje 1) South Africa will definitely rue the number of occasions where their batters have got themselves out rather than being gotten out in this innings. I realise I sound like Parker Posey in the White Lotus saying ‘gotten’ but the point remains. Nortje gets off the mark with a clip to the leg side and that brings up the 250 for the Proteas.
WICKET! Keshav Maharaj c Cummins b Starc 34 (South Africa 249-9)
Just as the partnership was building into something significant Maharaj tosses it away with a lame plink to Cummins at mid off. He can’t believe he has got out in such a fashion after grafting for over an hour. The deficit is 141 and out comes South Africa’s last man – Anrich Nortje.
69th over: South Africa 247-8 (Harmer 17, Maharaj 32) Now then! Maharaj flicks Hazlewood off his hip for SIX! He timed the undercrackers off that one. The bowler stands and stares before giving the merest nod of approval. A single off the next ball brings up the fifty partnership. Decent scrap this from Maharaj and Harmer.
68th over: South Africa 238-8 (Harmer 17, Maharaj 23) Starc starts with a maiden from around the wicket. There’s a hint of reverse swing as Harmer is beaten on the outside edge. Josh Hazlewood is back from the other end, the Labuschagne and Head experiments are over for now, If South Africa see them again in this innings then they’ll have done mightily well.
Here come the players for the final session. Here comes John Starbuck with a pertinent question:
“Given that (probably) for the third day in a row they have to go off early because of bad light, why don ‘t the adminstators start the day’s play much earlier to help make up time? It happens in other places, so why not Durban?”
I suspect it comes down to pre-arranged broadcast times/rights, thankfully is is brighter out there now than it was at this time yesterday and the day before.
I spied this stat from Ric Finlay on the socials:
The bowling quartet of Cummins, Hazlewood, Lyon and Starc has moved past 600 wickets today, now 602, the most by any quartet in all Tests, in the 38 Tests where all four have played. Second on the list is Moeen, Anderson, Broad and Stokes, 415 wickets in 31 Tests together.”
That’s why they call them the fab four. Toppermost of the poppermost.
Tea: South Africa 238-8
South Africa make it through to tea with the deficit standing at an imposing 152 runs. Maharaj and Harmer showed some defiance and stopped the clatter of wickets in the final hour but four wickets in the session plays 124 runs. The Aussies on top.
67th over: South Africa 238-8 (Harmer 17, Maharaj 23)
66th over: South Africa 236-8 (Harmer 16, Maharaj 22) Tea is approaching so Travis Head is thrown the ball as the Aussies try to squeeze a couple more in. Maharaj drives nicely for two through the covers and then cuts confidently for a single. “That’s a nice ball, Heady” purrs Alex Carey behind the stumps as Head finds some drift. Four off the over, we’ll have another from Labubu before the interval.
65th over: South Africa 232-8 (Harmer 15, Maharaj 19) It is indeed Marnus and he’s going to bowl his lolloping leggies rather than his (I’m being kind) bustling medium pacers. Every delivery is accompanied by a yelp of excitement but Harmer and Maharaj rotate strike with little fuss to collect four off the over.
64th over: South Africa 228-8 (Harmer 14, Maharaj 16) Wonderful pull shot from Harmer off Cummins. Decent counterpunch by South Africa but they still need plenty more. The deficit is 162 but this pair have put on 31 in nearly ten overs. The camera pans to Marnus warming up on the boundary, whether he’s been given the nod or is trying to catch Cummins’ eye is as yet unclear…
63rd over: South Africa 221-8 (Harmer 9, Maharaj 15) Harmer clips nicely off his legs to pick up four off Starc. The Aussies then burn their final review by sending a suspected caught behind upstairs but there was no bat in it. The sun is beating down in Durban at the moment, no sign of the clouds rolling in yet thankfully.
62nd over: South Africa 216-8 (Harmer 4, Maharaj 15) Cummins slams down an over of short stuff to Maharaj. This is better from South Africa, at least they are showing some resistance and putting more mileage into the Aussie legs. A maiden.
Oh, and the venerable Max Williams has been on:
“I can’t pretend to remember those Pakistan vs West Indies series as I wasn’t born (he says smugly). But here’s another thought — imagine if drawn series produced a winner takes all decider. Obviously the logistics would be tricky but it’s theoretically possible — albeit in a Jurassic Park “just cos you could doesn’t mean you should” kinda way.
Am I still hoping for the 2023 Ashes? Absolutely. Although I’d rather see a hypothetical sixth Test of the 2025 England vs India series as there’s literally no outcome that doesn’t seem possible.
Also, how on earth was 2001 India vs Australia only three Tests? That one surely has a case to be the highest quality series of the 21st century -pretty much every player a great of the game.”
A certain H Singh remembers that series fondly… the luckiest hat-trick in Test history?
61st over: South Africa 216-8 (Harmer 4, Maharaj 15) Starc’s radar has been awry in this spell, he keeps spearing the ball waaaay down the leg side and Carey is doing his best Gordon Banks impression to stop the byes. Cummins is coming back on and will replace Lyon, the captain wants this innings over and done with. If you want a job doing…
60th over: South Africa 214-8 (Harmer 3, Maharaj 14) Maharaj takes a step out to Lyon and lofts him over the top for four. Lyon gives it plenty of flight, daring his opposite number to do the same again. Maharaj refuses to take the bait this time, two more singles reduce the deficit to 176. The more South Africa chip away the more Australia have to get and the longer they potentially have to bat, the draw could then come back into the equation at some point, especially with the truncated days.
59th over: South Africa 208-8 (Harmer 2, Maharaj 9) Starc beats the edge of Maharaj’s blade and then smashes one into his gloves. Ouch. That popped off a length and actually hit Maharaj on the elbow where he doesn’t have any protection. Get some arnica on that later, Keshav.
“On the topic of Great Tours The World Has Never Seen” writes Chris Paraskevas, “as a young-er man-child, back when I had time to watch cricket pretty much all day*, I somehow ended up watching the entirety of the 2009-10 England tour of South Africa.
Graham Onions seemed to be bowling England out of ridiculous circumstances every day at stumps. Actually, it just felt like something box office was going to happen every day at stumps. Every session? One of the best tours I’ve ever watched (strictly as a neutral).”
No danger of that happening in this game, Chris – it’s pitch black by the time they get to stumps!
58th over: South Africa 206-8 (Harmer 1, Maharaj 8) Maharaj bunts Lyon into the off side for a couple but the spinner on spinner tussle is won by Lyon who beats his counterpart with a doozy that grips and spits at the end of the over. Starc is indeed coming on, is that a mop in his hand?
57th over: South Africa 204-8 (Harmer 1, Maharaj 6) Maharaj hooks a short ball from Hazlewood for four, he didn’t look comfortable mind. Mitchell Starc is warming up too, just what you want to see as a tailender…
56th over: South Africa 199-8 (Harmer 1, Maharaj 1) Lyon has men around the bat, short leg, slip and leg slip. Harmer and Maharaj pick up a couple of singles into the off side to each get off the mark. Even with the curtailed days they are having due to the fading Durban afternoon light there is still plenty of time in the march for Australia to force a win. South Africa just haven’t been able to soak up the deliveries or the pressure from the Aussies.
55th over: South Africa 197-8 (Harmer 0, Maharaj 0) Temba Bavuma did not look a happy man after Jansen’s rather tame dismissal. The wickets have fallen far too regularly since Markram and Bedingham’s decent second wicket partnership was broken – the Proteas slipping from 84-2 t0 197-8. Two wicket maidens in a row, Maharaj joins Harmer in the middle, the pressure cooker hissing like an peeved cobra.
WICKET! Marco Jansen c Head b Hazlewood 26 (197-8)
Jansen plinks a pull to Head at mid off and Australia are rampant!
54th over: South Africa 197-7 (Jansen 26, Harmer 0) Simon Harmer joins Jansen with the home side staring down the barrel of a hefty first innings deficit.
WICKET! Kyle Verreynne c Smith b Lyon 13 (South Africa 197-7)
That’s amazing anticipation by Steve Smith! He sees Verreynne getting down to reverse sweep and takes a step or two to his right before the ball has even made contact with the bat. The batter doesn’t nail the stroke and Smith is there to pluck it out of the air. Smith waddles about with glee with that inimitable toddler trot of his. “Oh my God! Oh my God, Smudge!” screams Marnus Labuschagne in delight.
53rd over: South Africa 197-6 (Verreynne 13, Jansen 26) Marco Jansen is unfurling his lissom limbs in Durban and isn’t going to die wondering by the looks of it! Hazlewood is nailed through cover for four and then pinged down the ground for the same a couple of balls later.
James Wallace
Thanks Rob and hello all. Can South Africa’s lower order and tail do some vigorous wagging like the Aussies yesterday? They trail by 197 runs so are in desperate need.
Drinks And with that, I’ll hand over to Jim Wallace for the rest of the day. Cheers!
52nd over: South Africa 188-6 (Verreynne 12, Jansen 18) Webster is hooked after a single over, with Lyon returning to the attack. Given how he addressed the threat of Cummins, I can’t wait to see how Jansen plays Lyon.
He starts by playing and missing, then mows a slog-sweep over midwicket for four. This is an exciting counter-attack, albeit one that feels doomed to impermanence. He has 18 from 15 balls.
51st over: South Africa 183-6 (Verreynne 11, Jansen 14) Jansen slugs Cummins down the ground for his third boundary. He’s taking on almost everything back of a length, which is a brave and potentially foolhardy tactic in the circumstances.
50th over: South Africa 176-6 (Verreynne 10, Jansen 8) Beau Webster replaces Travis Head. He starts by bowling medium pace to Verreynne, who slashes deliberately past the slips for four. “That’s Ian Healy revisited,” says Mark Nicholas on commentary.
South Africa trail by 214, and Australia are holding most of the aces.
49th over: South Africa 170-6 (Verreynne 5, Jansen 8) Matthew Renshaw’s 190 gets better with each passing wicket. He’s still the only man to reach fifty in this Test. Eight batters have been out between 25 and 49.
The new batter Marco Jansen gets going with back-to-back pulls for four. Have some of that! The difference with those shots and Stubbs’ dismissal is that the ball arrived at chest height so Jansen could get on top of it.
WICKET! South Africa 162-6 (Stubbs c b Cummins 32)
Tristan Stubbs walks straight into Australia’s trap. Pat Cummins set the field for the short ball, with men out at fine leg and deep square, and Stubbs couldn’t resist the bait. He top-edged a hook towards fine leg and was excellently caught on the run by Hazlewood. Very good bowling from Cummins – the height of the bouncer made it hard for Stubbs to control the shot – but that’s a really bad way to get out. Stubbs had been almost flawless until then.
48th over: South Africa 162-5 (Stubbs 32, Verreynne 5) Head continues, which is a bit of a surprise – surely you want Nathan Lyon against the new batter. Three singles from the over.
47th over: South Africa 159-5 (Stubbs 30, Verreynne 4) Kyle Verreynne thick edges/guides his first ball for four.
That was Cummins’ 50th Test wicket against South Africa at the Ollie Robinson-esque average of 18.14. Hard to believe it’s 15 years since he wowed us all on debut at Johannesburg.
WICKET! South Africa 155-5 (Mulder c sub b Cummins 30)
Pat Cummins has bounced out Wiaan Mulder! It was a sharp short ball from Cummins, bowled wide of off stump rather than at the head. Mulder shaped to hook, realised he wasn’t in control and tried to abort the shot. Too late: the ball looped up gently and was taken by the substitute Cooper Connolly at square leg.
46th over: South Africa 155-4 (Stubbs 30, Mulder 30) Travis Head relieves Nathan Lyon at the offspinner’s end. His first ball is a rancid long hop, utterly vile, that Mulder heaves over midwicket for six. Mulder slashes the next ball past slip at catchable height, with the ball rushing away for four more. A stroke of luck for Mulder, but those runs bring up an important fifty partnership.
45th over: South Africa 142-4 (Stubbs 28, Mulder 19) Pat Cummins replaces Mitchell Starc, who didn’t hit his straps in a short post-lunch spell. Stubbs, fencing off the back foot, edges wide of gully for four. Not sure whether it would have carried but Stubbs played it with relatively soft hands, unlike Markham and Bedingham earlier in the day.
South Africa trail by 248 runs.
44th over: South Africa 138-4 (Stubbs 24, Mulder 19) Stubbs reverse sweeps Lyon into the ground and away for four. That’s an excellent shot, and maybe an infectous one too. Later in the over, Mulder drives confidently for four more.
“Now there’s a topic inspired by Chris Paraskevas earlier – what are the great series that we missed out on?” wonders Max Williams. “The most recent Ashes perhaps if England hadn’t decided to sabotage themselves. But the one that sticks out is the 2012 South Africa tour of England – unforgivably only three Tests. The 2015 England vs New Zealand series would be another contender although those were two really fun sides rather than the best in the world.”
I’m obsessed with the Pakistan v West Indies trilogy of 1986-87, 1987-88 and 1990-91 – the greatest cricket most of us have never seen. All were three-Test series that finished 1-1; imagine if they’d gone to four Tests, never mind five.
43rd over: South Africa 127-4 (Stubbs 18, Mulder 14) Mulder threads Starc through extra cover for a couple. It’s been a low-key start to the afternoon session. Perhaps batting – or at least survival – is getting easier against the seamers as the ball gets older. It was around this stage of the innings that Matthew Renshaw began his long partnership with Pat Cummins.
42nd over: South Africa 124-4 (Stubbs 17, Mulder 12) Stubbs continues to play low-risk cricket against Lyon, pushing a single off the final delivery to keep the strike. He has 17 from 45 balls.
41st over: South Africa 123-4 (Stubbs 16, Mulder 12) Mulder thick-edges Starc wide of gully for his first boundary. This is an important series with the bat for Mulder. He has a Test average of 36 – but that includes the famous 367 not out against Zimbabwe, and he has yet to reach fifty against anybody other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh. Today would be a good time to change that.
40th over: South Africa 118-4 (Stubbs 15, Mulder 8) Lyon has a slip, short leg and silly point for Stubbs, who takes a single into the off side. Stubbs has started calmly and looks much more comfortable against Lyon than his partner Mulder.
Lyon’s figures are a captain’s dream: 12-1-23-1. Australia have control of the scoreboard and are chipping away at South Africa.
39th over: South Africa 117-4 (Stubbs 14, Mulder 8) Starc’s first ball after the break bounces twice on its way through to Alex Carey. This pitch is not as pure as it looks. Mulder gets the first run of the afternoon session with a single to square leg.
The afternoon session Mitchell Starc is back on after the break. This is a perfect situation for Australia: the seamers can bowl short, aggressive spells while Nathan Lyon ties up the other end.
“I haven’t really developed this idea but David Bedingham could be this generation’s Allan Lamb,” writes Ettiene Terblanche. “Both WP heroes and adopted county legends. Both Wynberg Boys prodigies. Both made Test debuts late. Lamb 28, Bedders 29. Both frustratingly robust players. I was willing DB off 49 because there’s something unfulfilled about scores like that: like Lamb in NZ or Pakistan. I hope I’m wrong, but this feels like a missed opportunity for Bedingham with Ackerman breathing down his neck.”
I haven’t checked but my memory of Lamb is that he had an excellent conversion rate (especially against West Indies) but made a lot of low scores when his hand/eye co-ordination went awry.
“Most fielders who believe they caught the ball cleanly should feel affronted, as the TV versions are not 100% clear,” says John Starbuck. “It’s tantamount to accusing the fielder of being a liar, which anyone ought to resent, but what else can they do?”
I’m not qualified to pass judgement, having never taken a low catch in my life, but I think one of the commentators said it’s possible to sincerely believe you’ve taken it cleanly even when it has brushed the ground.
Lunchtime reading
Lunch: South Africa trail by 275 runs
38th over: South Africa 115-4 (Stubbs 14, Mulder 7) It’s so hard to be sure with those low catches, no matter how good the technology. There was no hesitation in Labuschagne’s celebration and he was both surprised at and affronted by the decision.
It’s a frustrating end to an otherwise outstanding morning for Australia. A session of two halves turned on the wicket of Aiden Markram.
He was snaffled by Matt Renshaw, then Steve Smith took a couple of blinders to get rid of Temba Bavuma and David Bedingham.
Mulder is not out!
After looking at a number of replays, the third umpire Richard Illingworth decides the ball touched the ground. Labuschagne shakes his head repeatedly; he was certain it was a clean catch.
WICKET? Mulder c Labuschagne b Lyon 6
Labuschagne claims a low catch at slip, but it’s been sent upstairs.
37th over: South Africa 113-4 (Stubbs 13, Mulder 6) Mulder takes on the short ball from Hazlewood, pulling crisply through midwicket for a couple. It would have been four but for a expertly judged swoop on the boundary edge by Lyon.
36th over: South Africa 111-4 (Stubbs 13, Mulder 4) Lyon has another LBW appeal turned down when Mulder offers no stroke, this time to a delivery from over the wicket. It didn’t do enough but Lyon is toying with Mulder.
35th over: South Africa 110-4 (Stubbs 13, Mulder 3) That delivery from Lyon did far too much, so Australia were right not to review. But we’re not even at the halfway point and the ball is already turning sharply off the straight.
Josh Hazlewood replaces Pat Cummins and starts with a maiden to Stubbs.
34th over: South Africa 110-4 (Stubbs 13, Mulder 3) It’s an extended morning session, with lunch at 8.45pm AEDT. Lyon pleads unsuccessfully for LBW when Mulder whips around a delivery that turns sharply from round the wicket. Might have been too high, might have done too much. Either way, Cummins again decides not review.
33rd over: South Africa 106-4 (Stubbs 11, Mulder 1) Stubbs times Cummins expertly through the covers for four. High-class, low-risk batting. That’s South Africa’s first boundary in 14 overs, a reflection of Australia’s suffocating dominance.
32nd over: South Africa 100-4 (Stubbs 6, Mulder 0) In the commentary box, Vernon Philander makes the point that, as good as Australia have been, Markram and Bedingham both played high-risk back-foot drives.
We’ve jusr seen a replay of that Cummins appeal against Mulder. It was umpire’s call on impact and would have bounced over the top.
Another good over from Lyon, who has excellent figures of 8-1-15-1. South Africa are in abundant bother.
31st over: South Africa 99-4 (Stubbs 5, Mulder 0) South Africa have struggled to cope with Australia’s relentless intensity, particularly since the quicks changed their approach and started hammering a length.
Cummins almost gets Mulder with a fuller delivery that nips back to hit the pad. It was very similar to Labuschagne’s dismissal on day one, but maybe just outside the line this time. Cummins decides against a review and has to settle for a single-wicket maiden rather than a double.
WICKET! South Africa 99-4 (Bedingham c Smith b Cummins 49)
Nearly but not quite. Bedingham edges a back-foot drive off Cummins and is spectacularly caught by Steve Smith, leaping to his left at second slip. That’s another stunning grab from Smith, who has overtaken Joe Root as the outfielder with the most Test catches: 221 and counting.
More importantly, Australia are all over South Africa like a cheap cliche.