By Kevin Rademeyer, Sports Journalist.
Photo Credit: CSA.
Live from Kingsmead: South Africa had the platform to make Australia work hard for their advantage at Kingsmead. Instead, a promising start unravelled into a damaging afternoon of missed opportunities, loose strokes and outstanding Australian fielding.
By stumps on day three, the Proteas had been dismissed for 284, surrendering a first innings deficit of 106 runs. Australia reached 33 without loss in their second innings before bad light intervened for the third consecutive day, stretching their overall lead to 139 with two days remaining.
The position is firmly in Australia’s favour. South Africa, however, have enough time and quality to make this contest uncomfortable for the visitors, provided they learn quickly from a batting performance that fell well short of the demands of Test cricket.
The most frustrating aspect of the Proteas’ innings was not the quality of Australia’s attack, although Pat Cummins once again demonstrated why he is among the game’s most influential bowlers. It was the manner in which South Africa surrendered promising positions.
Aiden Markram and David Bedingham had moved the score to 84 for one, looking increasingly comfortable against an attack that had struggled to maintain its usual pressure early in the partnership. Markram’s dismissal, edging Mitchell Starc to slip after attempting an expansive drive, was a setback rather than a disaster. South Africa still had the opportunity to build.
They never recovered properly.
Temba Bavuma battled for 27 balls to score three before falling to Nathan Lyon while attempting a reverse sweep. Bedingham, who had looked assured in reaching 49, followed after driving at a delivery he could have left. Steven Smith produced a superb catch at slip, and Australia had taken three wickets for 15 runs.
Smith’s contribution went well beyond that dismissal. He claimed four sensational catches in the innings, moving past England’s Joe Root for the most Test catches by a non wicketkeeper. Two of his efforts were truly exceptional, including a remarkable one handed catch to dismiss Kyle Verreynne off Lyon.
South Africa’s middle and lower order offered resistance, but never enough to change the direction of the innings. Wiaan Mulder and Tristan Stubbs added 56 for the fifth wicket before Cummins broke the partnership with a short ball that Mulder could not control. Stubbs followed, caught at deep fine leg after another delivery from the Australian captain forced an ill judged response.
Marco Jansen briefly counterattacked with 26 from 20 balls, but his dismissal to Josh Hazlewood summed up the afternoon. South Africa had starts from seven batters and not one reached 50. Bedingham’s 49 was the highest score.
Batting coach Ashwell Prince did not disguise the lesson. “We could have been better sometimes at sensing the intensity of the opposition and reading the state of the situation,” he admitted.
Prince’s assessment was pointed. Australia have three frontline fast bowlers capable of sustaining pressure, with Lyon providing control at the other end. Their intensity cannot remain at its highest indefinitely, but South Africa repeatedly offered wickets just as partnerships were beginning to develop.
Matt Renshaw’s 190 in Australia’s first innings provided the clearest example of the patience required. He left the ball well, trusted his defence and waited for scoring opportunities. South Africa’s batters, by contrast, too often tried to force the pace before the situation demanded it.
“They come with a certain intensity that can only last for a period of time,” Prince said. “That’s probably the biggest learning for the team: sometimes you’ve got to be able to absorb that intensity until you take the sting out of the attack, and then there are runs to be had.”
The challenge now is to apply that lesson without losing the aggression that makes South Africa dangerous. Their bowlers must strike early on day four, prevent Australia from accelerating towards an imposing target and keep the visitors from dictating the timetable.
Prince expects Australia to attack, knowing that every run added quickly will increase their control of a match already interrupted by poor light. “Taking wickets is the best approach for us,” he said. “You’ve got to look to take wickets while controlling the run rate.”
That is the task in front of the Proteas. They cannot change the dismissals of day three, but they can still influence what follows. Australia have seized the advantage through discipline, pressure and sharp fielding. South Africa need to answer with a more measured response, beginning with the ball.
With roughly 140 overs potentially remaining, due to the light issues, the next phase will demand precision from both sides.
If Australia can push their lead beyond 330, South Africa could find themselves batting simply to survive, with Nathan Lyon posing an increasingly serious threat on a fifth day surface.
The Proteas looked comfortable when they attacked the spinner, but when they retreated into a defensive shell, Lyon took control. South Africa’s bowlers must therefore strike early on day four while keeping Australia’s scoring rate below four runs an over, denying the visitors the freedom to build an insurmountable advantage.
The Proteas are missing frontline bowlers, their backs are against the wall and the challenge is formidable. Yet Temba Bavuma has never lost a match as captain, and this team has repeatedly shown an ability to fight back when the odds are stacked against it. They will need that resilience in full measure in Durban.
There is still a Test match to play. The margin for error, though, has narrowed considerably.