By Kevin Rademeyer, Sports Journalist.
Photo Credit: CSA.
Live From Durban: Australia’s return to Test cricket in South Africa began with a familiar problem: an uncertain batting order under pressure from a hostile pace attack. By the time bad light ended the opening day at Kingsmead, the visitors were 187 for six, with Matt Renshaw and Pat Cummins offering the resistance that their more celebrated teammates had failed to provide.
South Africa, playing their first Test in almost a year, had reason to be satisfied. Anrich Nortje marked his return to the format after three and a half years away with two wickets, while Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder also struck twice as Australia’s innings lurched between brief recovery and renewed trouble.
The absence of Kagiso Rabada, rested as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury, had threatened to leave a sizeable hole in the home attack. Nortje’s performance went some way towards filling it.
There was pace, bounce and enough hostility to unsettle a batting line up already under scrutiny after Australia’s recent struggles against Bangladesh. Nortje removed Alex Carey and Beau Webster in quick succession, turning a competitive passage into a precarious position at 124 for six.
South Africa had earned that advantage through disciplined fast bowling on a Kingsmead surface that offered movement and extra bounce. Jansen finished with two for 35, Mulder two for 31 and Nortje two for 40.
Australia’s decision to bat first after winning the toss had initially looked reasonable under clear skies. The trouble was that their opening experiment never got going.
Nic Maddinson’s remarkable recall had dominated the build up, but the left hander’s return to Test cricket after nearly a decade ended in a 33 ball duck. He had not played first class cricket since March 2025, having undergone treatment for testicular cancer, and his lack of recent match practice was exposed against South Africa’s new ball attack.
Maddinson survived a leg before appeal against Mulder when Temba Bavuma declined to review. Ball tracking later showed the delivery would have hit the stumps. He never recovered from that reprieve, struggling to score before an attempted cut against Jansen produced an inside edge onto his off stump.
The selection was always going to attract attention. Its consequences were more significant than one disappointing innings, raising questions about Australia’s batting depth and the selectors’ reluctance to invest in younger options.
Travis Head also failed to capitalise, falling to Mulder after South Africa successfully reviewed a caught behind decision. Australia were two down before the opening partnership had offered any meaningful resistance.
Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith then provided the innings’ most composed passage. Their 60 run stand steadied Australia, with Smith attacking Keshav Maharaj for two sixes and Labuschagne looking increasingly assured after a shaky start.
But Mulder struck again just before lunch, trapping Labuschagne leg before wicket for 37. The dismissal proved a turning point. Jansen returned after the interval and immediately put Smith under pressure, striking him painfully on the knuckles before inducing an edge to gully from the next delivery. Smith departed for 24.
From 84 for three, Australia were soon 124 for six.
Renshaw, pushed down to No. 5 after Maddinson’s selection, became the innings’ anchor. He defended with patience, survived a testing spell from Jansen and refused to let the collapse dictate his approach. Carey offered brief support before Nortje removed him for one, then had Webster caught behind two balls later.
Cummins, however, was not content simply to shepherd the tail. The Australian captain batted with the assurance of someone accustomed to rescuing difficult situations, joining Renshaw in an unbroken seventh wicket stand worth 63 runs.
Renshaw reached stumps unbeaten on 46 from 115 balls, while Cummins had made 33. Their partnership carried Australia past 180 and softened what had threatened to become a damaging first day.
The weather brought proceedings to an early close, with only 65.2 overs completed before worsening light forced the players off at 3.22pm.
For South Africa, the fast bowlers had delivered precisely the start Bavuma needed after losing Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. The two specialist spinners, Maharaj and Simon Harmer, went wicketless across 21 overs, although the pitch may offer them more as the match develops.
Australia will take encouragement from Renshaw and Cummins, but their top order has left considerable work for the lower middle order. Smith and Labuschagne showed that batting was possible, only for South Africa to expose the fragility beneath that recovery.
The contest remains finely poised, but the opening day belonged to the home side’s pace attack. Nortje’s return was more than a welcome boost. It gave South Africa the edge they needed in a series where Australia’s batting questions have followed them across the Indian Ocean.