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Australia vs. South Africa First Test, day two in Durban

A THRILLING session of Test match cricket which saw Mitchell Starc explode was marred by one “heartbreaking” disaster on day two.

Alex BlairAlex Blair
@alexblair_1
9 min read
March 3, 2018 - 6:53AM
Kagiso Rabada was fired up early on day two
Kagiso Rabada was fired up early on day two

Live Australia vs. South Africa

Australia is well on top with a dominant final session skittling the South Africans in Durban.

AUSTRALIA finished day two with a strong foot on South Africa’s throat as Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon shredded through the home side’s batting order in the evening session.

A masterclass from Lyon with the ball saw the Aussie tweaker snag two scalps in his first over, which included another signature diving caught-and-bowled to dismiss Dean Elgar.

The home side was eventually all out for 162 at stumps with Mitchell Starc claiming figures of 5-34.

Unfortunately there were hardly any spectators on hand to witness Australia’s bowling masterclass. Empty seats painted a grim picture in Durban again on day two, just as they did on day one.

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South Africa 162 (de Villiers 71 not-out)

Australia 351 (M Marsh 96)

3am

Starc, Lyon wrap up the day as South Africa tumble

Wide on the crease and around the wicket was Mitchell Starc’s charm on day two.
Wide on the crease and around the wicket was Mitchell Starc’s charm on day two.

Mitchell Starc was giving Theunis de Bruyn a headache with his nagging length as the rookie star poked around the crease. A hearty attempt at a drive from the 25-year-old ended badly with an edge sailing to Tim Paine behind the stumps, gifting Starc his second wicket and the Aussie with the fifth of the innings.

Nathan Lyon chimed in with another wicket late in the day, exposing the home side’s tail with a straighter off-spinner catching Quinton de Kock off guard and bowling the wicketkeeper batsman through the gate for 20.

Starc jumped back into the fray and cleaned up the tail, getting Vernon Philander caught behind before sending Kagiso Rabada (LBW) and Morne Morkel (bowled) to the sheds in a single over fast bowling brilliance.

The home side finished the day all out for 162.

12am

Markram falls before tea

Aiden Markram worked hard for his 32 but couldn’t make it to tea as Australia’s hand over the day’s play tightened its grip.

Seamer Pat Cummins forced the opening bat to fend a shorter ball off his ribs and into the hands of Cameron Bancroft at short leg for his second catch of the session.

Mitchell Starc was able to do some damage after the break, dismissing Faf du Plessis for 15 with a perfectly pitched delivery catching the South African’s outside edge and travelling into Tim Paine’s gloves behind the stumps.

11:05pm

Gaz gets it done, twice

A solid 40 minutes at the crease for South Africa looked to be turning fortunes in their favour as Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram knocked the shine off the new ball.

Steve Smith took out of the home side’s book and brought some spin on to change it up, opting with Nathan Lyon in the eighth over, and boy did he produce.

The off-spinner took another classic caught-and-bowled off his second delivery, diving to his right and dismissing Dean Elgar after the opener bunted one back down the pitch.

Elgar fell for seven and brought Hashim Amla to the crease, but the veteran batsman didn’t last long.

Amla fell for a duck in the same over after edging a ball into his pads and offering up a catch to Cameron Bancroft under the lid at short leg.

10:18pm

Marsh falls agonisingly short

Mitchell Marsh looked all but destined to raise his bat as his third Test century loomed, but a poorly-timed shot off Vernon Philander left the Aussie all-rounder shaking his head as he departed the crease on 96.

Marsh tried lifting the South African seamer over mid-on but instead found the outstretched hands of Morne Morkel.

His wicket brought Josh Hazlewood to the crease to attempt to squeeze out a late flurry of runs with Nathan Lyon.

The pair put on a brief partnership but were sent back to the sheds after Keshav Maharaj forced Lyon into a top-edge and sent the Aussie offie reeling on 12.

Maharaj finished the innings with 5/123 from his 33.4 overs, including five maidens.

9pm

Starc falls on eve of lunch, ‘Heartbreaking’ sight on day two

Mitchell Starc was bludgeoning his ways towards a Test fifty, creaming 35 from 25 balls after coming in at No. 9. The tailender hit two sixes and four fours in his cameo at the crease but was sent on his way by Keshav Maharaj in the 102nd over after the South African spinner tweaked one into his off stump.

It was a well fought session from both sides — it’s just a shame barely anybody was there to see it in the flesh.

Durban’s terribly low turnout on day one made international headlines with Test cricket fans around the world dearly hoping for a bigger crowd on the Friday.

Sadly, that wasn’t the case. A negligible amount of fans dotted the 25,000 seat stadium for the first morning, painting a dire picture for the rest of the Test.

8:21pm

Cummins caught unawares

Aussie lower-order batsman Pat Cummins departed the crease early on day two after a straighter delivery from Keshav Maharaj caught him off guard and bowled him through the gate.

The young star had many pushing for his promotion to an all-rounder after a strong run of performances with the bat but left fans wanting as he crawled to three runs off 38 deliveries.

Mitchell Marsh brought up his half century shortly after with a brutal cover drive off Morne Morkel.

7.30pm

Rabada strikes with new ball

Kagiso Rabada needed just four deliveries with the second new ball to secure the breakthrough the hosts were after.

Rabada’s good line and slightly fullish delivery enticed Aussie Tim Paine into a drive, collecting the outside edge on the way through to keeper Quinton de Kock.

Paine’s knock of 24 saw Australia reach 6/237 in the first hour of play.

Rabada was fired up after the dismissal and was loudly screaming towards his teammates as Paine walked off the field.

He followed up his wicket delivery with a 151km/h inswinger that missed Pat Cummins’ off stump by less than an inch.

He followed that up in his next over with a 150km/h bouncer that struck Cummins on his arm guard.

5.40pm

Aussie selector takes aim at frustrating rule

It was pretty gloomy in the final session of play.
It was pretty gloomy in the final session of play.

Aussie selector and Test great Mark Waugh has hit out at cricket’s “frustrating” bad light rule which is expected to play a major part in the First Test in Durban.

Play was stopped after just 76 overs on day one when Aussie Tim Paine complained of poor light at Kingsmead Cricket Ground, despite the lights being turned on two overs earlier.

The umpires ruled the poor light made the conditions potentially dangerous for the Aussie batsmen and called stumps early.

Waugh on Friday morning hit out at the rule, saying the conditions were not dangerous for Paine and Mitchell Marsh in the final hour of play.

He said the game has to remember it needs to entertain spectators and can’t allow spectators to continually be leaving the ground feeling disappointed about the end of play.

“I think they go off for bad light when it’s not bad enough anyway,” Waugh told Sky Sports Radio’s Big Sports Breakfast.

“These grounds have got lights and they put the lights on and they say there’s a shadow and they go off anyway. I think that’s something cricket officials have to look at, staying on the field. It’s all about entertainment. Players walk off and it’s not dangerous. We can see the ball. How many times have you seen a batsman miss a ball? It’s a bit frustrating.”

Waugh also publicly declared his support for under pressure opener Cameron Bancroft after his seventh straight failure to reach a score of 30 in test cricket.

He said selectors have not yet made a decision about bringing a potential replacement into the squad should Bancroft continue to struggle against the Proteas.

Middle order batsman Peter Handscomb is the only reserve batsman in the Aussie 15-man squad.

“Bancroft started off well against England, especially in Brisbane, and then dropped back a little bit and went back to domestic cricket and played well there,” Waugh said.

“It was a fairly unusual dismissal in a way. He sort of walked down the pitch to get at the ball and not let it swing. He just pushed at it, it was a good delivery that bounced a bit more than he would have expected. He’s a tough player with a good character.”

5.30pm

Silent assassin sneaks under Aussies’ radar

Keshav Maharaj got Steve Smith and Shaun Marsh.
Keshav Maharaj got Steve Smith and Shaun Marsh.

It was billed as a pace shootout for the ages, but already the undercard is threatening to upstage the main event in the Test series between Australia and South Africa.

Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj claimed the prized scalp of Steve Smith then dismissed Shaun Marsh on day one of the series opener in Durban. Maharaj was comfortably the pick of the bowlers on Thursday, which finished with Australia 5-225 and the first Test in the balance.

The 28-year-old could also have easily dismissed David Warner with his first ball, which produced a confident lbw shout and referral.

Ball-tracking replays suggested the sharp-turning delivery was missing leg stump by some margin, although not everybody was convinced.

“Usman (Khawaja) told me he thought it was out as well, but at the end of day HawkEye proved everyone wrong,” Maharaj said.

The tweaker was left out of the Proteas’ XI during their previous Test, such is the strength of their pace stocks.

Incredible precision, a slow pitch and intimate knowledge of his home ground made for a productive recall. Australia’s batsmen were unable to leave a single delivery during Maharaj’s 24 overs, such was his accuracy.

“He controlled it well from one end, especially when the ball was going reverse,” Warner said.

“He held up one end very well ... slowed our scoring down.” Nathan Lyon, the world’s leading Test wicket-taker in 2017, will no doubt be licking his lips at the prospect of bowling in the final innings of the game. “Gazza’s turn and bounce, that will play a key role for us,” Warner said. “Come day three or day four it’s probably going to err on the low side and I think definitely spin is going to play a role in this game.” Maharaj also dismissed Smith in Perth while helping the Proteas record a series win that humiliated Australia in 2016-17.

He was thrilled to get the better of the world’s best batsman again, having been brought on at Kingsmead after 10 overs.

“I was really excited to get his wicket,” Maharaj said.

“We do a lot of planning with the spin bowling coaches, the video analysts and things like that. To gain the reward is a really nice feeling. “I don’t have many variations so I’ve got to rely on consistency to outsmart the batsmen.

“Kingsmead happens to be one of those wickets where if you just stop the scoring something will happen.”

— AAP

5.15pm

Warner goes into bat for Bancroft

Cameron Bancroft knows he produced a “soft dismissal” in Durban, but the out-of-form batsman will turn things around according to opening partner David Warner.

Bancroft started his maiden Test tour in unconvincing fashion, shuffling across his stumps and edging a delivery he could have left to be out for five.

It extended a lean trot that spanned the duration of the Ashes, with the exception of an impressive 82 not out on debut at the Gabba.

The 25-year-old has failed to reach 30 in his past seven Test digs for Australia, managing a total of 97 runs at 13.85.

Selectors have placed immense faith in Bancroft, failing to include another opener in the touring party, so it is unlikely he will be axed for the second Test against South Africa.

“He’s so focused on his preparation, you can’t fault that, it’s just not happening out there at the moment,” Warner said.

“It will happen, you just need a bit of luck in this game.

“You always try and think outside the box and have a positive mindset. It so happened to be that he nicked one. He knows it was a soft dismissal.

“We spoke about it before at length. He’ll do the same thing in the second innings and hopefully not hit it next time.”

With Peter Handscomb being the reserve batsman in the touring party, Shaun Marsh or Usman Khawaja would need to open if Bancroft was dropped.

Chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns, who was in the stands for Bancroft’s underwhelming dismissal at Kingsmead, would be hesitant to force such a major rejigging of the order.

Equally, Hohns’ patience will have its limit.

Warner urged Bancroft to return to the state of mind he had during the early stages of the Sheffield Shield season.

“We had a good conversation today, we sat upstairs for quite a while and I spoke to him about the way he approaches it,” Warner said.

“Do you feel like sometimes you have to go after the ball or is it nervous energy? He was quite insightful.

“You look back at the Shield (runs) he scored against (NSW’s Test attack).

“I always talk to him about going back to that and thinking about ‘how did you go so well’ and ‘how can you replicate that on the big stage’.”

— AAP

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