South Africa v Australia: ‘Insane’ end to day four

A bizarre day in Durban as the umpires stepped in to deny Mitchell Starc a hat-trick with Australia one wicket from victory.

Mitchell Starc celebrates on day four. Picture: AFP.

Cricket is insane. Certifiably, regularly and certifiably nuts.

Last night the umpires stepped in to deny Mitchell Starc (4-74) a hat trick with Australia one wicket from victory in the first Test and then led the players from the field.

The stadium will have to be opened tomorrow for last rites that should have been given last night.

South Africa is 9-293 and needs 124 unlikely runs on the last day.

“I think they were going to go off but I think most nights teams have been offered spin so I know one of the nights I was out there the South Africans were offered spin on day one, they decided not to take it,” wicket keeper Tim Paine said after play. “Obviously the state of the game tonight we thought we’d have a crack at getting that last wicket.

“It was just getting darker and darker so even the spinners were becoming a little bit harder to see. It’s got to be fair for the batters. It was great they gave us the chance with the spin but the umpires were constantly checking the light and it was just getting to the stage where it was just too dark.”

For a moment it seemed the South Africans might pull off an historic run chase. Brilliant young batsman Aiden Markram (143) and wicket keeper Quinton de Kock (81no) came together with the score 5-136 and got within 127 runs of victory.

The pair were scoring at will against a tiring and frustrated attack, but all-rounder Mitchell Marsh and wicket keeper Time Paine conspired to bring the partnership to an end.

The keeper came up to the stumps and had instant success. Paine an outside edge from Markram who left the ground to a standing ovation but the crowd and the dressing room knew hope was leaving with him.

Markram was in no rush to get back to the dressing rooms after being involved in a run out with AB de Villiers earlier in the day, but to be fair to the 23-year-old who scored his third Test century, most of the blame lay with the veteran.

Paine admitted after play that there was a degree of frustration.

I”m sure some guys were worrying, no doubt, they were playing really well,” he said. “But we know we had a new ball coming up, we knew we were one wicket away from unleashing Mitchell Starc and our pace attack on their tail.

They frustrated us by playing really well. We changed some plans and stuff, which you’ve got to do when guys get in, but I think we can bowl better than what we bowled today. but at the same time the way Aiden and Quinton played probably forced us off our game a little bit.

‘They played really, really well.”

Starc was brought on from the other end after the opener’s dismissal and took three wickets in four deliveries and that was that.

Well, just about. A day that had already seen a number of plot twists and dramas had one left.

Starc was on a hat trick at the end of the over when the umpires intervened and told Steve Smith that it was too dark for the seamers to continue. The Australian captain complained bitterly, but could not convince the officials to change their minds.

At one point Kumar Dharamsena lifted the bails and was set to end play, but Smith relented.

The new ball was due but wasn’t taken.

Nathan Lyon and Smith himself replaced Marsh and Starc in the gloom, the spinners attempting to eke out the last wicket.

Lyon, curiously, had failed to take a wicket all day and neither he nor his skipper could get one in the nine overs they bowled before the light was taken.

The day had so many turns and if you had told anybody at lunch that the South Africans would still be there at stumps they would have thought you insane.

At one point the home side was 4-49 with all of its experienced batsman back in the dressing room.

Mitchell Starc removed Dean Elgar in the seventh over, Hashim Amla was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood _ for the sixth time in seven innings _ in the 11th, AB de Villiers was run it for a duck and du Plessis followed followed soon after.

Thienus de Bruyn steadied the ship with a solid 36 from 84 balls before he too was dismissed before tea.

Markram, 23, is pure class. The opener has three centuries and two scores in the 90s from just 12 Test innings.

The first two, against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe were suggestions of his talent, but this innings against the best bowling attack in the world is absolute confirmation of it