Smith’s close catching and Australia’s pace quartet seize control in Durban
Steve Smith and Australia’s frontline bowlers took charge on day three of the first Test against South Africa in Durban, as the visitors’ attack reduced the home side and swung momentum in Australia’s favour.
Australia entered the day under scrutiny after shock defeats by West Indies and Bangladesh and debate over the side’s age profile, but remained unbeaten in their past nine Test series; Matt Renshaw’s earlier innings of 190 had steadied their batting across the first two days of the match.
South Africa were dismissed for 284 in response to Australia’s first-innings 390, and in the second innings Australia were 33-0 with Peter Maddinson 17*; Cummins finished with 3-54 in the innings. The match is the first Test in Durban (day three of five) and Australia led by 139 runs.
Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon — who first appeared together as a quartet nine years ago — accounted for the wickets that curtailed South Africa, with Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon taking two apiece and Cummins three. The four have now taken 607 wickets in Tests in which they have played together; the next most successful such group cited is James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali, who took 415 wickets in their 31 Tests together for England.
At 82-1 after 20 overs South Africa looked comfortable, aided by a second-wicket stand between Aiden Markram and David Bedingham that progressed at almost 4.5 runs per over, but the contest shifted when Cummins reverted to a strategy of Lyon operating from one end while the quicks rotated at the other. In the first 20 overs the quicks had bowled 34% of their deliveries full, but between the 21st and 60th overs there were only 19 deliveries pitched fuller than six metres, and South Africa slid from 82-1 to 214-8 during that period.
Individual dismissals punctuated the collapse: Wiaan Mulder was struck on the helmet and then bounced out by Cummins, Tristan Stubbs top-edged Cummins to fine leg, and six overs after Stubbs fell Marco Jansen — who had struck six fours on his way to 26 — attempted a pull off Hazlewood from a fuller length and was caught at mid-off; Bedingham finished on 49.
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon bowled 19 overs at under three runs per over and capitalised on a more worn pitch, while Steve Smith produced several striking catches: two off Lyon to dismiss Temba Bavuma and Kyle Verreynne, and a leaping catch at second slip off Cummins to remove Bedingham. Smith’s total of 223 catches in Test cricket takes him three clear of Joe Root in second place among non-wicketkeepers, and his catch percentage stands at about 77%, which the report notes is below the format average.
Renshaw’s 190 included an encounter with short deliveries: he faced 52 balls that were pitched short in Australia’s first innings and played pull or hook shots to four of them, scoring off only one of those shots — when he was on 176 after facing 368 deliveries. Despite bad light halting play early again, Australia hold the advantage with the contest to be played across the Test’s final two days.
