Australia’s bowlers delivered a rescue act in Cape Town, dragging the tourists back into the third Test after a morning of poor execution that threatened to define the series decider before it had properly begun.
The day began badly for the visitors on two fronts. Captain Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to bowl under blue skies, explaining afterwards: “It feels like there’s a bit of moisture in the wicket so we will have first use of it.” Eleven overs later, spinner Nathan Lyon was already in the attack, the earliest an Australian spinner had been introduced after a captain chose to bowl since Shane Warne in 2000. The bowling itself then leaked 140 runs at more than four an over in the opening session, and South Africa’s openers built an unbroken 100-run stand, the first century partnership against Australia after being put in to bat since Ricky Ponting’s insertion of England 21 years ago.
What followed was a demonstration of how quickly execution can turn a plan from liability into salvage. Australia’s fielding tightened and the scoring dried up through the afternoon, helped by careless South African batting as a position of 203-1 collapsed to 232-6. Aiden Markram, for 78, David Bedingham, for 50, and Wiaan Mulder, for nought, all fell attempting to take on short balls. Marques Ackerman, on 95, ran past a Lyon delivery with a first Protea century in his second Test in his sights, and captain Temba Bavuma was undone by a straight ball. It was Bavuma’s third dismissal to off-spin in three innings either side of his 179 last week, all for single-figure scores.
The decisive stretch came in the day’s final moments. With South Africa at 327-6 and seemingly positioned to close in the ascendancy, Mitchell Starc took four wickets in six deliveries with the new ball. He prised out Ryan Rickelton for 42 and Marco Jansen for 52, bowled Gerald Coetzee, and pinned Kagiso Rabada lbw for a duck, all targeting pads and stumps. South Africa were 329 all out, with Starc finishing on 6-72. The full scorecard and day’s coverage are available at https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/articles/c51kdggvmy7mo.
The outcome does not vindicate Cummins’ morning call, however. The more obvious reading is that he made it to protect a struggling batting line-up rather than because conditions demanded bowling. That line-up is visibly under strain. Opener Nic Maddinson has been sent home after two Tests, Marnus Labuschagne has been retained despite a run of innings without a century longer than most careers, and Steve Smith is out injured. Matt Renshaw will be pushed up to open after impressing at number five in the first Test, and Labuschagne has been given another, possibly final, chance. Among the four players brought into the XI, Josh Inglis has not faced a red ball in competitive cricket since March, nor has Cameron Green since August. Whether a day of play eases those batters back into the Test, or merely delays the inevitable, remains an open question.
Context matters here. Australia’s recent record of recovery is well established. Eleven months ago, after four sessions of last winter’s Ashes series, criticism was sharp: Usman Khawaja had been injured playing golf, the batting was weak, and the back-ups to an ageing pace attack were considered not up to the mark. Australia won that Test in two days and took the series 4-1. This reversal, at the bottom of Africa, could prove even more impressive, though the side remains imperfect and could yet lose a Test with wider repercussions ahead of next year’s Ashes.
For Cummins, the stakes of the toss decision are reputational. Captains who chose to bowl when they should have batted form an unwanted club: Nasser Hussain is a member, and Ponting’s 2005 call at Edgbaston, made as Glenn McGrath was on his way to hospital, still follows him despite winning everything in charge. The 27 October, in this Cape Town decider, could have been the date Cummins joined them. His bowlers’ streetwise sense of the moment has delayed that entry. Now his batters must ensure he never steps inside at all.