Key events
James Wallace
That’s it from us today, Geoff Lemon’s report has landed which is my cue to get out of here. Join us tomorrow and bring your sun lamps.
Australia will come back tomorrow with a lead of 139 runs and with ten second innings wickets in hand. They hold all the cards in this Test match but they can’t control when the sun sets.
Stumps on day three
We’re off five minutes later than yesterday but it is indeed STUMPS now on day three in Durban.
“Hello James, sorry if you have answered my question many times before. I live in Maputo, Mozambique, about 450 km north of Durban. I reckon that light would be good enough for cricket until about 5pm here. Not long past the equinox, I would expect daylight to be moving in Durban’s favour.
Please elucidate.”
I can neither elucidate or illuminate Gary Moors. Here in the UK the light lasts longer the further north you go, something to do with the axial tilt? (Hark at me) What I know for certain is that we have now lost over 60 overs of this Test match to bad light.
Bad light stops play AGAIN in Durban
5.4 overs: Australia 33-0 (Maddinson 17, Head 10) Maddinson flicks off his pads for… SIX! Didn’t get all of it but it flew away over Rickelton’s head on the deep square sponge, the fielder gesturing that he didn’t see the ball at all.
Sure enough the sun dips behind a blanket of dark cloud and the umpires decide it is too dark to continue. That could well be it, another light curtailed day in Durban. Madness.
5th over: Australia 27-0 (Maddinson 11, Head 10) The Aussies doing well to take any sting out of this tricksy period, South Africa haven’t been accurate enough with the new ball and all of a sudden 27 runs have been added without much of a sniff. Four leg byes are followed by a Head bunt through cover for four.
4th over: Australia 18-0 (Maddinson 10, Head 6) Slightly spawny four from Head as he gets a leading edge off Mulder that beats the infield and trickles away through midwicket for four.
3rd over: Australia 14-0 (Maddinson 10, Head 2) Maddinson moves into double figures with a flick to the leg side. Head then rides the bounce well to drop at his feet and take a single.
2nd over: Australia 12-0 (Maddinson 9, Head 1) Wiaan Mulder to share the new nut. Oooof! Head nearly drags one onto his stumps! That was very close, Head has perished in that fashion a lot recently too. Mulder flashes him a smile before returning to his mark. Head gets up and running with a clip for one off his pads and Maddinson will keep strike to Jansen after collecting a leg bye off the final ball. The floodlights are fully beating down now. We won’t have loads of time left here, the Proteas would love to take a couple with them into day four.
1st over: Australia 8-0 (Maddinson 8, Head 0) Marco Jansen with three slips and a gully in position for Maddinson… who pulls his first ball for four! The pair is dealt with and there’s no 33 ball torture period for Maddinson this time either. I think he’s come out with the intention of playing a few strokes.
Jansen hits him in the nethers and Maddinson responds with a wild drive outside off that flies away over the infield for four more! Jansen finishes with a probing ball on off stump but that’s the over and time for some deep breaths all round.
A crucial 30-45 minute passage of play coming up. Penny for the thoughts of Nic Maddison as he walks out to the middle with Travis Head. Australia’s second innings is about to get underway. They are effectively 106-0. Let’s play!
South Africa 284 all out
Nortje is pouched at slip by that man Steve Smith off the bowling of Beau Webster and that’s the innings complete. Australia lead by 106 runs and will have to come out and negotiate a tricky period under lights. Simon Harmer is left unbeaten on 35 but it could have been worse with the bat for the Proteas (as it could have been for Australia i their first dig) partnerships of 50 and then 35 for the last two wickets mean that the home side’s position is not terminable and some early strikes get them well back in ther match.
77th over: South Africa 281-9 (Harmer 32, Nortje 16) Nortje pounces on a full ball from Lyon and drives away for four more. If this final pair can reduce the deficit to double figures then that will be a significant result for the home side.
76th over: South Africa 277-9 (Harmer 32, Nortje 12) Starc is getting a hint of reverse but Nortje is up to it, of sorts, a thick edge flies away for four and a quick single is scampered the next ball.
74th over: South Africa 272-9 (Harmer 32, Nortje 7) Simon Harmer decides to give it some humpty! He pulls Beau Webster for SIX over the square leg fence and then charges down to loft four over cover. Webster drags his length back but is too wide, Harmer flays and a meaty edge flies away for four more! The deficit down to 118 runs. Starc is being summoned to get this final wicket after 14 runs are flogged off Webster.
74th over: South Africa 258-9 (Harmer 18, Nortje 7) Lyon once more, this time he isn’t allowed to twiddle through a maiden, Nortje steps out and slaps him down the ground for four.
73rd over: South Africa 254-9 (Harmer 18, Nortje 3) Nortje rocks back and scythes Hazlewood past point but its just a single. The game in a holding pattern but the light fading rapidly.
72nd over: South Africa 253-9 (Harmer 18, Nortje 2) Lyon replaces Cummins and twirls through a maiden. Shadows definitely lengthening in Durban, get declaring Temba!
71st over: South Africa 253-9 (Harmer 18, Nortje 2) Two singles off Hazlewood as the deficit is lowered to 137. The sunlight in Durban is just beginning to get hazy, it might not actually be bad conditions in which to have a dart with the new ball soon. Silver linings and all that.
70th over: South Africa 250-9 (Harmer 17, Nortje 1) South Africa will definitely rue the number of occasions where their batters have got themselves out rather than being gotten out in this innings. I realise I sound like Parker Posey in the White Lotus saying ‘gotten’ but the point remains. Nortje gets off the mark with a clip to the leg side and that brings up the 250 for the Proteas.
WICKET! Keshav Maharaj c Cummins b Starc 34 (South Africa 249-9)
Just as the partnership was building into something significant Maharaj tosses it away with a lame plink to Cummins at mid off. He can’t believe he has got out in such a fashion after grafting for over an hour. The deficit is 141 and out comes South Africa’s last man – Anrich Nortje.
69th over: South Africa 247-8 (Harmer 17, Maharaj 32) Now then! Maharaj flicks Hazlewood off his hip for SIX! He timed the undercrackers off that one. The bowler stands and stares before giving the merest nod of approval. A single off the next ball brings up the fifty partnership. Decent scrap this from Maharaj and Harmer.
68th over: South Africa 238-8 (Harmer 17, Maharaj 23) Starc starts with a maiden from around the wicket. There’s a hint of reverse swing as Harmer is beaten on the outside edge. Josh Hazlewood is back from the other end, the Labuschagne and Head experiments are over for now, If South Africa see them again in this innings then they’ll have done mightily well.
Here come the players for the final session. Here comes John Starbuck with a pertinent question:
“Given that (probably) for the third day in a row they have to go off early because of bad light, why don ‘t the adminstators start the day’s play much earlier to help make up time? It happens in other places, so why not Durban?”
I suspect it comes down to pre-arranged broadcast times/rights, thankfully is is brighter out there now than it was at this time yesterday and the day before.
I spied this stat from Ric Finlay on the socials:
The bowling quartet of Cummins, Hazlewood, Lyon and Starc has moved past 600 wickets today, now 602, the most by any quartet in all Tests, in the 38 Tests where all four have played. Second on the list is Moeen, Anderson, Broad and Stokes, 415 wickets in 31 Tests together.”
That’s why they call them the fab four. Toppermost of the poppermost.
Tea: South Africa 238-8
South Africa make it through to tea with the deficit standing at an imposing 152 runs. Maharaj and Harmer showed some defiance and stopped the clatter of wickets in the final hour but four wickets in the session plays 124 runs. The Aussies on top.
67th over: South Africa 238-8 (Harmer 17, Maharaj 23)
66th over: South Africa 236-8 (Harmer 16, Maharaj 22) Tea is approaching so Travis Head is thrown the ball as the Aussies try to squeeze a couple more in. Maharaj drives nicely for two through the covers and then cuts confidently for a single. “That’s a nice ball, Heady” purrs Alex Carey behind the stumps as Head finds some drift. Four off the over, we’ll have another from Labubu before the interval.
65th over: South Africa 232-8 (Harmer 15, Maharaj 19) It is indeed Marnus and he’s going to bowl his lolloping leggies rather than his (I’m being kind) bustling medium pacers. Every delivery is accompanied by a yelp of excitement but Harmer and Maharaj rotate strike with little fuss to collect four off the over.
64th over: South Africa 228-8 (Harmer 14, Maharaj 16) Wonderful pull shot from Harmer off Cummins. Decent counterpunch by South Africa but they still need plenty more. The deficit is 162 but this pair have put on 31 in nearly ten overs. The camera pans to Marnus warming up on the boundary, whether he’s been given the nod or is trying to catch Cummins’ eye is as yet unclear…
63rd over: South Africa 221-8 (Harmer 9, Maharaj 15) Harmer clips nicely off his legs to pick up four off Starc. The Aussies then burn their final review by sending a suspected caught behind upstairs but there was no bat in it. The sun is beating down in Durban at the moment, no sign of the clouds rolling in yet thankfully.
62nd over: South Africa 216-8 (Harmer 4, Maharaj 15) Cummins slams down an over of short stuff to Maharaj. This is better from South Africa, at least they are showing some resistance and putting more mileage into the Aussie legs. A maiden.
Oh, and the venerable Max Williams has been on:
“I can’t pretend to remember those Pakistan vs West Indies series as I wasn’t born (he says smugly). But here’s another thought — imagine if drawn series produced a winner takes all decider. Obviously the logistics would be tricky but it’s theoretically possible — albeit in a Jurassic Park “just cos you could doesn’t mean you should” kinda way.
Am I still hoping for the 2023 Ashes? Absolutely. Although I’d rather see a hypothetical sixth Test of the 2025 England vs India series as there’s literally no outcome that doesn’t seem possible.
Also, how on earth was 2001 India vs Australia only three Tests? That one surely has a case to be the highest quality series of the 21st century -pretty much every player a great of the game.”
A certain H Singh remembers that series fondly… the luckiest hat-trick in Test history?
61st over: South Africa 216-8 (Harmer 4, Maharaj 15) Starc’s radar has been awry in this spell, he keeps spearing the ball waaaay down the leg side and Carey is doing his best Gordon Banks impression to stop the byes. Cummins is coming back on and will replace Lyon, the captain wants this innings over and done with. If you want a job doing…
60th over: South Africa 214-8 (Harmer 3, Maharaj 14) Maharaj takes a step out to Lyon and lofts him over the top for four. Lyon gives it plenty of flight, daring his opposite number to do the same again. Maharaj refuses to take the bait this time, two more singles reduce the deficit to 176. The more South Africa chip away the more Australia have to get and the longer they potentially have to bat, the draw could then come back into the equation at some point, especially with the truncated days.
59th over: South Africa 208-8 (Harmer 2, Maharaj 9) Starc beats the edge of Maharaj’s blade and then smashes one into his gloves. Ouch. That popped off a length and actually hit Maharaj on the elbow where he doesn’t have any protection. Get some arnica on that later, Keshav.
“On the topic of Great Tours The World Has Never Seen” writes Chris Paraskevas, “as a young-er man-child, back when I had time to watch cricket pretty much all day*, I somehow ended up watching the entirety of the 2009-10 England tour of South Africa.
Graham Onions seemed to be bowling England out of ridiculous circumstances every day at stumps. Actually, it just felt like something box office was going to happen every day at stumps. Every session? One of the best tours I’ve ever watched (strictly as a neutral).”
No danger of that happening in this game, Chris – it’s pitch black by the time they get to stumps!
58th over: South Africa 206-8 (Harmer 1, Maharaj 8) Maharaj bunts Lyon into the off side for a couple but the spinner on spinner tussle is won by Lyon who beats his counterpart with a doozy that grips and spits at the end of the over. Starc is indeed coming on, is that a mop in his hand?
57th over: South Africa 204-8 (Harmer 1, Maharaj 6) Maharaj hooks a short ball from Hazlewood for four, he didn’t look comfortable mind. Mitchell Starc is warming up too, just what you want to see as a tailender…
56th over: South Africa 199-8 (Harmer 1, Maharaj 1) Lyon has men around the bat, short leg, slip and leg slip. Harmer and Maharaj pick up a couple of singles into the off side to each get off the mark. Even with the curtailed days they are having due to the fading Durban afternoon light there is still plenty of time in the march for Australia to force a win. South Africa just haven’t been able to soak up the deliveries or the pressure from the Aussies.
55th over: South Africa 197-8 (Harmer 0, Maharaj 0) Temba Bavuma did not look a happy man after Jansen’s rather tame dismissal. The wickets have fallen far too regularly since Markram and Bedingham’s decent second wicket partnership was broken – the Proteas slipping from 84-2 t0 197-8. Two wicket maidens in a row, Maharaj joins Harmer in the middle, the pressure cooker hissing like an peeved cobra.
WICKET! Marco Jansen c Head b Hazlewood 26 (197-8)
Jansen plinks a pull to Head at mid off and Australia are rampant!
54th over: South Africa 197-7 (Jansen 26, Harmer 0) Simon Harmer joins Jansen with the home side staring down the barrel of a hefty first innings deficit.
WICKET! Kyle Verreynne c Smith b Lyon 13 (South Africa 197-7)
That’s amazing anticipation by Steve Smith! He sees Verreynne getting down to reverse sweep and takes a step or two to his right before the ball has even made contact with the bat. The batter doesn’t nail the stroke and Smith is there to pluck it out of the air. Smith waddles about with glee with that inimitable toddler trot of his. “Oh my God! Oh my God, Smudge!” screams Marnus Labuschagne in delight.
53rd over: South Africa 197-6 (Verreynne 13, Jansen 26) Marco Jansen is unfurling his lissom limbs in Durban and isn’t going to die wondering by the looks of it! Hazlewood is nailed through cover for four and then pinged down the ground for the same a couple of balls later.
James Wallace
Thanks Rob and hello all. Can South Africa’s lower order and tail do some vigorous wagging like the Aussies yesterday? They trail by 197 runs so are in desperate need.
Drinks And with that, I’ll hand over to Jim Wallace for the rest of the day. Cheers!
52nd over: South Africa 188-6 (Verreynne 12, Jansen 18) Webster is hooked after a single over, with Lyon returning to the attack. Given how he addressed the threat of Cummins, I can’t wait to see how Jansen plays Lyon.
He starts by playing and missing, then mows a slog-sweep over midwicket for four. This is an exciting counter-attack, albeit one that feels doomed to impermanence. He has 18 from 15 balls.
