Lunch Australia 429 & 60 for 7 (Green 25*, Harmer 3-5, Rabada 3-14) need 228 runs to beat South Africa 329 and 387 (Mulder 115, Rickelton 101, Ackerman 62, Starc 3-65)
Harmer relished the turning Newlands surface and dismissed Alex Carey and Cooper Connolly in his fourth over before having Mitchell Starc – promoted to No.8 to deal with the footmarks – caught at bat-pad with what proved to be the last ball before lunch. Harmer has the amazing figures of 3 for 5 off eight overs.
Australia are almost down and out with any chance of even getting close resting on No.4 Cameron Green, who is on 25 not out, but he did have a reprieve on 10 when Harmer dropped a tough return catch.
Australia had started the day’s play with high hopes given the surface had looked mostly placid on day four. But they were rocked by a fired-up Rabada, who rediscovered his brilliant best after bowling within himself earlier in the match due to stomach cramps. His mesmerising opening spell produced the figures of 3 for 14 off five overs as he consistently found a dangerous line and length, while conjuring movement that Australia’s counterparts could not on day four.
Rabada started in rather fortuitous fashion on the third ball of the innings when he had Renshaw strangled down the leg-side. Renshaw’s golden duck was a disappointing end for his breakout tour, where he has led Australia’s batting with 369 runs at an average of 61.5. The wicket brought to the crease under-pressure Labuschagne, who entered knowing he was playing for his career having not scored a Test ton since the 2023 Ashes tour.
Labuschagne was on his haunches before entering the playing field, with an expectation that he might play freely given his predicament. He got off the mark with a risky first-ball boundary, a leading edge that flew past gully. But two balls later, he was trapped lbw after not playing a shot to a Rabada delivery that jagged back wickedly. He unsuccessfully reviewed, with DRS returning umpire’s call as Labuschagne slowly trudged off the field in what is surely his last Test innings for the foreseeable future.
Head loomed as the key wicket given his counterattacking prowess. He whacked three early boundaries, not all convincing, and his risky approach backfired when he edged to gully. It was Rabada’s 350th Test wicket as he reached the milestone with the fewest deliveries bowled.
There was no respite for Australia after Rabada’s early heroics although they didn’t help themselves. Josh Inglis, fresh off a superb ton in the first innings, was run-out for 4 following a misjudgement from Green who set off for a run that was never on.
Harmer was always going to be a handful and he almost claimed Green immediately after the drinks break only to drop a tough return catch low to his left. But he was soon jumping for joy after Carey unfurled an ill-advised reverse-sweep that was well caught by a forward diving Marco Jansen at backward point. Harmer then nicked off Connolly as the final day of the series appears to be turning into an anti-climax.
