Australia Seizes Commanding Lead as Bowlers Pack-Hunt South Africa in Durban

Stumps Australia 390 and 33 for 0 (Maddinson 17, Head 10) lead South Africa 284 (Bedingham 49, Cummins 3-54, Hazlewood 2-54) by 139 runs

After securing a first-innings lead of 106 runs, Australia finished day three at 33 for no loss in their second innings, with Nic Maddinson unbeaten on 17 and Travis Head on 10. Bad light halted play for the third consecutive day after just 5.4 overs of the second innings.

The focus was squarely on Nic Maddinson as the second innings began, following his disappointing 33-ball duck in the first innings. However, he made an immediate statement, cracking a pull shot to the boundary off Marco Jansen on the very first ball of the innings—marking his first Test runs since December 29, 2016.

Maddinson, who played his last three Tests in late 2016, continued his aggressive start by smashing another boundary later in the over before launching Wiaan Mulder over deep square-leg for a six.

Each of Australia’s four frontline bowlers got at least two wickets•Associated Press

Australia now holds a commanding position, a stark contrast to their struggles with the bat on day one. However, they remain cautious about the threat of bad light potentially restricting play on days four and five.

Australia’s brilliant bowling and fielding on day three completely suffocated South Africa, who looked on track to be bowled out before tea. A resilient rearguard from Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer temporarily halted Australia’s momentum, putting on a 52-run stand. However, Maharaj soon gifted Mitchell Starc his second wicket, hitting straight to cover.

Simon Harmer and Anrich Nortje added a valuable 35 runs for the tenth wicket, chipping away at the deficit. Ultimately, it was insufficient to mask a disappointing batting performance from South Africa, who lacked application and discipline in their first Test match in nearly a year.

Pat Cummins spearheaded the Australian attack, consistently challenging the batters with speeds regularly exceeding 140kph. He finished with figures of 3 for 54 from 15 overs, as all four frontline Australian bowlers claimed at least two wickets.

Steven Smith provided outstanding support in the field, claiming four catches. This feat moved him past Joe Root to become the non-wicketkeeper with the most Test catches in history.

Steven Smith took a smart catch to punish what could have been a proactive reverse sweep from Temba Bavuma•AFP/Getty Images

His first three catches were sublime. With great anticipation, Smith positioned himself to dismiss captain Temba Bavuma, who had attempted a reverse-sweep off Nathan Lyon. Smith then executed a stunning catch to dismiss David Bedingham, diving across first slip—marking the 222nd catch of his Test career. He saved his best for last, making an outrageous one-handed catch to dismiss Kyle Verreynne off Lyon’s attempted reverse-sweep.

It was a highly disappointing batting display from South Africa, who started both sessions strongly before losing wickets in clusters. Aside from an 84-run second-wicket partnership between Bedingham and Aiden Markram, and a 56-run stand for the fifth wicket between Wiaan Mulder and Tristan Stubbs, there was little resistance.

David Bedingham appeared comfortable after being elevated to No. 3, a position he had never previously occupied in Test cricket. However, his innings ended in frustration as he fell for 49—the top score of the innings.

Following a wretched day two, where their attack was helpless against an impregnable Matt Renshaw and suffered the late dismissal of opener Ryan Rickelton for a duck, South Africa had aimed to bat for the long haul in perfect conditions.

The Kingsmead surface had flattened, offering little of the extra bounce and movement that had troubled Australia’s batters on the opening day. With a day of toil in the field ahead, Australia sought to make an early impact with a relatively new ball, as only 8.4 overs had been bowled before bad light ended day two.

David Bedingham’s 49 was the highest score in South Africa’s first innings•AFP/Getty Images

Resuming at 27 for 1, South Africa started positively under sunny skies, with runs flowing freely from Markram and Bedingham. However, the pair never looked entirely confident against Pat Cummins, who had only bowled four deliveries of his first spell before day two concluded.

On day three, Cummins had a strong lbw appeal against Markram turned down, wisely opting not to review as replays showed the ball was clearing the stumps. He then generated steep bounce that troubled Bedingham, though the leading edge flew harmlessly over the slips for a boundary.

Aiden Markram loomed as a key batsman, having saved some of his best performances for matches against Australia, averaging over 60 from five previous Tests compared to his career mark of 35.5. He reached 37 before a loose stroke saw him edge a 144kph delivery to first slip, with Mitchell Starc’s decision to bowl around the wicket proving a masterstroke.

Nathan Lyon found his rhythm immediately upon entering the attack 40 minutes into the day’s play, a stark contrast to his South African counterparts Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer, who were counter-attacked during Australia’s first innings.

South Africa’s scoring rate stalled, and the mounting pressure took its toll on captain Temba Bavuma, who managed just 3 runs from 27 balls before falling to Lyon.

Nic Maddinson recovered from a horror first innings to score his first Test runs since December 2016•AFP/Getty Images

Just before lunch, Nathan Lyon thought he had taken his second wicket when Wiaan Mulder edged the ball to Marnus Labuschagne at first slip. However, third umpire Richard Illingworth ruled the ball had touched the ground.

After the interval, Wiaan Mulder looked to capitalize and combined effectively with Tristan Stubbs to steady South Africa. Nathan Lyon struggled to rediscover his accuracy, while Travis Head’s part-time spin failed to yield results, with Mulder smashing his very first delivery over square leg into the grassbanks.

When Australia desperately needed a spark, Pat Cummins stepped up as he has done on so many occasions. He bent his back to generate extra bounce, delivering a 143kph bouncer that completely bamboozled Wiaan Mulder. Mulder attempted to evade a pull shot but only succeeded in hitting it straight to midwicket.

Cummins then completely outwitted Tristan Stubbs with a short-ball tactic that forced the impatient batter to hole out to deep fine-leg. His stranglehold over South Africa’s batters finally eased as he tired late in his spell, allowing Marco Jansen to counter-attack with three boundaries in the space of five balls.

But Jansen’s flurry was short-lived as he tamely hit Josh Hazlewood to mid-off in a poor dismissal. Perhaps he was still in a daze from watching Steven Smith’s unbelievable catch to dismiss Kyle Verreynne from close range moments earlier.

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