Things did not begin so well for Australia on the third day. The partnership sailed serenely through to 185 until Inglis brought up his century with an impudent reverse sweep. Then he edged Harmer’s away-drifter to Rickelton and departed; followed not long after by Carey, who succumbed on 80, edging Harmer to Markram at slip. Four wickets was a well-deserved reward for Harmer, who had toiled away with might and main throughout the innings, unafraid to give the ball some air and scope. Australia’s fortunes sank lower with a bizarre dismissal wherein Cummins wandered across his crease as though chasing a runaway team sheet and was trapped leg before to the misfortunate Rabada, who had seen catches missed from him previously and stood with hands on hips going the full sugar-bowl. As well he might. He has not been at his best on this docile wicket, but he accepted the embraces of his colleagues with good-humoured resignation.
Starc came and went, edging behind to Coetzee. It was a poor stroke from a man who really does know better. But Connolly had kept his head. With the fall of the eighth wicket the imperative now was to keep the Proteas out in the baking sun for as long as possible. He farmed the strike skilfully, leaving Lyon just five deliveries to face before Harmer’s final over before lunch. At the break Australia was 8/411 with a comfortable enough lead. But more runs were needed, and more time in the middle. Rickelton’s groans behind the wicket were a feature all on their own. At times he sounded like a parrot who had inadvertently swallowed a rusty spanner. It is a matter of debate if he really is a Test keeper, but if thespian declamation is among his KPIs then he has certainly nailed that one.
The game changed yet again after lunch. A great deal of (legal) work had been done on one side of the ball; and it began to reverse, which made matters considerably harder. Lyon defended as best he could. Connolly shielded him from Jansen, but allowed him to face Mulder, who repeatedly beat him with swing both ways. Finally the Goat edged one, for which he should not be blamed. Hazlewood hit his first ball through long-off for a sumptuous boundary to bring up the hundred lead. Then Connolly hit a sharp return catch to Jansen, who pocketed it as though plucking an apple from an overhanging branch. There seems little this man cannot do. Both sides battled hard. Special mention is due to Connolly, whose 29 was responsible, talented and industrious. Had he taken every run on offer his tally would have been far higher. But he played for his team instead and kept the Proteas out in the field until well into the afternoon.
A lead of 100 was much, but could disappear quickly if Australia’s bowlers repeated their first innings debacle. They didn’t. The attack looked sharp, accurate and penetrative, and Starc’s late, booming inswing threatened constantly. Markram threw his hand away with a soft fore-arm jab to Head. Worse followed when Bedingham hooked Hazlewood to deep square and was safely taken. He is a sprightly fellow at the crease, but word gets around about compulsive hookers. He may expect more short bowling in future. Ackerman and Bavuma dug in. The former looks a genuine find as a makeshift opener: always looking for runs but playing with a refreshingly straight bat. But his nerves were on edge, as when he set off for a suicidal single. Bavuma sent him back and Connolly’s throw missed the stumps by a narrow squeak.
The pair added a patient 64 before a wicked bouncer rocketed into Ackerman’s face-plate via his bat, and he was well taken by the athletic Green. It was a hideous stroke, but the delivery would have undone most. On a wicket renowned for its true bounce Starc pitched barely short of a length and made the ball rear like a spitting cobra. Breetzke and Bavuma entrenched themselves at the crease, determined not to give the game away. But the Australians were in an unforgiving mood, and survival was an unending struggle. Bavuma is a superb player of pace bowling. Against quality spin he looks like a Fine Arts major asked to solve a problem in complex variable calculus. And Lyon was in his element on a wearing surface which offered him occasional sharp turn.
Like Warne before him, Lyon has in effect two deliveries: the one that turns and the one that doesn’t. Today the gap between them was wide and getting wider. The Proteas’ skipper is a combative fellow. Aware that his previous dismissals were in part the result of his failure to score singles and get off strike, his efforts to get the ball off the square were commendable. It took a brutish delivery to remove him. Lyon pitched well outside off and the ball cannoned into the leg stump. Richard Illingworth (a former Worcester and England left-arm tweaker) in his umpire’s jacket could not restrain his admiration. Bavuma stalked off in disconsolate dudgeon, but he had done his best. There is no shame in being outfoxed by the Goat. By stumps the home side is four down and forty ahead. The game is not over. They bat deep, and Australia must look sharp tomorrow. But the tide may possibly have turned in their favour.
Add your first comment to this post