Australia closed day two of the series-deciding third Test against South Africa at Newlands on Wednesday one run ahead, at 330 for four, with Josh Inglis and Alex Carey together in an unbroken stand of 145 for the fifth wicket. Six wickets still stand between the tourists and the end of their first innings, and the position is a strong one in a match that will settle the series.
The day belonged largely to that pair, who batted through to stumps after the South African bowlers had twice threatened to turn the game. Inglis, who missed the first two Tests because of a broken finger, played a series of fine attacking strokes on his way to 85 not out off 111 balls. Carey, the wicketkeeper, finished on 51.
Before they joined forces, the innings had been rebuilt from the top. Restored to opening the batting after excelling at number five in the first Test, Matthew Renshaw ground out a watchful 74 from 139 balls. He and Travis Head, who made 41, shared Australia’s best opening partnership of the series, 58 runs, before Head chopped off-spinner Simon Harmer’s first ball of the match into his stumps. Harmer followed up five balls later by having Marnus Labuschagne caught at slip without scoring.
Renshaw was asked afterwards whether the absence of star batsman Steve Smith through a neck injury had inspired an extra degree of responsibility among the batsmen. He said there had been no such discussion. “It was more just how could we stick to our tempo, stick to our plans and try and see where we were going to be tonight,” he said.
Cameron Green then joined Renshaw in a third-wicket stand of 126 that steadied the innings. Green, returning from an abdominal injury, hit two sixes off successive balls from Kagiso Rabada as well as eight fours in facing 110 deliveries, before he steered left-arm fast bowler Marco Jansen to second slip. Renshaw and Green were both dismissed by Jansen in the space of three deliveries shortly before tea.
Renshaw explained the contrast in approach between himself and his partner. “I was in for probably an hour and a half before Cam came in, so I’m at a completely different mindset and tempo compared to when he was coming in,” he said. “He’s buzzing around a lot, so it’s just about me being the calmer head out there.”
He was equally generous about Inglis. “We were under a little bit of pressure having lost two quick wickets and the way that he played was really positive,” Renshaw said.
For South Africa, it was a demanding day in the field. The bowlers toiled on an unresponsive pitch under a warm, cloudless sky, and their only successes were those two double strikes that briefly interrupted Australia’s progress on a good batting surface.
There was, however, a personal milestone for Jansen, who reached 100 Test wickets in only his 24th match. The achievement came on the same day the International Cricket Council announced he had moved to the top of the Test rankings for both bowlers and all-rounders.
His new ball partner Rabada fared worse. According to bowling coach Piet Botha, Rabada struggled with stomach cramps and conceded 81 runs off 18 overs. Early in the afternoon he was hit for two sixes and a four off successive balls by Green.
The collapse South Africa suffered from 203 for one on the first day continued to weigh on the home side, and Australia’s batsmen made them pay for it. The decider now sits finely balanced in the tourists’ favour, with Inglis unbeaten on 85 and the prospect of a substantial first-innings lead when play resumes on Thursday morning.