- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Australia avoided dropping their bundle at the WACA on day three of the first Test but two dropped catches hurt their cause as South Africa reached 6-390 at stumps.
A 250-run stand between centurions Dean Elgar and JP Duminy helped give the Proteas a 388-run lead at the end of play on Saturday, after the hosts toiled for little reward in 37C heat.
It is already an incredibly imposing target, especially for a team reeling from a first-innings collapse of 10-86.
The tourists resumed at 2-104 in the morning with the three-Test series opener in the balance.
Australia bowled well in patches, especially Josh Hazlewood, but Elgar and Duminy showed great composure in knocks of 127 and 141 respectively.
South Africa’s second highest Test partnership against Australia made a mockery of the flurry of wickets on Friday, when Steve Smith was one of four Australian batsmen to be dismissed for ducks.
The tourists’ partnership should have ended at 185 runs, when Elgar was on 81 and offered his only chance in one of Nathan Lyon’s 12 overs for the day.
Mitchell Starc, fielding at mid-off, was slow to react to the skied edge and never looked like completing the catch.
Even at that point it had been a long day in the field for the hosts, especially pacemen Starc and Peter Siddle who are both underdone.
In addition to those existing concerns, 37-year-old Adam Voges clutched at his hamstring in Saturday’s second session after chasing down the ball to save a boundary.
Voges remained on the field but was responsible for the other reprieve handed out by Australia, which came late in the day when Quinton de Kock was on one and South Africa were 5-351.
De Kock mistimed his pull shot but Voges misread the swirling edge and barely got to the fall of the ball. Smith and Starc struggled to hide their frustration.
De Kock, who top-scored for the visitors in their first innings with 84, was 16 not out at stumps alongside Vernon Philander (23no).
Duminy’s fluent knock was chanceless until he fell to the final delivery before tea on Saturday, when Smith successfully reviewed a caught-behind shout from Siddle.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.