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Australia vs South Africa: International cricket second Test, Day 1 live scores, blog, highlights

9th March, 2018
When: 7pm (AEDT)
Where: St George's Park, Port Elizabeth
TV: Live, Fox Sports
Betting: Australia $2.10, South Africa $2.60, draw $5

Australia
David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith (c), Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

South Africa
Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis (c), Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock (wk), Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
Australian bowler Pat Cummins. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
Editor
9th March, 2018
422

After a scintillating performance in the first Test, Australia head to Port Elizabeth knowing another win over South Africa will keep their 48-year unbeaten series win streak in the country intact. Join The Roar for live scores and analysis from 7pm (AEDT).

Whether with the bat, with the ball or in the field, Australia’s win in Durban by 118 runs, against a quality opponent on foreign soil, was nothing short of emphatic.

Led by, of all people, resurgent all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, the Aussies blunted the Proteas’ vaunted bowling attack after winning the toss to post a good first-innings score, before Mitchell Starc led a supreme effort with the ball to round up the hosts twice for under 300.

Though not without resistance – a dynamic stand between Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock on the fourth day brought about plenty of nail-chewing – it was almost a complete team performance from the tourists, with nearly every player contributing.

One man who didn’t was under-fire first drop Usman Khawaja, and with young opener Cameron Bancroft posting his second Test half-century in the match, the stylish left-hander finds himself in the unfamiliar position of being the batsman most likely to lose his spot.

While the Proteas will be disappointed with their performance, there were still plenty of diamonds in the rough that can give the hosts heart.

Spinner Keshav Maharaj produced a career-best nine-wicket haul, out-of-form keeper-batsman de Kock returned to his swashbuckling best, and most significantly, young opener Markram showed he is a star of the future with a magnificent 143 in the second innings, rescuing the Proteas from embarrassment in the process.

But aside from him and the masterful AB de Villiers, the Proteas’ batting looked flaky, and with Hashim Amla a shadow of the player he once was, and important cogs Dean Elgar and Faf du Plessis struggling as well, what should be a fearsome line-up has some gaping cracks.

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Prediction
The toss in the first Test was crucial, but throughout, Australia looked the better side with both bat and ball, and it’s difficult to see that changing in a week.

Australia by seven wickets or 140 runs.

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