The first Test of this high-profile series is headed for a gripping finish with the teams ending the fourth day on just about even terms. Australia, resuming this morning on 51 for 1, suffered a dramatic collapse – losing eight wickets for 75 runs – to be bowled out for 207. When play finally ended at the Wanderers, South Africa, chasing a record 454, went in with hope for the morrow – Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla were still at the crease and the two young heroes from the epic Perth chase are still to come.
By letting Australia get to 207, probably about 30 more than Graeme Smith would have wanted, South Africa handed themselves a record fourth-innings chase on a pitch that still had a bit of juice and bounce. With close to five sessions available, time at least, was on their side.
Helped by Neil McKenzie, Smith made sure his team made a better fist of the batting this time round. The pair began with cautious optimism. Smith, who was out for a duck in the first innings, had a few tense moments outside off stump early on and was always more comfortable clipping off his stumps. He played some fine strokes both sides of the square during his half-century; plenty of runs came in the unmanned third-man region but most impressive was his driving down the ground.
McKenzie was content to knock the swinging deliveries onto the leg side or, when tired of tucking the bat out of the ball’s way, steer it behind gully. Ricky Ponting employed a silly point and two slips, and brought Brad Haddin up to the stumps when his slowest medium-pacer, Andrew McDonald, bowled to McKenzie, but the batsman remained watchful. When Ponting recalled Mitchell Johnson – accurate throughout – into the attack, after the openers had added 76, he had McKenzie edging to Haddin for 35.
Amla was impressive, timing the ball well from the outset, and helped put on a half-century stand. But just when restraint would have been the better part of bravery, Smith attempted to pull a short ball from Ben Hilfenhaus and top-edged straight to mid-on. He was gone for 69 – the victim, it seemed, of the relentless pressure. By stumps the in-form Amla was on 43 while Kallis, trying to make amends for a poor stroke in the first innings, was on 26 and looking dangerous.
This position was all down to a frenetic morning session in which Australia capitulated in the face of some splendid bowling and stellar close-in catching, under a cloudless, steely blue sky. In one incredible passage of play, South Africa derailed Australia from 99 for 1 in a Kallis-instigated frenzy. Kallis delivered the breakthrough in his introductory over, the 27th of the innings, when Amla took a simple catch on the square-leg boundary to get Ponting, pulling off the front foot.
That was a mere wobble. The shuddering began when Michael Hussey, stumbling out of the changing room like a bear roused from hibernation and determined to attack, top-edged the next delivery to short square leg. Kallis had struck twice in two balls.
Michael Clarke walked out to an electric reception from the Bullring and South Africa’s combined elation intensified when Kallis took a one-handed stunner at first slip two balls later. Marcus North, Australia’s most assured batsman in the first innings, lasted just seven balls, bowled neck and crop by one that stayed a touch low from Kallis. Three wickets had fallen in the space of four deliveries, with two Australians going for 0, all with the score on 99.
Phillip Hughes – lucky to get to a maiden fifty after replays clearly showed he gloved a short ball down the leg side on 36 – clipped and slashed Kallis for fours and slogged Harris over the boundary at midwicket with nonchalance. But when he attempted to nudge a single off the pads to one pitched outside leg stump, the ball was brilliantly snapped up at leg slip by AB de Villiers, his left hand grabbing the ball an inch off the grass. Makhaya Ntini’s three wickets added on the misery but Australia’s last-wicket partnership of 33 in 5.2 overs between Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus took the lead past 450.
In a contest as intense as this, tomorrow’s first session is going to be immense. There’s still a lot of cricket left in this Test, but Australia know better than anyone else that this South African outfit has the ability to chase down the most imposing of fourth-inning totals.
Jamie Alter is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo
© Cricinfo
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Here you go klemps 😈
204/2
South Africa 204/2
We need another 250 runs with 8 wickets remaining…
Amla 55*
Kallis 39*
Min overs remaining 86
@wpw (Comment 3) :
Long way to go – but we can do it.
Come on Kallis and Amla!!!
Amla goes for 57 🙁
@blackshark (Comment 6) : 😥
@wpw (Comment 1) : ty!
@blackshark (Comment 6) : 👿 😥
South Africa require another 247 runs with 7 wickets remaining
@McLovin (Comment 10) : A century partnership now would be awesome.
[email protected]klempie (Comment 7) : @McLovin (Comment 9) :
No tears – AB is on!
Kallis better get ready for lots of running…
So far we’ve had partnerships of 76, 54 & 76.
We need a big one soon.
Pending LBW – referred… 🙄
@blackshark (Comment 14) :
De Villiers given out for 3
Bring out the tissues… 😥
Oh no…
Don’t know how I feel about this Referral System … 😕
KALLIS and JP – come on!!!
Last 10 overs…
14 runs for the loss of 2 wickets = not too good…we need to fight back…
80 overs up – NEW BALL taken…
224/ 4
Kallis 43*
JP 11*
JK struck by new ball…
Given out and referred…so we wait… 🙄
NOT OUT!!!
I think we’ve run out of referrals 🙁
Natalie on Radio 2000 on Johnson’s VERY short ball…
” He almost bounced it on his own toe”…
Kallis out for 45… 👿
Inside edge onto the stumps…bowled by Johnson…
Boucher and JP battling on…
Bring on lunch already…
Have to go for the draw now.
@klempie (Comment 25) :
‘fraid so…
We need to pray for rain!!! 😯
Another thriller on the cards.
We need a Jack Russel innings.
Anyone remember that POM whho batted for about 4 session to only score a FEW runs. to draw the match for Eng.
@wpw (Comment 27) :
Not yet – but if one of these two guys goes…then I’ll be out there doing the rain-dance.
LUNCH
South Africa are 247/5
South Africa require another 207 runs with 5 wickets and 61 overs remaining
@blackshark (Comment 30) : I just vreeted tuna sarmies for MY lunch. Not bad if I do say so myself. 😎
@klempie (Comment 31) :
Had my lunch very early today…only have some yoghurt left… 😳
29Runs / 277 Minutes RC Russell England v South Africa Johannesburg 1995-96
I’m trying to find how many balls he faced for that 29.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 33) :
29 runs off 235 balls faced.
that is a 12% strike rate.
We seem to be on the receiving end of these innings quite often but not on the batting end very often.
0 runs / 101minutes GI Allott NZ v SA Auckland 1998-99 😯 😯
6runs / 106minutes DR Martyn Aus v SA Sydney 1993-94
Our “best” is
105runs / 575minutes DJ McGlew SA v Aus Durban 1957-58
@KSA Shark © (Comment 33) :
Just read about that now… 😛
Did someone say lunch??? 😯
@KSA Shark © (Comment 35) :
0 runs in 101 minutes ??? 😯
What was he doing?
The ball didn’t even ricochet from his bat for one run?
@wpw (Comment 37) : Too late…
the boys are back on…
@blackshark (Comment 39) :
not like WPW to miss lunch. 😆
South Africa are 255/5
Now we only need 199… 😛
@blackshark (Comment 38) :
Juat had a look that was 77 balls faced for ZERO 😯 😯
@KSA Shark © (Comment 29) :
M Atherton 5 sessions over 12 hours…much to Donalds dismay ofcourse..
We needed one of Kallis,AB or Amla to go on for a 100 plus…
@KSA Shark © (Comment 40) :
Hey!!!
I’m still here man!!! 👿
@KSA Shark © (Comment 42) :
Absolutely amazing … I wonder who was bowling at him…
No edge past the keeper or past the slips?
@CoffeeShopBok;-) (Comment 43) :
Well now we need Boucher and JP to do that… 😉
Hanif Mohamed batted for 970 minutes in scoring 337 for Pakistan against the West Indies. According to one of the Windies commentators a man watching the game from a tree outside the ground fell out and was knocked out. Hanif was batting and when he regained consciosness 4 days later Hanif was still batting.
@wpw (Comment 44) :
What? You haven’t wasted away after missing lunch? 😆 😛
@Salmonoid (Comment 46) :
😆
Come Boucher buck-up here we cannot lose another wicket.
The lovely ladies 😛
Looks like we’re going for the draw. 🙄
188 from 52.2 overs ….its doable…
37 runs, 17.1 overs, RR: 2.15 (Boucher 16, Duminy 17)
@CoffeeShopBok;-) (Comment 52) :
Yep…as long as we don’t lose more wickets until the target is in sight…
Boucher takes one for the team…struggling…this is a tough pitch with the ball strangly bouncing and then other times stays way low…it will be a monumental effort to win this.
SA 268/5
Boucher 17*
Duminy 29*
We need another 186 runs with 5 tailenders remaining. 😕
Required Rate has gone up to 3.7
Game over Duimny gone !
JP gone 👿
I say let’s go for the win and smash them ODI style…
No use trying to make the tailenders defend for 50 overs…
@blackshark (Comment 59) :
I agree , gunsblazing! , make them sweat.
@blackshark (Comment 59) :
I don’t mean smash for 6’s a la T20 but we should definitely attack instead of trying to defend.
stupid wicket though..dunno why he even played that it was so far away from him..
@CoffeeShopBok;-) (Comment 62) :
Dunno either…what a loser!!!
Just kidding – I’m listening on radio so I’ll have to check that when I get home. 😳 😛
This pitch is cunning…off Bouchers thighpad…nervous moments..
Last 10 ovs 7/1 RR 0.70
😯
Morkel almost runout..lazy running.
Aussies should go 1 up here.
Morkel gone for 2…
Let’s die fighting…ATTACK!!!
Self destructing here , Morkel goes for a pull shot as if he’s been in for a while..caught.
Can Harris hold up an end?
@McLovin (Comment 69) :
Doubt it 🙁
These guys need to do an Allot here.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 71) : Rain Rain Rain
@KSA Shark © (Comment 71) :
How many overs left?
@rahul (Comment 74) :
50 odd , Its not gonna rain in Joburg…well not before 6 anyway..
@CoffeeShopBok;-) (Comment 75) 30% chance of 4mm 🙁
Boucher bowled all over red rover.
@CoffeeShopBok;-) (Comment 77) :
Pretty much… 🙁
Like pulling teeth… they should have gone for it from the outset… $100 down lol!
Well that will teach them to drop Ashwell Prince!!! 🙄
He is exactly what we needed for this series and always performs well against the convicts.
9 wickets down.
All Over 😥
Aus go 1 – 0 up in the series. 😕
😥 😥
Australia win by 162 runs and lead the series 1-0. A remarkable win after they were 38 for 3 on the opening day. The match see-sawed a bit yesterday after they collapsed in the second innings but Australia always had a grip on the match. SA made steady progress to the target yesterday but the Australian bowlers didn’t allow too many free runs today and earned their wickets.
👿
Australia won by 162 runs
So that’s 4 tests & 4 results. 😎
I hope we can turn things around in the next test at Kingsmead.
If McKenzie doesn’t score runs in the next match then I’m afraid he needs to go.
Good thing I don’t support WP or Pool. That would be a disasterous weekend ❗ 😈
@rahul (Comment 89) :
Jy vat groot kanse meneer!!! 😈
@rahul (Comment 89) :
Bwhahahhahahahahaha
@rahul (Comment 89) :
Wrist slit stuff.
@wpw (Comment 90) : oh sorry, didn’t see you there 😆
@KSA Shark © (Comment 92) : Things are going so bad, he would miss
ok wow. They lost. This is my shocked face.
Can we get back to the rugby yet?
@robdylan (Comment 95) : What was the stormers game like?
🙁
Have they already lost the hunger – lets hope not.
@rahul (Comment 96) : see comment 95
@wpw (Comment 80) :
I have had that feeling since he was dropped.
Price is a grafter who thrives on pressure – the perfect, down-to-earth kinda guy for a team and nation that is still on a high from the Oz victory.
We did well in the last 3 days though – we gave this away in the first innings.