Travis Head went into full counterpunch mode as South Africa fought fire with brimstone during the rapidly moving first Test in Brisbane.
The dashing left-hander was 78 not out (off 77 balls) as Australia went to stumps on the first day at 5-145 in reply to 152, the fifth time in a row South Africa have been bowled out for 180 or less.
Travis Head takes to the South African bowling attack on Saturday.Credit:AP
Australia collapsed to 3-27 against the fearsome pace of the South Africans before Head and Steve Smith (36) had a 117-run partnership. The late dismissal of Smith, bowled by an off-cutter from the rapid Anrich Nortje (2-37), and nightwatchman Scott Boland (1), caught behind off Kagiso Rabada (2-50) for one, helped rebalance the Test a little. Australia trail by only seven.
Head set up the Ashes last summer with a blazing 152 from just 148 balls in the first Test at the Gabba against England and went on to be man of the series during a career-changing summer.
Despite the pace domination, prolific spinner Nathan Lyon had the best figures with 3-14.
“I think it was a brilliant day of Test cricket for the spectators, ” Lyon said. “You’ve got arguably the two best bowling attacks in world cricket going at each other, so you’re going to expect wickets, especially on day one with a little bit of moisture in the wicket.
“I thought Travis Head was absolutely exceptional to go out there and play his game and with a lot of courage. I’m pretty happy with where we are, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.”
Captain Pat Cummins cashed in on one of the weakest South African batting line-ups ever to visit Australia by sending them in on a green Gabba pitch, but was still removing his bowling boots after a successful day’s work when David Warner went first ball, fending a lifting delivery to short leg.
The struggling opener received a brute of a ball from Rabada and went into self-preservation mode. The ball squirted high towards Khaya Zondo at short leg, who leapt to take a fine right-handed catch.
David Warner reacts after being dismissed for a golden duck.Credit:Getty
After failing to cash in against a weak West Indian side during two recent Tests, Warner, 36, is averaging under 22 this year midway through his 10th Test. His career is now at the crossroads. Unless he does something special in the next two-and-a-half Tests, Sydney could be his last outing in the baggy green cap.
The largest non-Ashes crowd to attend the first day of a Test in Brisbane (29,306) saw the most wickets ever to fall on the opening day of a Gabba Test, 15.
Marnus Labuschagne, playing his first Test against the country of his birth, battled hard through the opening spell of Rabada and Lungi Ngidi then drove without conviction against the first ball from tall left-armer Marco Jansen and was comfortably caught at second slip by South African skipper Dean Elgar for 11.
Usman Khawaja had also stuck fast but was undone by a climbing thunderbolt from Anrich Nortje, edging to third slip, also for 11. Australia were 3-27, the same score South Africa found themselves on earlier in the day.
Except that the visitors were on the way to 4-27, losing 3-0 in 11 balls at one stage. Unsurprisingly, Elgar has scored 13 of the 16 centuries in the South African batting line-up, and three of the top seven average under 30. Elgar has the highest average at 38.
Mitchell Starc looked as though he was going to claim the four wickets needed to become just the seventh Australian with 300.
Unfortunately, Head dropped a hot chance at short leg late in the innings of Rabada fending a bouncer.
Lyon claimed another record from fellow spinner Shane Warne. A week after Lyon overtook the spin king as the leading wicket-taker on the Adelaide Oval, Lyon and Steve Smith combined to become the most productive bowler-fielder duo in Australian cricket.
Smith’s catch to get rid of wicketkeeper and top-scorer Kyle Verreynne (64) gave the pair a collective 52 dismissals, going past Warne and Mark Taylor on 51,
Cummins was the first Australian captain since Steve Waugh in 2000 to win the toss and bowl at the Gabba.
