Australia’s quality pace duo of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood have ripped the heart of South Africa and will leave nothing in the tank chasing a final-day victory in the third and final Test at the SCG on Sunday.
“We’ve got three weeks off, so we can burn ourselves tomorrow, and if pace is playing more of a part than spin, then we’ll probably have to push it out a bit further,” Hazlewood said after South Africa struggled to 6-149 at stumps in reply to Australia’s 4-475 declared. Hazlewood has 2-29 and Cummins 3-29.
Pat Cummins celebrates getting the wicket of Khaya Zondo.Credit:Getty
With the most favourable weather forecast of the Test beckoning, Australia still need 14 wickets to claim a 3-0 clean sweep of the series. It would also confirm a place in the World Test Championship at The Oval in June, probably against India.
South Africa have a great capacity to collapse. The best of their past eight innings has been 204, well below the 275 they need to make Australia bat again. It would be a remarkable victory given almost two days of play have collectively been lost.
Despite the success of pace on Saturday, Hazlewood believes spinners Nathan Lyon and Ashton Agar will play a major part on a pitch starting to wear and take increasing turn.
“Our focus is spin and a bit up and down with the reversing ball … for the quicks,” he said.
Josh Hazlewood has a big shout for a South African wicket at the SCG.Credit:AP
Usman Khawaja was left stranded on 195 not out as Cummins was forced to use all the available time searching for wickets after poor weather and damp patches near the Test pitch prevented any play until 1.45pm.
“We definitely would have batted if we had the full day’s play, that’s for sure,” Hazlewood said. “We probably would have tried to get another 60 or 70 runs maybe just to push that follow-on [mark] out. We didn’t go on until after lunch, so we had to go straight out there.”
The first four days have all been impacted by weather but at least Sunday promises a full day of cricket, with Australia having 98 overs to claim an improbable victory.
The game may have moved more quickly if line-ball catches had been given out but at least they have balanced out, with South African captain Dean Elgar receiving the benefit of the doubt from numerous replays, as Marnus Labuschagne had done on the opening day.
In both cases they were well-taken low slips catches where the third umpire, Richard Kettleborough, could not be sure whether some part of the ball had touched the ground.
Elgar, on six, appeared to have been brilliantly caught by Steve Smith diving low to his right at slip to gather an edge off the returning Hazlewood. Replays showed the catch was taken cleanly, but the ball may have touched the ground as he turned his hand to bring it up.
Labuschagne and Elgar exchanged broad smiles and a quick word as they passed mid-pitch, acknowledging the similarity of their survival.
For Elgar it didn’t last long, bounced out for 15 by Hazlewood, who was rewarded for an excellent opening spell after missing a month of Test cricket with a side strain. The half hook, half duck shot was another awkward dismissal in a miserable series which has seen South Africa’s only batsman of note manage just 46 runs in two and a half Tests at an average of just 9.2.
He was followed by fellow opener Sarel Erwee (18), after a spectacular piece of misjudgement. The left-hander raised his bat to let a delivery from Lyon turn past the off stump, but instead it flicked the timber and dislodged the off bail, much to the unexpected delight of the Australians.
The visitors have chosen a different No.3 for each Test, with their averages highlighting the worrying state of South African cricket. The latest incarnation is Heinrich Klaasen, 31, who is listed as a wicketkeeper and made just 11 runs in two innings during his only Test more than three years ago.
He now has 13 runs from three innings after receiving a short ball into his ribs from Cummins which forced a jump and fend in most uncomfortable fashion, presenting a leg side catch to Alex Carey.
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