Starc and Lyon leave South Africa in a difficult position in the decisive Test

Match progress

On the third day of the decisive Test in the series between Australia and the reigning world Test champions South Africa at Newlands, Australia strengthened its position considerably. Josh Inglis registered his second Test century — 102 runs — and Australia, resuming the day at 330/4, was dismissed for 429. As AFP reported, citing the player himself, he only learned of his selection on the morning of the match, when Steve Smith withdrew due to a neck injury.

Evening session and key moments

By the close of play South Africa stood at 140/4 — an advantage of just 40 runs with six wickets remaining. The fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood struck early blows: Starc, who took 6/72 in the first innings, sent Aiden Markram and Marques Ackerman back to the pavilion, while Hazlewood dismissed David Bedingham, catching him off the hook for the second time in the match. The decisive blow at the end of the day came from off-spinner Nathan Lyon: captain Temba Bavuma, who had battled for nearly three hours and scored 35, attempted to play through midwicket, but the ball spun sharply and hit the stumps. Lyon bowled 14 overs with figures of 1/31.

Reaction and the role of spin

Inglis described the evening as particularly satisfying: in his words, Australia controlled the tempo in the final session, in which South Africa managed only 87 runs off 34 overs, and Lyon 'looked threatening the whole time.' South African off-spinner Simon Harmer, who took 4/104 off 37 overs in Australia's second innings, noted that spin is beginning to play an ever greater role in the match: in his assessment, the pitch changed sharply from morning to evening, and Starc is 'breaking up' the surface with his footmarks, so spin is likely to matter more than it did in the first two and a half days. Harmer also stressed that South Africa's remaining batters must not look too far ahead in an attempt to post a competitive total.