Aiden Markram and Wiaan Mulder frustrated Australia for nearly two hours, but then Josh Hazlewood and Matt Renshaw removed Mulder and Kyle Verreynne in four balls as the Proteas reached 166 for six at lunch on the final day of the first test at a once-again sunny Kingsmead in Durban on Tuesday.
South Africa, realistically needing to bat through the day to claim a draw, still need a nominal 255 for victory with a theoretical 66 overs remaining. Markram remains unbeaten on 69 in 200 balls having struck nine fours while partner Marco Jansen has fired a typical lofted drive for four in his short stay.
For most of the morning, however, Markram and Mulder held firm with the emphasis on defence, similar in some ways to the gritty rearguard action of Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis at Adelaide in 2012. The Kingsmead pitch has held together remarkably well and the two batters rarely looked like getting out against Australia’s disciplined pace attack with Hazlewood again looking the most dangerous. In his first over of the day he induced a lazy drive from Markram that just slipped past his outside edge before the batter left the next ball that seemed to almost kiss his off-stump as it flew past.
But, for the most part, the two batters seemed reasonably comfortable albeit on red alert as the Aussies tried everything they knew to dislodge them. The pair had added 69 in 205 balls and lunch was beckoning when Hazlewood induced a thin edge from Mulder down the leg side – “a strangle” – and wicketkeeper Alex Carey took a fine low catch diving to his left.
The wicket opened up an end for the patient Aussies and part-time offspinner Matt Renshaw – who has looked more dangerous than Nathan Lyon – duly exploited it when Verreynne played a poor shot to almost guide the first ball of the next over to Steve Smith (cleared of concussion symptoms from the previous day) who took a straightforward catch at slip.
SOUTH AFRICA: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, David Bedingham, Temba Bavuma (capt), Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje.
AUSTRALIA: Travis Head, Nicolas Maddinson, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Matthew Renshaw, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
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