Proteas captain Temba Bavuma was showing some fight, but Australia quick Scott Boland was in top form as he tore through the hosts' top order, leaving them in deep trouble on 97-5 at stumps on day two of the second test at St George's Park in Gqeberha on Monday.
It was a frustrating day with play delayed by rain and then a wet outfield, before the players were finally able to get a couple of hours play in late in the afternoon, but it was the Australians, who had put the Proteas into bat on day one, that will be the happier team.
Stumps on Day Two 🏏 Scott Boland puts Australia in a strong position 🇿🇦🇦🇺 #SSCricket | #SAvAUS https://t.co/tlPnX4FJmT
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) October 19, 2026
Bavuma will resume day three unbeaten on 41 off 108 balls along with Wiaan Mulder (2*), and they will need to build a big partnership if the Proteas are to get to a decent enough total to give themselves a chance of winning the test.
Boland has been the Aussies' biggest threat and has top figures of 4-31 off 14 overs, and he will be targeting a five wicket haul.
Earlier, after losing two wickets soon after play finally got under way, the Proteas managed to fight back through Bavuma and Ryan Rickelton (31), which almost saw them reach the close in a decent position, before a late wicket made sure it was Australia’s day.
They had combined for a 52-run partnership, and were looking more confident as the day went on, with Bavuma even pulling a short ball from Pat Cummins out of the ground for six.
But unfortunately Rickelton couldn’t see out the day, with him first lucky to be dropped on 26 after deflecting a short ball from Cummins straight to Marnus Labuschagne at leg slip, only for him to drop the easy chance.
It didn’t cost them though as two overs later Boland got one to jag away from Rickelton and take the edge, and although the ball went past keeper Alex Carey, first slip Matt Renshaw stuck out his right hand and took a brilliant one-handed grab to send him on his way.
LONG DELAYS
Earlier in the match just 12.2 overs were possible on a rain disrupted day one, with the Proteas reaching close in trouble on 20-2 after Boland removed Aiden Markram (11) and David Bedingham for a first-ball duck off successive deliveries.
Day two started with morning rain which made sure there would be no first session, and although it stopped shortly after 11am, the amount that had fallen overnight meant that there would be a sizeable break for the ground to be dried.
And so it proved as the umpires held pitch inspections at 12:15pm, 1:15pm, 2:15pm and 3pm, before clearing play to finally get under way at 3:45pm, with just over 30 overs to get in by the close.
Bavuma and debutant Marques Ackerman (6) resumed looking to try dig their side out of a hole, but it took just 13 balls for that man Boland to strike, putting the ball into the corridor of uncertainty and Ackerman attempted to drive, only for the ball to nip away, take the edge and go through to Carey leaving South Africa on 25-3.
Matthew Breetzke (4) was next in and initially looked comfortable leaving some dangerous balls, before inexplicably playing a drive away from his body with no foot movement at a wide Mitchell Starc delivery and nicked it behind to give Carey another easy catch as the home side slipped to 40-4.
That brought Rickelton in to join Bavuma and they almost took the Proteas safely to the close, but the late wicket has now left the Proteas with everything to do going into Tuesday’s day three.
PROTEAS: Aiden Markram, Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Temba Bavuma (capt), Matthew Breetzke, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada
AUSTRALIA: Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Matthew Renshaw, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood
--------------------------------------------------------
SPORTS PACKAGE
Watch every single ball of every Proteas match this summer with DStv’s new Sports package. Also includes the world’s best football and a Vodacom URC Match of the Week. All this for just R399 a month – click on the banner below
