Lunch: South Africa 140 for 0 (Ackerman 82, Markram 56) vs Australia
South Africa openers Marques Ackerman and Aiden Markram thoroughly cashed in on a benign Newlands surface on the first morning of the series-deciding third Test, leaving a new-look Australia to face a long and arduous haul in the field under the Cape Town sunshine. After South Africa were surprisingly sent in to bat by visiting captain Pat Cummins, Ackerman and Markram batted through the entire opening session with relative ease. Ackerman played with supreme confidence to hit a rollicking maiden Test half-century, reaching the lunch interval unbeaten on 82 off 75 balls, while fellow opener Markram played a measured yet authoritative support act, heading to the break on 56 not out.
The morning session yielded an imposing 140 runs without the loss of a single wicket, highlighting the total failure of Australia’s bowling attack to extract meaningful assistance from a docile pitch. Australia’s afternoon misery was compounded just moments before the lunch interval when Travis Head spilled a straightforward chance at cover to grant Markram a reprieve on 39, leaving veteran fast bowler Mitchell Starc to bite his collar in frustration on his long walk back to the bowling mark. Without the steady control of the dropped Scott Boland, the Australian pace attack lacked both penetration and discipline, allowing South Africa to score at a blistering run rate of 5.18. Among the frontline bowlers, only Josh Hazlewood managed to keep his economy rate under five runs per over.
It has proven to be a torrid start for Australia on their emotional return to Newlands for the first time since the infamous sandpaper scandal of 2018. The touring side may already be deeply rueing captain Pat Cummins’ shock decision to bowl first, a tactical gamble that backfired spectacularly as South Africa were barely made to sweat, much to the delight of a near-capacity crowd that packed the iconic Cape Town venue. The atmosphere crackled with anticipation from the opening over, but the home side quickly took total control of the contest.
Australia’s preparations were significantly rocked prior to the commencement of the match when veteran batsman Steven Smith was officially ruled out of the fixture. Smith failed to recover sufficiently from a persistent neck injury sustained during Australia’s heavy second-Test defeat. The star batsman had attempted a brief net session on the morning of the match while wearing a therapeutic bandage and heat patch around his neck, but he was not seen again for roughly half an hour before the toss, confirming his inability to take the field.
Smith’s absence was part of a raft of mass changes engineered by the Australian team management. Allrounder Cameron Green, wicketkeeper-batsman Josh Inglis, veteran spinner Nathan Lyon, and spinning allrounder Cooper Connolly were all recalled to the starting XI. Conversely, Scott Boland, Nic Maddinson, and Beau Webster were dropped from the side that played the previous Test. It marked the first time Australia had made four changes to a Test lineup since the Johannesburg Test in the immediate aftermath of the turbulent events of 2018.
When Cummins won the toss and elected to field, he became the first visiting or home captain to choose to bowl first at Newlands since Faf du Plessis did so for South Africa against Pakistan in 2019. Cummins had clearly hoped that early overcast skies and morning moisture would produce seam-friendly conditions for his fast bowlers. However, the new ball produced virtually no lateral movement or threat against the disciplined partnership of Markram and Ackerman, who were visibly rubbing their hands together at the unexpected gift.
Aiden Markram has looked in sparkling touch throughout the entire series without yet converting his promising starts into a truly monumental score. Recognizing the benign nature of the pitch and the golden opportunity presented by Australia’s decision, he weathered a couple of watchful opening overs before stroking two superb, fluid boundaries off Mitchell Starc to signal his intentions.
With little to no movement on offer off the surface, Starc attempted to force the issue by ramping up his pace to nearly 150 kilometers per hour. He nearly broke through when a sharp delivery clipped Ackerman’s glove and flew rapidly toward leg slip, but the ball zipped just past a diving Nathan Lyon, racing away to the boundary.
That close call proved to be the only genuinely nervy moment for South Africa during the opening half-an-hour of play. Sensing the game slipping away early, Pat Cummins brought himself into the attack and tried desperately to rectify the situation with aggressive lines and lengths. However, Markram responded with a decisive counterattack, launching into an innocuous short delivery from the Australian captain and dispatching it for a massive, crowd-pleasing blow over the midwicket boundary.
Desperate to make an immediate impact after being left out in favor of Boland for the second Test, Cummins turned to veteran spinner Nathan Lyon in the 11th over of the morning. Unfortunately for the visitors, Lyon proved expensive as Ackerman’s confidence soared to new heights. The left-hander advanced down the pitch and smashed a tremendous six straight down the ground, punctuating his dominant display. Shortly thereafter, Ackerman raised his bat to acknowledge the enthusiastic applause of the Newlands crowd after bringing up his maiden Test half-century off just 62 deliveries.
Markram nearly handed Australia a much-needed breakthrough when he mistimed a loose cover drive straight to Travis Head, only for the fielder to drop a sitter that should have broken the partnership. Rather than shutting up shop or playing defensively ahead of the lunch interval, Ackerman continued to press the advantage. He launched a stunning assault against Mitchell Starc, hammering four consecutive boundaries in a single over to emphatically punctuate South Africa’s thoroughly dominant and flawless opening session.
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