South Africa linger as the sole contenders for victory, though enforcing the follow-on is crucial to their aspirations.
South Africa’s captain, Temba Bavuma, has no regrets about opting not to declare early on the third day at St George’s Park. Instead, he sought to exhaust a weakened Australian side before tasking his bowlers with securing a two-day win to balance the series. Bavuma’s stellar innings of 179, aided by lower-order contributions from Marco Jansen and Simon Harmer, shifted the momentum in the second Test entirely. With the South Africans amassing 425 runs, Australia now need to reach 226 in their first innings to avoid the follow-on, having ended the day at a precarious 3 for 1.
Bavuma’s partnerships with Jansen and Harmer pulled South Africa back from the brink. Despite losing over 130 overs in the first two days, some believed Bavuma might hasten his declaration to challenge Australia in the dwindling overs. Yet, he chose to bat on, declaring only after he was caught off Mitchell Starc’s bowling, just after Harmer’s dismissal by Marnus Labuschagne.
“Part of our plan was to keep them in the field for as long as we can,” explained Bavuma. “I think that paid off … getting that wicket. If we’re going to succeed, we need to spend most of those two days out there. So mentally, we are preparing for that overnight.”
Bavuma is positive about the wicket still offering potential, particularly with the new ball. “There’s still something there in the wicket, especially with that new ball. If we can get the ball in the right place for a considerable amount of time, anything can happen. We obviously want to go for the win and we’ll do as much as we can to bring that to life.”
Even if South Africa doesn’t triumph immediately, their batting could pay future dividends by wearing out the Australian attack. Josh Hazlewood’s struggles due to food poisoning left Australia’s bowling resources strained, with Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, and Pat Cummins facing heavy workloads ahead of the Cape Town Test.
Starc acknowledged the challenge posed by Hazlewood’s condition. “Obviously [we were] a man down for a fair while, so the three of us had a fair amount of rotation there. Josh did pretty well to get through the overs the way he was feeling.”
Australia, without a specialist spinner following Nathan Lyon’s omission, faced further challenges. Though missing Lyon, who has been omitted from three of the last eight available Tests, Starc praised his team-oriented attitude.
“Not sure he’s doing any sideline reporting today,” Starc joked about Lyon’s absence. “He’s been around long enough to put his shoes back on and be the team man he is.”
Attention now turns to South Africa’s bowlers and their ability to leverage the groundwork laid by Bavuma and his team. South Africa must seize their chance, as the balance of the series hangs on their performance in the days to come.
