81st over: Australia 229-7 (Renshaw 69, Starc 6) Jansen is back, after that short break. Big ask, for the two big quicks to open up the day, then return so soon for the new ball. They’ve been a threat, certainly, but it was Mulder who took the wicket and Harmer who nearly had another.
80th over: Australia 225-7 (Renshaw 66, Starc 6) Oh, Starc is dropped! Harmer the unlucky bowler, uses the arm ball, some width so Starc cuts fiercely, and the edge of the angled bat flies at Markram at slip, who is falling backwards at the time, perhaps anticipating being clobbered by that ball. In the end it goes just wide of him, and the throws out the right hand but fingertips it away instead of holding on. The ball has enough force to reach the boundary rope, so it was travelling. Still, a top-line slip catcher staying still at the point of impact might have held that.
79th over: Australia 221-7 (Renshaw 66, Starc 2) Renshaw ticking over nicely now. Starc drives with power but straight back at Maharaj. Even his defensive shots are often powerful. Eventually he drives a ball wide enough of straight to beat the field for a run.
78th over: Australia 219-7 (Renshaw 65, Starc 1) Finally, dual spin, though you imagine it will just be for new-ball relief. One run from Harmer’s over.
Email in from Guy Hornsby. “Excellent fightback from Australia here, who looked like they could have been skittled for under 200 yesterday. They could well get closer to 300 if these two can hang around in the face of some hostile bowling. Assume Nortje and Jansen will get a rest before the new ball [Ed: they have], which may decide how high Australia can get. Cummins does have these once-every-few-years innings and, like Edgbaston in 2023, he sure picked a good time for another.”
77th over: Australia 218-7 (Renshaw 64, Starc 1) Working the singles like in an ODI against Maharaj. Starc opens his score with a drive down the ground.
76th over: Australia 215-7 (Renshaw 62, Starc 0) Renshaw off strike early against Mulder, glancing a run. Starc concentrates on getting bat on ball, looking to find a groove. Just needs to emulate Cummins and stay with Renshaw.
“Superb battling performance from Renshaw and Cummins,” emails Michael Hall, which, indeed, it was. Test match stuff.
75th over: Australia 214-7 (Renshaw 61, Starc 0) Spin has woken a more dynamic version of Renshaw. Sweep, reverse sweep, picking up ones and twos from Maharaj, who also oversteps in that over. (Three, two, one, all together now: unforgivable for a spinner!)
74th over: Australia 210-7 (Renshaw 58, Starc 0) So now Renshaw has Mitch Starc for company.
WICKET! Cummins c Markram b Mulder 43
The partnership ends at 86. And it isn’t either of the two premier quicks who gets the breakthrough, but the more modest bowling of Wiaan Mulder. Cummins doesn’t need to play at this one but can’t help it, perhaps seduced by it feeling more manageable after all of that tension from Nortje and Jansen, and he sticks the bat out towards the line of this ball, nicking it to slip.
73rd over: Australia 209-6 (Renshaw 57, Cummins 43) Maharaj on to bowl some spin and propel them towards the new ball.
72nd over: Australia 206-6 (Renshaw 54, Cummins 43) Almost gets the breaktbrough! Nortje’s hostility deserves something going his way, but it doesn’t. Nasty ball again, short and lifting at Cummins, fending rather than defending, and the edge skews away into the cordon… but there’s nobody there. Only a first slip in place, with the field set for different errors. The ball goes wide of the first slip and bounces safe. Renshaw keeps playing the bouncer well, swaying and leaving, then nudging. Three singles from the over.
71st over: Australia 203-6 (Renshaw 52, Cummins 42) Jansen gets the ball past the edge of the bat a couple of times in this over, switching his line well from left hander to right. Skilful work, no reward as yet. Slightly shorter to end the over and Cummins thinks about an uppercut, has the bat ready to play it, but bails out – not quite short or wide enough, so he lets the ball pass over his bat.
70th over: Australia 202-6 (Renshaw 51, Cummins 42) The ideal result for Cummins, placing Nortje through midwicket for three! Maximum conventional reward while getting off strike. But Renshaw puts him straight back in the firing line with a leg bye. Rude. That said, Cummins is catching up to Renshaw’s score.
69th over: Australia 198-6 (Renshaw 51, Cummins 39) Jansen sees how Nortje is operating and he wants a piece too. The ball is old, why not? Unsociable bouncer at Cummins, who tries to get over it like he did previously but instead wears it inside the curve of his shoulder. Then good fielding behind point denies him a run from the yorker, which is how he escaped Nortje. All of that makes Cummins uncomfortable enough to play and miss outside off stump, but the edge doesn’t come. He’s not daunted though: fifth ball of the over, dropping back past the bowler, you could forgive a lower order player for not belting through for a single. But Cummins does.
68th over: Australia 197-6 (Renshaw 51, Cummins 38) Nortje is firing up, and Renshaw is staying cool. Cummins starts the over, getting a nasty short one that he just about rides the bounce of, then a full straight one that he squeezes out behind square well enough to get off strike. Renshaw though looks absolutely perfect as he defends a mid-level short ball, then goes under a bouncer, then swishes his bat over a wider line to leave.
67th over: Australia 196-6 (Renshaw 51, Cummins 37) Jansen from the other end, and his over is far more frugal. When Renshaw first hit the Test team as a very young man in 2016, all of the focus was on his leaving. After a profligate batting era of thoughtless shot-players, an Australian audience loved seeing a player who was prepared to show patience. From memory he was applauded at Adelaide Oval when he'd faced his 100th ball. Well, he does the same trick here, blocking the first and then leaving everything else.
Half century! Renshaw 51 from 117 balls
66th over: Australia 196-6 (Renshaw 51, Cummins 37) Nortje picks up the over that he had to abandon yesterday for light – always an extra hazard when you’re the fastest man on the field. First couple of balls are on the spot, but Renshaw manages to safely edge one for four! That’s enough to bring him his milestone, easing some pressure this morning. Cummins likes the look of that four, and follows suit with a drive through the off side. Only four balls to complete the over, but profitable ones for Australia.
Alright friends, it’s time to play the game.
Former England Test batter and Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott has spoken with Ali Martin about his recent his Lions appointment and much more.
Mostly sunny in Durban for day two of the first Test between South Africa and Australia. The forecast is for a high of 25 with a bit of cloud early before the sun is expected to dominate the afternoon.
Australia are arriving for day two at Kingsmead Cricket Ground. Not sure if Marnus Labuschagne is being optimistic or pessimistic with bring his bat. Matt Renshaw looks focused and ready to play.
Here is the full report from day one of the first Test at Durban … with a little teaser to whet the appetite.
Preamble
Well, well, well. Day one of the first Test was eventful, wasn’t it? If you don’t know, then you’ll need to catch up with the match report. Selection weirdness from Australia, a glimpse of the old firm of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne before a meal break got in the way, heat from Anrich Nortje, then resistance from Matt Renshaw and Pat Cummins. That’s the bones of it. And all that in 65 overs because it gets dark early on the east coast of Africa in October, something that apparently is quite the surprise to local cricket authorities.
So we’ll start day two with Australia in a tricky spot, needing a fair bit more rearguarding before they can regard their rears as sufficiently guarded. All the wickets have fallen to pace so far, despite South Africa picking two spinners. Early success for South Africa’s bowlers, and Australia will be in deep, deep trouble. But if they can get from their current 187-6 to 250 or more, that might have them in the game.
Shall we go to Durban?
