Smith’s brilliance and quicks’ dominance puts Australia in command against South Africa

Australia’s experienced pace quartet and Steve Smith produced a masterclass on the third day of the first Test in Durban, leaving South Africa struggling and the tourists in firm control of the match. The visitors’ bowlers dismissed the hosts for 284 in their first innings, while Australia reached 33-0 in their second, establishing a lead of 139 runs.

Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, and Nathan Lyon continue to defy the narrative that Australia’s side is too old or lacks depth. Despite concerns raised after shock defeats to West Indies and Bangladesh, the team remains unbeaten in their past nine series. Their cohesion was on full display again, with the quartet taking five wickets between them to dismantle a South African lineup that had looked comfortable at 82-1.

Cummins was the standout with figures of 3-54, while Starc, Hazlewood, and Lyon each claimed two wickets. The turn of events began when captain Cummins altered his tactics around the 20-over mark, asking Lyon to bowl at one end while he and the other quicks shortened their lengths. This shift from the aggressive full-length approach used earlier resulted in edges and mis-hits, as Aiden Markram (37) and David Bedingham (49) fell to slip catches.

Smith added to the chaos with spectacular glovework behind the stumps and at slip. He took two impressive catches off Lyon’s bowling, including a one-handed grab to dismiss Kyle Verreynne. His leap at second slip to remove Bedingham moved him past Joe Root into sole possession of the record for most catches by a non-wicketkeeper in Test history, bringing his tally to 223.

The contrast between Australia’s resilience and South Africa’s error-strewn chase was highlighted by Matt Renshaw’s heroics earlier in the innings. Renshaw endured a grueling marathon of 368 deliveries to score a remarkable 190, facing only four short balls that he pulled or hooked. Meanwhile, South Africa’s Marco Jansen, who had reached 26 quickly with aggressive strokeplay, was dismissed tamely when he attempted to pull Hazlewood off a fuller length.

With the fabled bowling four having taken 607 wickets together in Tests, questions about succession planning seem distant as long as the players remain fit. Hazlewood missed the entirety of last winter’s Ashes and Cummins missed four Tests due to injury, making availability their primary concern rather than performance. However, on day three, they looked as formidable as ever, setting the stage for Australia to press their advantage in the final two days of the Test.