Key events
That is drinks. Australia make it to drinks. Protea fingernails are leaving marks in Protea palms.
53rd over: Australia 179-9 (Starc 41, Hazlewood 8) Seven overs on the spin for Rabada, and he’s got one of the two wickets they needed, but not the other. Starc takes the strike-rotating run off the fourth ball, and he’s now faced more than Webster in the first innings.
52nd over: Australia 178-9 (Starc 40, Hazlewood 8) They get through another over, and keep the singles ticking. Jansen can’t break through. This is infuriating for South Africa.
51st over: Australia 175-9 (Starc 37, Hazlewood 8) Rabada’s sixth over of the morning, and Starc steers it square of gully for four. He’s faced 84 balls. Crucial. And he’s been disciplined. Leaves alone width from Rabada where he can.
50th over: Australia 170-9 (Starc 32, Hazlewood 8) That’s more like it: short leg for Jansen bowling to Starc, and what do you know, it almost gets them a catch. Jansen is coming left-arm around to the left-handers and bowling into the ribs, and the fend goes just wide of that man. Then up at the helmet, and Starc ducks. No slips, one gully, bouncer field, and the bluff yorker squeezes between Starc’s feet and away to fine leg for four! Jansen and Bavuma have a tetchy conversation, Jansen looks annoyed about fine leg being too square, perhaps? Starc gets off strike, Hazlewood blocks a yorker.
“G’day Geoff, does the pitch look more batter friendly today than the last two days? Will the pitch make a difference given Australia’s bowling line up?”
G’day Bill Fuller. It certainly should be more batter friendly. It’s day three, normally the best time to bat, and it’s had some sunshine on it at times. So South Africa should be able to chase a target of this kind of size. But their batting is often brittle, and won’t be confident after the first innings. So Australia have a great chance to turn the screws.
And that’s assuming the lead doesn’t grow much, which it may yet do, the way these two are going.
49th over: Australia 165-9 (Starc 27, Hazlewood 8) It’s starting to get that desperate feel for South Africa. How long can Rabada bowl for, hoping? Goes past the edge of Starc’s bat again, there’s that quality. But we’re back to a deep third instead of a gully, plus the deep point and two out on the hook. Mid on and mid off are set halfway back to teh rope. Only the two slips in an attacking spot. You know he could still hit a catch to cover, or slice one in the air, or pop one to a short leg? Defeatist strategy, this, it always makes a team look out of ideas. Starc is free to wind up for a hefty drive past the bowler and take the run. Hazlewood has two balls to survive. Gully comes up, mid off and mid on get closer, and that’s the only change. Rabada, right arm around, in at the pads, blocked. Outside off stump, blocked. Drip, drip, drip, goes the water on the hollowed stone.
48th over: Australia 164-9 (Starc 26, Hazlewood 8) Big Marco comes on for Mulder, perhaps belatedly, all eight foot of him, but it doesn’t start well, Hazlewood thrashing away a drive past the cordon for four. The lead is 236 now. Just checked, Starc with 70 balls has faced more than any Australian in the match bar Smith and Webster in the first innings. Hazlewood slices another couple of runs behind point. Death by a thousand late cuts.
47th over: Australia 158-9 (Starc 26, Hazlewood 2) Starc has gone past Labuschagne’s 22 to have the second-best score of the innings, behind Carey’s 43. He might get that too, the way he’s going. Hasn’t looked troubled. Aims a big drive at Rabada for nought, then goes back to leaving. Slightly better field now: two slips, gully, cover, mid off, mid on. Three fielders back: deep square, long leg, deep point. Giving Rabada the chance to use the bouncer, but he doesn’t. Maiden over, but the wicket doesn’t come.
46th over: Australia 158-9 (Starc 26, Hazlewood 2) A swing and a miss from Hazlewood facing Mulder. He has two shots, generally: the cover drive and the late cut. Though once in a blue moon we’ve seen him lump a few leg side in white-ball cricket. Three slips for Hazlewood. Starc calls him for a sharp single after a block to point, and a direct hit might have caught Starc short of his ground, but only one stump to aim at on the spin. Fifth ball, Starc gets strike for the Rabada over by baseballing a run past the bowler.
Simon Reader is on the keyboard. “My comment to your colleague Daniel on Wednesday is even more relevant today: if I were coach Conrad, last night I would have been drilling the Proteas with clips of the Springboks’ 2019 Rugby World Cup. Now, more than ever, they need the patience and strategy. Hope springs.”
45th over: Australia 156-9 (Starc 25, Hazlewood 1) Four for Starc! Off the edge, along the ground past gully. So South Africa take the gully out. I don’t like this at all from Rabada. He has two slips, himself at mid off, and six players deep. Starc has barely played a shot in anger and he’s facing the best bowler in the South African team. Surely you should go hard at him and back Rabada to get him out?
“Hello Geoff,” writes Matthew Doherty. “Do you think Australia will cobble enough runs today for a 250 run target for South Africa to chase?”
Starc has done that kind of job many times before, but even what they have right now will be a testing chase.
Rabada finishes the over by beating Starc’s edge.
44th over: Australia 152-9 (Starc 21, Hazlewood 1) What do I know? Starc calmly steers a single. Perhaps telling Hazlewood that he should be able to cope with Wiaan Mulder’s pace. That was a no-ball, too. He does a bit off the surface though, Mulder, right arm around the wicket to the two lefties. Gets it to deck in. Hazlewood blocks two. We’ve got a convetnional first slip, then a close second slip wearing a helmet, and a fine gully. None of them are in the play, though, as Hazlewood prods into a gap at midwicket and lopes off for a run. The Lopez Brothers, this batting pair. Starc drives one to cover. All these runs hurt South Africa. The lead is 226. Hazlewood turns down a run last ball though. Interesting. So they want Starc to handle Rabada.
43rd over: Australia 148-9 (Starc 19, Hazlewood 0) The over started with Starc swinging hard at a drive, down the ground for two. Then another for one, then the Lyon wicket. Hazlewood blocks out a couple, swishes at another. Survives the over. Time for Starc to have a dip, one thinks. He has the third highest score in the innings.
WICKET! Lyon lbw Rabada 2 (Australia 148-9)
Oh, yes! Nine for Rabada. Up the hill, seams in at Lyon a touch and nails him on the knee roll, front leg right in front. It’s not bouncing over on this wicket. A quick decision from the umpire, and the Australian review is in vain.
42nd over: Australia 145-8 (Starc 16, Lyon 2) Mulder from the other end, who had the catch dropped in the final over last night. He’s got the Pavilion at his back. Bright sunshine. Lyon confidently forward to defend. Lots of South African shirts on the walk into the ground today, they want this bad. The ICC Knockout of 1998 is a long time ago.
41st over: Australia 145-8 (Starc 16, Lyon 2) Rabada to start the day – he has three wickets, so the five-for and the ten-wicket match are still on if he can bag the last two. Doesn’t happen this over though, Lyon comfortably working a single square from the first ball of the day, and the left-handed Starc happy to leave the stuff angled across him.
Let’s get into some cricket…
And lastly, Andy Bull, on Temba Bavuma as leader of the South Africans.
This is mine, with the Australian perspective on Pat Cummins’ remarkable day, and what influence a certain member of the nouveau landed gentry might have had.
Here’s Simon Burnton with the press conference reporting, where David ‘Bedding In’ Bedingham is upbeat about knocking off the Aussies.
Let’s start our day as ever with the match report from the tirelessly match-reporting Ali Martin.
Preamble
Geoff Lemon
Hello for the final time from Lord’s for this World Test Championship final. Yes, it’s only Day 3, but surely, surely, this Test finishes today.
The sun is shining bright and the forecast is the best for the week. Australia have only Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, and Josh Hazlewood to bat, in a match where wickets have fallen readily. They lead by 218 right now. So unless there is an extraordinary partnership, South Africa will either chase the runs today or be bowled out trying.
On the evidence of their first innings, “bowled out trying” is the likelier option. They were all out for 138 and looked nowhere against Australia’s pace quality. But they have the chance to do better, to say that they are here and ready to compete. It’s only the third day, after all! Good for batting.
But first, they need those last two wickets. They dropped Starc in the cordon last night, just before stumps. Can’t be doing that. For Australia, sneaking another 10, 20, 30 runs for the final two wickets could make all the difference.
Get set.
