Three million dollars, five wickets, and no issues. This was Cameron Green’s week, as he backed up his Indian Premier League auction win by taking 5-27 in the Boxing Day Test in front of almost 64,000 spectators.
His performance resulted in South Africa being bowled out for 189 after again being brought in to bat by Australian captain Patrick Cummins, who was confident in applying pressure to a side that had gone seven innings without reaching 200. Australia’s score during its reply was 45-1 at the stumps.
Rassie van der Dussen was replaced by the all-rounder Theunis de Bruyn at No. 3 after South Africa was dismissed for 152 and 99 in the first two matches of the series in Brisbane. Scott Boland was allowed to reprise his Boxing Day heroics from last year when Josh Hazlewood informed medical staff that he was unsure about his recovery from a side injury.
Cummins was content to bowl first on a cloudy, reasonably cool morning because he believed that if the wicket was to offer bounce or movement, it would be on an opening day.
In the end, the play was executed flawlessly, dismissing South Africa late in the day and ensuring that the visitors will bat on the second day when the temperature is expected to reach 37 degrees.
Dean Elgar and Sarel Erwee batted through the first ten overs for South Africa, and Elgar survived a return catch that should have been driven back to Pat Cummins. Predictably, Boland was the agent of change, defeating Erwee with a superb delivery before causing him to misplay a broader ball. Moments later, he penetrated Elgar with a ball that rolled into the stumps but did not dislodge a bail.
When de Bruyn played a sloppy pull shot against a ball that was too full and outside off stump in the 20th over, South Africa self-destructed. It was hit into the air and caught by the wicketkeeper.
Elgar attained the rare distinction of becoming the third player to amass 5,000 Test runs without being run out, and then promptly ran himself out by smashing a straight shot to Labuschagne at the cover. On the next delivery, Temba Bavuma edged Starc behind, beaten by the jumbled seam and movement away. In a flash, the score was 58-4, and it was not yet lunchtime.
When Khaya Zondo hit Starc to a diving Labuschagne catch at cover, the score became 67-5, and bowling all-rounder Marco Jansen and wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne were tasked with repairing the damage. Batting conservatively before getting aggressive, they each scored fifty runs and continued to bat well after the tea break.
Jansen is batting too high at No. 7, looking shaky in defense and getting bailed out by a tough chance to Mitchell Starc and a straightforward one to Usman Khawaja, but at times he was excellent in attack, driving the quicks and taking on Nathan Lyon’s spin with drive and sweep. As a follow-up to his fantastic 64 from Brisbane, Verreyne struck four square boundaries.
Green intervened, pulling edges from Verreyne for 52 and Jansen for 59 within three balls, before dismissing Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi to record his first five-wicket innings of a young but increasingly formidable Test career. Lyon had the opposing spinner Keshav Maharaj caught slogging for a single-digit score.
The first five wickets fell for 67 runs, the last five for 10, and there was only one crucial partnership in the middle: 112 runs. A score of 189 was significantly lower than what South Africa required and higher than what they could have hoped for at times.
Khawaja ended a poor day by pushing forward at Rabada and nicking him to Verreyne for one run, but David Warner shrugged off any concerns over his recent returns and the attention surrounding his 100th Test match to make 32 not out by pulling Rabada’s short ball and uppercutting Anrich Nortje to the fence.
On Tuesday, he will resume with Labuschagne on five, the temperature rising, and Australia once again in the ascendancy.
