South Africa:97/5 (De Kock 9*, Bavuma 27*, Hazelwood 2/26, Starc 1/27)
Perth - Proteas captain Faf du Plessis has grit his teeth and set out his stall to lead South Africa’s fight back after Australian talisman Mitchell Starc required just four balls of this opening Test to send a chilling message down the spines of the Proteas dressing room.
But, when play resumed after lunch, Faf edged the ball to Voges at 1st slip.
Starc, who missed the ODI whitewash in South Africa last month, delivered a cracking ball to Proteas opener Stephen Cook. Bowling at high pace - Starc’s opening over was timed at nothing less than 140km/h - the left-armer managed one to shape away from Cook just enough to induce the outside edge that flew head high to Mitchell Marsh in the gully.
Due to the good bounce this WACA pitch was offering Marsh had to fling himself acrobatically to his left with both feet off the ground to pull off a breathtaking catch.
After all the criticism the home team have endured recently due to the Test and ODI hammerings they have received in Sri Lanka and South Africa respectively, it was just the boost Steve Smith’s side required to get the WACA crowd firmly behind them in this encounter.
The partisan home support were in full voice just a couple of overs later again when another returnee Josh Hazelwood claimed the massive scalp of South Africa’s premier batsman Hashim Amla.
Amla too fell for a duck when he played inside the line of a good delivery from Hazelwood that nibbled outside the off stump. With Amla pushing forward, the ball clipped the outside edge and flew at a comfortable height to captain Steve Smith at second slip who claimed the catch.
Hazelwood caused further damage when Dean Elgar failed to get his bat out of the way in time of another delivery that held its line just long enough to get the outside edge.
South Africa were reeling at 20/3 and it was certainly not the start the visitors would have hoped for after skipper Du Plessis had earlier asked the Australians to have a bowl.
This decision was probably based on the selection of the uncapped Dolphins left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj. The 26-year-old debutant will form part of a Proteas attack consisting of pacemen Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada with the brainstrust resisting the temptation to include Morne Morkel upon his return to the squad from a long-term back injury.
This group will certainly have their work cut off for them when they are unleashed on this pace-friendly WACA deck.
However, the Baggy Greens bowling attack were not done with their work for their morning yet. South Africa’s 2008 batting hero JP Duminy had looked to weather the early storm by playing with positive intent when he came to the crease.
It had its streaky moments, especially when he drove with one hand off the bat at a full delivery from Peter Siddle, only for the ball to fly agonisingly close to Nathan Lyon at point. In fact, Lyon managed to get fingertips to aerial cover drive but was unable to repeat Mitchell Marsh’s earlier athleticism.
Duminy was not so fortunate though a few overs later. On this occasion Siddle managed to bring the ball back into the left-hander that squeezed through bat and pad. Unluckily for Duminy, it did not get through without finding the tiniest of bottom edges.
Umpire Nigel Llong immediately upheld the appeal which Duminy reviewed. Although numerous television replays indicated that the ball had also struck Duminy’s thigh guard on the way through, there was not sufficient evidence for Llong to overturn his original decision.
A visibly disappointed Duminy had to make his way back to pavilion for 11.
South Africa needed their skipper Du Plessis to front up to the challenge and thus far he’s managed to absorb the pressure the Australians have exerted. A big part of his plan was to play with a straight bat as much as possible and drove excellently down the ground.
However, when the Australians did offer up a rare loose ball, the captain trusted the good bounce on offer and hauled out the pull short with gusto.
The repair job with Temba Bavuma (17 not out) still has a long way to go though, but after being 32/4 at one stage, the lunchtime meal will now be digested just slightly better.
TEAMS FOR THE WACA
Australia: David Warner, Shaun Marsh, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith (capt), Adam Voges, Mitchell Marsh, Peter Nevill (wk), Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon.
South Africa: Stephen Cook, Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis (capt), Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wk), Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj.
Independent Media