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It was carnage at Newlands as 23 wickets fell on the second day of the opening Test between South Africa and Australia.

It was carnage at Newlands as 23 wickets fell on the second day of the opening Test between South Africa and Australia on Thursday, 20 of which fell after lunch.

Dismissed for 47 in their second innings, Australia scored their lowest total in 100 years.

It is only the second time in history that parts of all four Test innings' were played on the same day.

The only other time was at Lords in June 2000, when England beat the West Indies by two wickets, in two-and-a-half days. Chasing 236 for victory, the South Africans faced 17 overs and, at stumps, were 81 for the loss of one wicket. The only wicket to fall was that of Rudolph (14), when he was caught behind by Brad Haddin off the bowling of Peter Siddle. Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla restored some normality to the day as they put on an undefeated second-wicket partnership 54 runs and reduced the deficit to 155.

Earlier, Australia had resumed their innings on 214 for eight and went on to score 284, helped largely by captain Michael Clarke's 151.

The Proteas set about their task and went to lunch on 49 for one, losing just the one wicket, that of Rudolph (18), but when they returned, the drama began.

They were dismissed for 96 runs before tea, with Shane Watson taking five for 17 off five overs.

It seemed theatrical at the time, but Australia outdid them in the drama stakes – they were bundled out for 47, equalling the third-lowest total scored at Newlands.

Debutant Vernon Philander took five wickets for 15 and looked like he'd been playing Test cricket all his life.

His team-mate Rudolph was full of praise for the bowler. “He’s a strong competitor and he’s always at you but the key for him is to keep his feet grounded and to keep pushing to retain his position,” said Rudolph.

Television umpire Billy Bowden was involved in nine of the day's decisions but the Australians will rue the day when he was not consulted on a crucial one, which could have changed the game.

Hero with the ball 15 minutes earlier, Australia's opener, Watson, found himself back in the change room, adjudged lbw to Dale Steyn.

Watson (4) seemed to hesitate but decided against a review after he was given out by umpire Ian Gould but television replays showed the ball was going over the stumps.

There were varied opinions on the extensive use of technology but Rudolph said he was a fan of it. “If you can bring technology into the game, it helps the umpires and it keeps the game in balance,” he said.

After Watson's dismissal the wickets then tumbled and Peter Siddle, became the second man since Graeme Smith (37) to reach double figures.

Nathan Lyon was the only other man to reach that pitiful milestone in the innings, with what seemed like an enormous score of 14. Bowden, who had a busier time than most of the batsmen, upheld four decisions made by umpires on the field, and overturned five.

While the bowlers were the heroes of the day, Clarke defied the odds with his first-innings knock.

Resuming his innings on 107, he went on to make his highest Test score against South Africa, 17 runs short of his highest ever Test score.

He survived an early chance on 109, when there was no second-slip in place to Philander but otherwise he played a masterful innings to lift his team from 40 for three to a competitive total at the time.

Clarke said he took full responsibility for their “disgusting” batting display in the second innings, and made no excuses for it.

“Our shot selection was horrible,” said Clarke.

“South Africa bowled really well, but we should never have been out for 47.

“We nicked every nick in sight and our top seven did not execute well enough – we’ve done nothing but put ourselves under pressure because of it.” – Sapa