Photo Credit: CSA.

Australia’s reshuffled batting order showed the patience and concentration South Africa lacked on the opening day of the deciding Test, leaving the Proteas facing an uphill task after a commanding second day at Newlands.

Four half centuries, led by an unbeaten 85 from Josh Inglis, carried Australia to 330 for four at stumps on Wednesday, a one run lead over South Africa’s first innings total of 329. Alex Carey was alongside Inglis on 51 not out after the pair put on an unbroken 145 for the fifth wicket, taking the game away from the hosts during an increasingly frustrating final session.

Australia had begun the day under scrutiny after Mitchell Starc’s remarkable late burst had dismissed South Africa’s lower order for a modest total.

But where the Proteas had surrendered seven wickets for 171 runs after reaching 158 without loss on Tuesday, the visitors applied themselves with greater discipline on a surface that offered increasingly little assistance to the seamers.

The opening partnership between Matt Renshaw and Travis Head was worth 58 before Simon Harmer changed the course of the morning. Head, who made 41 from 49 balls, chopped the ball onto his stumps, a familiar weakness that again proved costly.

 Marnus Labuschagne lasted only five deliveries before edging Harmer to Aiden Markram at first slip for a duck.

Australia were 66 for two, and South Africa had an opportunity to seize the initiative. Instead, Renshaw and Cameron Green built a substantial partnership, adding 126 runs for the third wicket and forcing Temba Bavuma to search for answers.

Green, returning from an abdominal injury that kept him out of the first two Tests, looked uncomfortable at times against South Africa’s short ball tactics.

Kagiso Rabada and Gerald Coetzee tested him with pace, but the Australian responded with attacking strokes and reached his half century from 65 deliveries.

Renshaw was equally determined, working the ball into the leg side and punishing anything overpitched on his way to 74.

Their partnership had placed Australia in a strong position at 184 for two when Marco Jansen struck twice in the space of four deliveries.

Renshaw, who had survived a review for leg before wicket on 49, was caught behind attempting to guide a short delivery over the slips. The dismissal also brought up Jansen’s 100th Test wicket. Green followed soon afterwards, edging to slip for 65 as South Africa briefly found the energy and aggression that had been missing for much of the day.

It was a timely intervention, but the Proteas could not sustain the pressure.

Inglis and Carey absorbed the challenge and made the most of a surface that had flattened out. Inglis, playing his first Test since December and his first red ball cricket since March, was initially cautious.

His timing improved as the afternoon wore on, and he moved to 85 not out from 111 balls, striking nine fours and two sixes. Carey offered a steady counterpoint, batting through the final session and reaching his half century as the pair carried Australia beyond South Africa’s total.

The partnership also underlined the difference in application between the sides. South Africa’s batters had allowed Starc to exploit movement and uncertainty late on the first day.

Australia, by contrast, remained patient, held their concentration and recovered whenever the hosts threatened to break through.

Harmer finished with two wickets for 84 runs, while Jansen took two for 37. Rabada, however, endured a difficult day, conceding 81 runs without a wicket from 18 overs.

The pace attack struggled to find the movement, under the blazing sun,  that had made Starc so dangerous on Tuesday afternoon, and South Africa relied heavily on Harmer to create opportunities.

Starc’s first day had been a reminder of how quickly conditions can change at Newlands. After going wicketless for 62 runs in his first 12 overs, the left armer finished with six for 72, using the older ball and then the second new ball to devastating effect.

He later admitted that “a lot of things haven’t felt right” during the series, explaining that a review of footage with Australia’s coaching staff and his wife, Alyssa Healy, had convinced him he had been searching too hard for a feeling that was not there.

“I was probably looking for a feeling that I probably didn’t need to, “Starc said. “If I just switched my brain off, I might be right.”

Australia’s ability to solve problems during a match has now put them in the stronger position. Their challenge is to convert that advantage into a substantial first innings lead, with Inglis closing in on a second Test century and Carey well placed to support him.

For South Africa, the immediate priority is to strike early on Thursday. The pitch is expected to offer more assistance to spin as the match progresses, and batting could become increasingly difficult on the fourth and fifth days. That makes the failure to build sustained pressure on day two particularly costly.

The Proteas may also come to regret selecting only one specialist spinner. Harmer has been their most consistent source of threat, but with the surface likely to turn further, a second spin option could have offered Bavuma another way to break partnerships.

South Africa are not out of the contest, but they need a far sharper performance with the ball. If Inglis and Carey extend their stand deep into the third day, the hosts could find themselves chasing the game on a surface that will offer them little comfort later in the Test.