Nathan Lyon's absence from Australia's XI may have been a talking point at the toss in Gqeberha. But in the brief period of any meaningful cricket on the opening day, Scott Boland provided another reminder of what Australia gain from having him in the team, leaving South Africa reeling at 20 for 2 on a stop-start opening day of the second Test in which only 12.2 overs of play was possible.

Boland removed Aiden Markram and David Bedingham off successive deliveries to give Australia the upper hand in a contest that barely got going. The right-arm seamer found movement off the surface to bowl Markram through the gate before inducing an edge from Bedingham, who pushed at a delivery outside off stump. He nearly completed a hat-trick when Temba Bavuma inside-edged the ball onto his pads, triggering loud 'ooohs' and 'aahs' from the stacked cordon.

Weather interruptions dictated the day's proceedings from the outset. Although the toss went ahead on time, rain delayed the start by 90 minutes. Play eventually began with Pat Cummins' decision to bowl first, but just 5.3 overs were possible before another interruption forced an early lunch.

When play eventually got underway, debutant Marques Ackerman - one of three changes for the hosts from Durban - endured a demanding introduction to Test cricket. Opening the batting despite never having done so in first-class cricket, he spent 14 deliveries without scoring before a thick edge evaded gully to get him underway.

Markram at the other end looked comfortable during his brief stay, finding the boundary with a pair of well-timed drives against Mitchell Starc as Australia's fast bowlers struggled to find early purchase. Starc even switched to bowling around the stumps to the right-hander, a plan he aborted quickly enough.

Boland, however, needed little time to find his rhythm after being introduced into the attack following the first rain break and threatened to run through South Africa. The weather ultimately proved the biggest obstacle to a full day's play. Rain returned during the afternoon and continued well beyond the scheduled Tea break, with the umpires calling stumps at 4:13 PM local time.

South Africa will resume at 20 for 2, with Bavuma and Ackerman at the crease. The outlook for the second day is far from encouraging, with further rain forecast threatening to disrupt the contest again.

Brief scores: South Africa 20/2 (Scott Boland 2-5) vs Australia