Rain in Gqeberha ate up most of Day 2, but Temba Bavuma worked hard in the extended third session, even as the seamers, led by Scott Boland, headlined another dominant period of play for Australia.

After just 12.2 overs were possible on Day 1, the following morning also began on a damp note. A sustained period of brightness and multiple pitch inspections later, play finally began at 3.45pm local time, six hours from the scheduled start. Australia were without Josh Hazlewood, who did not take the field due to illness.

Scott Boland, who took two-in-two on the opening day, was at his accurate best from the get-go. Pat Cummins from the other end kept Temba Bavuma and Marques Ackerman tied up. The 30-year-old debutant became Boland’s third victim when a loose push found the outside edge.

In contrast, Bavuma looked assured with his footwork, confidently presenting his defence and leaving deliveries that were out of his range without apparent trouble. Matthew Breetzke, batting at five for the first time in his short career, was patiently leaving deliveries until Mitchell Starc’s third delivery of the morning. Chasing a ball angled away, he fell in single digits too.

Boland continued his wobble-seam brilliance, getting one to nip back into Bavuma, then on 18, on the front-pad. But he survived. Between his vigil, he kept finding the odd boundary, using the pace to punch them both on the front and back foot. In a rare stroke of aggression, a bumper from Cummins, directed at his head, was hooked for a six. The ball had to be fetched by a steward from the adjacent road. On occasion, he also kept pushing his partners for quick singles and doubles to cut extended periods of silence.

With no Hazlewood around, Beau Webster assumed the duties of the fourth pacer. Ryan Rickleton, who got off the mark straightaway, played the ideal partner to Bavuma. He left deliveries well but didn’t fall into a rut, punching two fours in one Cummins over. As the shadows lengthened, the keeper stood up to the stumps for Webster.

With a leg-slip in place, Cummins looked to strangle the left-hander on the leg-side. The move almost worked when Rickelton glanced one to Marnus Labuschagne at that position, but he lost sight of the ball, copping a hit on the chest.

Three balls later, a backfoot punch from Rickelton brought up the fifty of the partnership.

Even towards the end of the day, Australia’s seamers kept probing outside the off-stump. In a rare, late lapse, Rickelton edged behind with just two overs left in the day. Keeper Alex Carey surprisingly didn’t go for the catch, which was turned into a blinder by Matt Renshaw at first slip, plucked late with one hand. Rickelton hung his head back in disappointment as he walked back, another South Africa batter sucked into a fall stroke by Australia’s naggingly tight channels.

Bavuma still stayed put though, having now faced 108 deliveries for his 41.

Brief scores: South Africa 97/5 (Temba Bavuma 41, Ryan Rickelton 31; Scott Boland 4-31, Mitchell Starc 1-27) vs Australia.