SA vs AUS 2026/27, SA vs AUS 1st Test Match Report, October 09

Lunch South Africa 115 for 4 (Bedingham 49, Markram 37, Stubbs 14*, Mulder 1*, Lyon 1-22) trail Australia 390 (Renshaw 190, Cummins 43, Mulder 4-68, Jansen 3-68) by 275 runs

Pat Cummins spearheaded a strong bowling performance, while Steven Smith once again showcased his mastery in the slips as Australia moved into a strong position in the first Test against South Africa on the third morning in Durban.

South Africa had started day three well with the runs flowing off the bats of Aiden Markram and new No. 3 David Bedingham under sunny skies. But they succumbed to the disciplined attack as South Africa lost three wickets for 15 runs in the backend of the first session to stare down the barrel.

Cummins was at his best, consistently challenging the batters as he regularly hit speeds of 140kph and above. He has 1 for 24 from nine overs, with all four frontline bowlers having taken a wicket each.

Smith backed up the bowlers by claiming two sublime catches that lifted him past Joe Root for the most Test catches by a non-wicketkeeper. With great anticipation, Smith moved into position to snare skipper Temba Bavuma, who had unfurled a reverse-sweep off Nathan Lyon. Smith then pulled off a stunning catch to dismiss Bedingham, diving across first slip – it was No. 221 of his Test career.

It was a disappointment for Bedingham, who was dismissed for 49 from a position he had never previously batted at in Test cricket.

After a wretched day two, where their attack was helpless against an impregnable Matt Renshaw before the late wicket of opener Ryan Rickelton for a duck, South Africa looked to bat for the long haul in perfect conditions. The Kingsmead surface has flattened, with little of the extra bounce and movement that proved quite difficult for Australia’s batters on the opening day. With a day of toil in the field looming, Australia aimed to strike with what was still a new ball after only 8.4 overs were bowled after bad light cut short day two.

Resuming at 27 for 1, Markram scored the first runs of the day’s play when he edged Josh Hazlewood’s first delivery past third slip for a streaky boundary.

Cummins, who was only four deliveries into his first spell before day two ended, challenged both batters from the get-go. He had a big lbw shout on Markram turned down and he wisely did not call for the review with replays showing the ball was heading over the stumps.

He then conjured steep bounce reminiscent of earlier in the match when he had Bedingham in a tangle, but the leading edge flew over the slips for a boundary.

Cummins tried to repeat the dose, but delivered a tame short delivery that was dispatched to the boundary by Bedingham. The batters started to cash in after fighting through the early challenge, with Bedingham hitting Hazlewood for a gorgeous straight drive to the boundary.

Markram loomed as a key having saved some of his best performances against Australia, averaging over 60 from five previous Tests compared to his career mark of 35.5. He moved to 37 until a loose stroke saw him edge a 144kph length delivery to first slip, with Mitchell Starc’s decision to bowl around the wicket proving a masterstroke.

Having entered the attack 40 minutes into the day’s play, Lyon found his groove right away, which was a far cry from his South Africa counterparts Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer, who were counter-attacked in Australia’s first innings.

South Africa’s scoring stalled and the pressure took its toll on Bavuma, who made just 3 from 27 balls before falling to Lyon.

Just before lunch, Lyon thought he had taken a second wicket when Wiaan Mulder edged to Marnus Labuschagne at first slip, but third umpire Richard Illingworth deemed the ball had touched the turf.

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