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South Africa [311 & 373] beat Australia [255 & 107] by 322 runs to take 2-1 series lead

CRICKET SOUTH AFRICA (CSA) has congratulated Morne Morkel on his achievement of becoming the fifth Standard Bank Protea to reach the milestone of 300 Test match wickets.

He reached the mark when he dismissed Australia’s Shaun Marsh on the second afternoon of the third Sunfoil Test match at PPC Newlands on Friday.

He follows in the footsteps of Shaun Pollock (421 wickets), Dale Steyn (currently 419), Makhaya Ntini (390) and Allan Donald (330).

“Congratulations to Morne on joining the 300 club,” commented CSA Acting Chief Executive Thabang Moroe. “He has been one of the stalwarts of our world-class pace attack for more than a decade and played a major role in some of the Proteas outstanding performances in recent times including away series wins in England and Australia.

“It is wonderful that he is able to finish his career on such a high note against opponents against whom he has produced some of his most memorable performances.”
 
lol the pitch he scored on in Pune was llike a Day 8 pitch as per Shane Warne

dont be so bitter man!
So you can go by anything commentator says? So Indian team which got out for 100 in day 9 and 10 was nothing bad?
 
SA unable to polish off Aus tail.

Letting Lyon score all those runs is not good.
 
So you can go by anything commentator says? So Indian team which got out for 100 in day 9 and 10 was nothing bad?

Yes I'll believe an expert and also my own eyes over what a bitter poster says...
 
He has always had an ugly looking stance but the fact that he's literally outscored all of his contemporaries in the red ball cricket is testament to his greatness.
At the end of the day, it's the runs from your bat that counts the most and not how elegant your shots look.

Away record is pretty unspectacular once you remove New Zealand and West Indies. However, there is no doubt that he has been the best test batsman in the world over the last two years.
 
MORNE MORKEL led a determined Standard Bank Proteas bowling performance that saw them regain the initiative and set themselves up for a potential first innings lead on the second day of the third Sunfoil Test match at PPC Newlands on Friday.

Morkel’s return of 4/87 in 20 overs that included his 300th Test match wicket was well supported by Kagiso Rabada (3/81 in 19) and the ever economical Vernon Philander (2/26 in 15) as Australia reached the close on 245/9, still trailing the Proteas by 66 runs on the first innings.

A remarkable feature of the day was the two ninth-wicket partnerships that made a considerable impact on the play. Rabada first helped Dean Elgar put on 50 for the Proteas ninth wicket that enabled them to stretch the overnight 266/8 to a far more respectable 311 all out.

In addition to the runs scored the partnership that took the first hour out of the day’s play filled an important tactical role as it meant that the Proteas only had to bowl for an hour before lunch and could then come out refreshed for a second crack straight after lunch. This was undoubtedly a key factor in the dismissal of Steve Smith shortly after the interval.

The Proteas worked steadily through the Australian order, taking 2 wickets in the short first session, 3 in the second and a further 4 in the final one as Cameron Bancroft (77 off 103 balls, 13 fours) scored the visitors’ only half-century.

The Proteas look set for a lead well into three figures until Australia produced their own ninth wicket partnership of 66 that included a career best 47 off 38 balls (8 fours) by Nathan Lyon in support of Tim Paine.

It took the deficit down to a much more manageable figure before Lyon departed courtesy of a brilliant catch in the covers by Elgar.

Elgar had earlier carried his bat for 141 (284 balls, 20 fours and a six) to join the West Indies Great, Desmond Haynes, as the only player to do this on three occasions. Remarkably, Elgar has done two of them in his last four Test matches.

On the Australian side there was a world best for Smith who provided the 11th instance of a fielder taking 5 catches in a Test match innings. The only other Australian to have done this achievement is Vic Richardson who captained the Australians on their South African tour in 1935/36 when he did it.
 
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South Africa is ahead in this game. If they can have a 50 run lead and then add 200, I don't see this Australian batting line up chasing 250 plus in 4th innings.
 
South Africa is ahead in this game. If they can have a 50 run lead and then add 200, I don't see this Australian batting line up chasing 250 plus in 4th innings.

Could have been much more ahead if they didn't give almost 50 runs to Lyon, but that's how it can go with the tail.
 
Markram is in a hurry.

South Africa lead by 70 with 10 wickets in hand. The stage is being set for a Smith 4th innings masterclass. Can Saffers set a decent target for Smith?
 
Markram is in a hurry.

South Africa lead by 70 with 10 wickets in hand. The stage is being set for a Smith 4th innings masterclass. Can Saffers set a decent target for Smith?

Smith is done!
 
Apparently, the Aussies opted to roll the pitch this morning with only one wicket remaining. So this pitch was rolled twice this morning.

Smith must be kicking himself.
 
Sa haven't had a century opening partnership ship for quite a while now, shades of Pakistan there :D
 
What a segment with Dale Steyn

All time great!
 
SA just need to bat with these two for another 50-60 runs. The rest including Ab can add another 100 and the match is as good as theirs.
 
South Africa should win this comfortably from here. Jo'Burg is going to be a spectacular finale for South African cricket. The last match of an intense, successful summer and the last test match that some of their greatest players will play against Australia.

Amla, ABD and Faf should be hoping for big hundreds and Philander and Morkel will be fired up for that as well. A shame Steyn could not take part in this series at all.
 
Amla yet again failed to deliver when it mattered most.
:facepalm: And to think that some people called him an ATG in test cricket.
 
AB is awesome.. another fifty! Standing amidst a collapse again.

Need to add 100 runs more tomorrow.
 
Smith was saying he isn't even practising much. Are we going to see another peak?!

Probably a purple patch. Good thing is this is coming on right time - opposition is Australia, never won against them at home since readmission and he has been a standout contributor to the series till now for SA, particularly in batting.
 
AIDEN MARKRAM led the way as the Standard Bank Proteas had one of their most consistent days of the Sunfoil Test Series to stay well in front of Australia by the close of day three of the third Test match at PPC Newlands on Saturday.

The Proteas could claim to have had the better of all three sessions as they first needed just 17 balls to take the final Australian first innings wicket while 10 runs were added to the total before moving on to 65 for the loss of Dean Elgar’s wicket by lunch.

They then scored 86/2 in the second session and 87/2 in the final one to reach the close on 238/5 for an overall lead of 294 runs.

Importantly, they still had AB de Villiers (51 so far off 103 balls, 6 fours and a six, which was his first scoring stroke) and Quinton de Kock at the crease. Both players will be critical to getting the Proteas through the second new ball which falls due in 8 overs time.

With two full days still left in the game the Proteas will want to take their overall lead well clear of the 400 mark.

De Villiers reached a notable landmark when he went past Jacques Kallis as South Africa’s leading all-time runs scorer in Tests against Australia and a further 19 will take him to 2 000 against these particular opponents.

Markram had earlier looked well set to score his second century of the series and his fourth overall in a stunning first season of international cricket and it came as a surprise when he fell 16 runs short, getting out for 84 (145 balls, 10 fours and 2 sixes). His role in getting the Proteas through the new ball was vital during a second-wicket partnership of 76 with Hashim Amla.

His maturity continues to make a huge impression and he has now gone past 800 runs from his first 9 Test matches.

Pat Cummins (2/47 in 19 overs) was again the pick of the Australian attack.

At the start of the day Kagiso Rabada (4/91 in 20.5 overs) took the last Australian first innings wicket so that both he and Morne Morkel finished with 4 wickets.
 
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Obviously the talk will be about Bancroft ball tampering but in regards to the game,SA have this one in the bag. Don't see Australian batting line up chasing this in 4th innings vs Rabada and Mahraj.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">When, <a href="https://twitter.com/ABdeVilliers17?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ABdeVilliers17</a> bats, I WATCH! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Freak?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Freak</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Genius?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Genius</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Entertainer?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Entertainer</a></p>— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) <a href="https://twitter.com/KP24/status/977542340729597957?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Obviously the talk will be about Bancroft ball tampering but in regards to the game,SA have this one in the bag. Don't see Australian batting line up chasing this in 4th innings vs Rabada and Mahraj.

I dont see Australia coming out of this incident and going on to win or even draw this series let alone this match. There will be some big decisions coming ahead in Australian camp in next few days.

The series is basically a formality. SA have this in the bag.
 
Seeing as how we lost so many overs due to bad light, will there be an early start to the match today?
 
Peter Lalor has called for the team to declare at 0/0 at the start of our second innings.
 
Smith has been removed from captaincy and warner from vice-captaincy. Tim Paine will lead today
 
AB grinding them down, playing according to the situation, deserves a 100.
 
This series looks dead now as far as winning/losing is concerned.

Runs and wickets now aren't of same value anymore.
 
pity all the controversy has overshadowed AB's brilliance.

Naah. He and KG have done their part and have made massive contributions for SA this series.

This controversy has nothing to do with the brilliance of those two. The fact that Aussies went on and planned to cheat, itself shows that SA have played really fantastic cricket over the series from being underdogs.
 
Ah AB out. Anyway, he did his job. SA should win from here. De Kock hits a 50.
 
There is no official news re Smith’s IPL captaincy, the news is only carried by a fake twitter handle, so refrain from posting fake news.
 
what a one sided contest, who could have predicted this after the first test match.
 
Anyone watching the game live? Is the Australian team quiet on the field? Do they have drooping shoulders or are they trying 100% to win the game?
 
Anyone watching the game live? Is the Australian team quiet on the field? Do they have drooping shoulders or are they trying 100% to win the game?

They didn't even care when they got de Villiers out.
 
South African crowd on Sunday jeered Australia when stand-in captain Tim Paine led the team out at the start of play on Day 4 in the wake of a ball-tampering scandal. Paine was made captain for the rest of the third Test at Newlands after regular captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner stepped down following Saturday's revelations. Although all tickets for the day had been sold, the ground was only about a third full at the start of play. Some boos could be heard but a loud public address system was played until the Australians had taken their places on the field.

Former Australia captain Allan Border said in SuperSport television's build-up to the day's play that he was "angry and embarrassed" by Saturday's events.

Australian leg-spinning great Shane Warne also spoke of his ire.

"I am disappointed in Steve Smith as captain to take that decision to go out and try to do this."

He said the actions were "un-Australian" and opened the team up to criticism from around the world.

Smith had admitted following Saturday's third day action that he had masterminded an attempt by Cameron Bancroft to alter the condition of the ball in the outfield using a yellow object.

"The leadership group knew about it," Smith said. "I'm not proud of what happened."

Former South African captain Graeme Smith said the current team was unlike previous Australian outfits he had encountered, pointing to a move from before the tour to try to get South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada banned.

"That's not Australia for me," said Smith, who criticised what he described as "whingeing" about the behaviour of South African spectators and Steve Smith's anger that Rabada had been reprieved despite being banned after reaching a demerit point threshold.

Shaun Pollock, another former South African captain, said the Australians would have to face the consequences of their actions.

"It was pre-meditated and they've been caught. They have been shown to cheat," he said.
South Africa started Sunday's fourth day with a 294-run lead and five wickets remaining in their second innings.

https://amp.sports.ndtv.com/cricket/...mpression=true
 
I appreciate the way how maturely South African team reacted to this and hasn't made any drama or scenes regarding this and left it to the match officials to decide.
 
I was talking about the players

I mean given Faf has been done for ball tampering twice and Philander once they wouldn't really have any grounds to make a major fuss so why get involved?
 
Wait for them to bowl

You can already see the likes of Naseer Hussain and other English cricketers have come up with the knifes out. This game is in SA and if this was some other team, they could have easily made a whole lot of drama of it given that this series has already has its shares of criticism.

SA have behaved quite maturely till now, rather than making a drama of it.
 
You can already see the likes of Naseer Hussain and other English cricketers have come up with the knifes out. This game is in SA and if this was some other team, they could have easily made a whole lot of drama of it given that this series has already has its shares of criticism.

SA have behaved quite maturely till now, rather than making a drama of it.

They have to. If they open their mouths, they will be reminded of the the FAF incident. And why do they need to react? Australia has already been mentally beaten. No need to do anything silly at this stage.

Just keep silent and win the series.
 
I was talking of whole SA team(including ex-cricketers and experts) in general.

Australia could not be in a worse position at the moment. If SA went after them it would actually be good for Australia because they would be able to pull the you do it as well card.
 
Australia could not be in a worse position at the moment. If SA went after them it would actually be good for Australia because they would be able to pull the you do it as well card.

What if this incident happened in Ashes in England? One can definitely think of how would have been the situation in that scenario. I mentioned that because the likes of Naseer and other ex-English players are already on it.
 
What if this incident happened in Ashes in England? One can definitely think of how would have been the situation in that scenario. I mentioned that because the likes of Naseer and other ex-English players are already on it.

Neither Root or Cook have ever been suspended for ball tampering so they'd have a much easier time running with it than South Africa.

But going titt for tat imo actually gives Australia an escape route because it would draw parts of the Australia public in support of the team.

The big issue here is that the Australian public is completely against the team at the moment.
 
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Neither Root or Cook have ever been suspended for ball tampering so they'd have a much easier time running with it than South Africa.

But going *** for tat imo actually gives Australia an escape route because it would draw parts of the Australia public in support of the team.

<B>The big issue here is that the Australian public is completely against the team at the moment.</B>

Fair enough. They have really messed up big time. Tough time ahead for Australian cricket.
 
For all guys in PP , what all will happen if Australia somehow pull this chase off ?
 
Will be interesting to see how Australia bat today and tomorrow. They will want to go down fighting.
 
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