Australia Vs South Africa 1st Test Cricinfo at Day1 Lunch

South Africa remove openers on spicy pitch

Australia 64/3 (26.0 ov)

Australia's batsmen wobbled to 39 for 2 in extremely lively conditions, after being sent in by South Africa on a rain-shortened first morning in the first Test at Newlands.

Dayle Steyn swung the ball menacingly and Vernon Philander seamed it extravagantly on debut, forcing Shaun Marsh and Ricky Ponting to summon all their technical resources to cover for the loss of two early wickets.

Shane Watson was the first to go, and Phillip Hughes' dismissal gave Philander his first wicket and Mark Boucher his 500th catch in Test cricket.

Having waited 305 days for a Test match, the hosts cooled their heels for another 1 hour, 45 minutes due to rain before play began, then another five while a sight screen problem - ludicrous at the start of a match - was addressed.

When the battle did finally commence, Steyn and Philander found some extravagant movement, mitigated only slightly by the slowness of the pitch.

Watson made a handful of bold decisions to leave deliveries that seamed back over his wicket. He had no chance in the fifth over, though, against a Steyn offering that swung and seamed from middle and leg to turn him front on and draw an edge to second slip.

Marsh's first ball in a Test match in South Africa struck him a blow on the forearm, and in the next over Hughes snicked a well-pitched Philander delivery that seamed across him and was gleefully accepted by Boucher for his milestone snare.

Having demonstrated a knack for shouldering arms intelligently in his first series, Marsh's powers of self-denial were fully tested as the ball continued to deviate.

At the other end Philander chanced a short ball to Ponting early and soon regretted it, as a soaring pull shot brought six runs behind square leg. Fuller deliveries were more inconvenient, and Morne Morkel's introduction to the attack brought another level of discomfort to the batsmen, his 196cm frame generating bounce as well as movement.

Marsh leant into one princely cover drive as the skies brightened in the final over of the session, but then had to call for the physio after being struck an eye-watering blow amidships before lunch could be taken.

The hosts had included Philander's muscular seam bowling at the expense of Lonwabo Tsotsobe, and recalled Jacques Rudolph for his first Test match since 2006, to open the batting with Smith. A first Test cap was also given to legspinner Imran Tahir, who had performed at the World Cup earlier in 2011 and came in place of the previous slow bowling component of the team, Paul Harris.

Australia were able to recall the fit-again Ryan Harris for Trent Copeland in the only change to the team that secured a 1-0 series win in Sri Lanka with a drawn third Test in Colombo. Copeland was squeezed out by Peter Siddle, Harris' replacement in Colombo, who has impressed since by adhering to instructions to bowl a fuller length, and was also a key part of the attack that was successful in South Africa in 2009.