Tea South Africa 213 for 4 (de Villiers 51*, Prince 34*) v Australia
A first Test wicket for Pat Cummins and an oddly hasty innings by Jacques Kallis did not stop South Africa from surging past 200 against a battling Australia at tea on the first day. Kallis' 54 was fleeting but it set the rhythm of the innings. The pace was maintained by AB de Villiers and Ashwell Prince even after Cummins had dismissed Hashim Amla. Injury concerns about Shane Watson's hamstring were partially assuaged by his return to the field, but he did not move from first slip and it remains to be seen whether he can bowl again.
Watson had taken the second wicket to fall, that of Jacques Rudolph, and his continued inconvenience will affect both Australia's bowling options and batting order later on in the match. It will also place more burden of performance on the 18-year-old Cummins, who became Australia's second youngest Test debutant after Ian Craig, having played only three first-class matches.
His bowling was the best of the Australians', a poor reflection on his more senior colleagues. Mitchell Johnson bowled better than in Cape Town but was still expensive, as was Peter Siddle, and Nathan Lyon was used sparingly in unfavourable conditions, leaving Michael Hussey to bowl a few overs.
Presented with the baggy green cap by Ricky Ponting, Cummins was included at the expense of Ryan Harris, who complained of hip soreness and could not be chosen. Harris' absence raises difficult questions about his chances of playing a consistent role for Australia across the summer at the age of 32, given he was also unable to complete the three-Test series in Sri Lanka, despite being the outstanding bowler in the touring attack.
Having won the toss, Graeme Smith and Rudolph walked to the middle to face Johnson and Cummins, who each gained some movement and bounce. Johnson was rewarded for a decent line when Smith fenced at a delivery that seamed away slightly and offered a catch to Michael Clarke at second slip.
Rudolph offered his bat to plenty of deliveries outside the off stump, sometimes driving crisply, others probing uncertainly, and Cummins had one delivery prancing off the splice of the bat and eluding Hussey in the gully.
Cummins' first spell in Tests was of a high standard, affording speed, bounce and enough movement, and though he did not take a wicket it was in its way as heartening a passage of cricket for Australia as Clarke's hundred had been on day one at Newlands.
At the other end, Amla was centimetres away from falling lbw to Johnson when one straightened enough in the air to clip off stump but not strike it flush - meaning Amla eluded Clarke's DRS referral. Watson replaced Johnson, and soon had a flat-footed Rudolph touching an angled delivery on its way through to Brad Haddin.
Kallis' arrival brought a flurry of boundaries as Australia pitched up in search of swing and outside edges, but the tourists were less perturbed by that than the sight of Watson wincing and walking off before the completion of his fourth over.
Johnson resumed bowling in Watson's stead, twice striking Amla on the forearm, and Kallis was only reprieved from an lbw decision in the shadows of the break by a DRS referral that revealed a meaty inside edge. However driven runs continued to accrue, Lyon taken for 12 runs in the final over of the session, and the interval arrived with plenty of worries for the tourists.
Australia's full bowling continued to offer opportunities for Kallis to drive on resumption, and he went to his half-century in only 37 balls with a six flicked over fine leg. But his uncharacteristic speed brought greater risk, and in the same over he levered Siddle to midwicket in search of another boundary.
Amla's more sedate stay was soon ended, flashing hard at Cummins to allow Ricky Ponting to hold a fine snare at slip. The wickets slid South Africa to 129 for 4 and brought Lyon's return to the attack, but de Villiers and Prince were soon scoring almost as freely as Kallis had done.
This was cricket of unbridled aggression on both sides, and as many of the hosts' runs were found behind the wicket as in front as the edge of the bat was found but did not go to hand. One spell of three overs for one run was broken by three consecutive boundaries from Siddle, and de Villiers went past 50 shortly before the interval.
Usman Khawaja had earlier been the other touring inclusion, in place of Shaun Marsh after the No. 3 had suffered trouble at Newlands. The losses of Harris and Marsh represented significant blows to Australia's chances of forcing a share of the series following the traumatic circumstances of the first Test loss.
South Africa named a team unchanged from the XI that won so dramatically in Cape Town, affording another opportunity to the legspinner Imran Tahir and rewarding Vernon Philander for his incisive bowling in the first Test.
The hosts are seeking a first Test series victory over Australia at home since their return to international cricket in 1992.
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