The pitch totally changed on Day 3; the batters were fairly untroubled throughout the day. The warning sign was the strong ‘dead cat bounce’ from the Aussie tail (Starc made a 50). Credit to South Africa who did their usual thing of quietly grinding us down. Unlike in most test matches, batting last in this one has proven to be an advantage.
It was a hot day by London standards as well, getting up to 28-29C, with more than a few MCC members sweating in their dapper jackets and egg-and-bacon ties. That probably played a role in the pitch conditions.
Bar a miraculous spell I can’t see us winning from here, but it is test cricket in the UK so you never know.
The pitch has been very slow apparently, the Aussies had their slippers fielding with helmets on because there wasn’t much carry, the ball dropping short in the slips cordon a bit. I haven’t seen that before!
Would explain the Smith drop, but still AUS have a slim chance, need everything to go their way in the morning session and hope for a few early wickets, take all their chances and for SAF to get the shakes… But SAF seem to be one of the better teams at successful chases … I’m thinking SAF will win from here by 4 or 5 wickets.
Australia always being in the ‘gearing up for the Ashes’ mode meant experiments with the lineup that probably didn’t help - having openers who had never opened in the so called “final” shows how little respect there is given to the test championship.
Cricket fans across the nation won’t see any games played on Australia Day in 2026 - marking the second year in a row the sport’s bosses have backed out of holding matches on the public holiday.
The Big Bash League will conclude on Sunday, January 25, but there will be no major cricket game on the following day.
