Starc Takes Six as Proteas Lose Last Four Wickets for Two at Newlands

Mitchell Starc took 6/72 as South Africa lost their last four wickets for two runs to finish on 329 all out on Tuesday, a jolting end to the opening day of the deciding Test against Australia at Newlands. The left-armer claimed those final four wickets in six of his own deliveries with the second new ball.

Australia had yet to bat when stumps were drawn after 82.3 overs. With the series level at 1–1, the Proteas had twice built promising positions: first through a 158-run opening partnership, then through a lower-order recovery to 327/6. Starc denied them the finish both stands deserved.

Ackerman and Markram take charge

South Africa followed their series-levelling victory in Gqeberha with a commanding morning. Pat Cummins chose to bowl, but Ackerman and Aiden Markram took the hosts to lunch at 140 without loss.

Ackerman made 95 from 94 balls, attacking often enough to prevent Australia settling into a holding pattern. Markram supplied the longer innings, eventually reaching 78. Their contrasting tempos gave South Africa both immediate runs and the prospect of batting deep into the day.

Nathan Lyon broke the stand at 158, drawing Ackerman out for Alex Carey to complete the stumping. Five runs short of his maiden Test hundred, the opener’s frustration was plain. In the ICC’s Day 1 report, he admitted: “I left a hundred out there. I’m not really happy with that.”

From 203/1 to six wickets down

Markram and David Bedingham carried South Africa to 203/1 before Australia’s short-ball plan began to bite. Markram pulled Josh Hazlewood to Starc in the deep; Lyon then bowled Temba Bavuma for a third-ball duck. Cooper Connolly trapped Matthew Breetzke lbw for two, his first Test wicket.

South Africa reached tea at 221/4, still with enough batting to repair the damage. Instead, Bedingham’s 50 ended with a catch to Hazlewood off Starc, and Wiaan Mulder was caught behind for a second-ball duck in the same over. The hosts had slipped from 203/1 to 232/6, losing five wickets for 29 runs.

Jansen rebuilds before Starc finishes the innings

Ryan Rickelton and Marco Jansen restored some order with a seventh-wicket stand of 95. Rickelton’s 42 and Jansen’s 52 gave South Africa another chance to turn a good start into a substantial total. Their partnership also showed that the surface still rewarded batters who stayed in.

The second new ball ended that resistance. Starc trapped Rickelton lbw at 327/7 and bowled Jansen two deliveries later. After Cummins delivered the intervening over, Starc bowled Gerald Coetzee and dismissed Kagiso Rabada lbw, both for ducks, to close the innings.

Starc took South Africa’s final six wickets and registered his 20th Test five-wicket haul. His earlier success with the bouncer and his full-length attack with the new ball were different answers to the same problem: finding wickets on a pitch that had offered Australia little early encouragement.

Was 329 enough at Newlands

South Africa left runs behind, but 329 gives their attack something to defend. Cricket Australia’s account of the opening day describes minimal early seam assistance and a placid surface. Cummins’ decision to bowl brought no immediate reward.

That makes the manner of the wickets significant. Australia created dismissals through spin, catching positions and changes of length before Starc’s late burst. South Africa cannot assume a fresh ball will do the work for them. Rabada and Jansen must sustain pressure when the first spell produces no breakthrough, with Mulder, Coetzee and Simon Harmer supporting them.

Australia face a fresh examination on Day 2

Play is scheduled to resume at 10:30 SAST on Wednesday, 28 October. The Met Office forecast for Cape Town International indicates sunshine and a daytime high of 24°C, with sunny weather also forecast for Thursday and Friday. That outlook favours substantial playing time, although conditions at Newlands remain decisive.

Matt Renshaw and Travis Head will open for an Australian side missing Steve Smith through a neck injury. Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Connolly and Lyon came into the XI. South Africa’s confirmed change was Coetzee for the injured Anrich Nortje. For the hosts, breaking the opening pair would expose Australia’s reshaped middle order before a partnership can settle it.

The Betting Read

We would resist making Australia the better bet purely because Starc owned the final passage. A total of 329 keeps South Africa competitive, but the lack of early movement on Tuesday also gives Australia a credible route to a first-innings lead. The price must compensate for the uncertainty over how this surface will treat South Africa’s attack.

The first session should sharpen that judgement. Repeated edges and uncertain footwork against Rabada and Jansen would strengthen South Africa’s case, even if chances go down. Comfortable leaves and controlled scoring would favour Australia’s batting assessment. Smith’s absence matters, but it should be weighed alongside what Green and Inglis actually encounter.

Where offered, a first-innings lead market isolates Australia’s immediate task more closely than the match winner. Australia need 330 to move ahead, yet a narrow lead would leave the Test open. Our cricket betting guide explains the wider market choices; the size of any lead and the time used to build it must inform the full-match view.

The sunny forecast supports examining decisive-result prices, but Tuesday’s two large partnerships preserve a plausible draw route if batting remains comfortable. Any new rain threat or lost time would require another assessment. Apply the price-comparison principles in our sports betting guide to the same three-way market, with the draw included.

Starc has given Australia an opportunity to take control. South Africa’s bowlers now have a full innings total behind them and a fresh morning to show how much it is worth.

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