Australia all out for 99, forced to follow on
Collected Photo
Australia lost six wickets for 69 runs before lunch on the fourth day and were on the verge of being forced to follow on. Within an hour of lunch against South Africa, the Australian innings came to an end. Pat Cummins’ team were all out for just 99 in 42.3 overs and will bat again, trailing by 326 runs.
Marco Jansen single handedly dismantled Australia’s batting lineup with five wickets for 33 runs. Wiaan Mulder and Kagiso Rabada took two wickets each.
Smith was Australia’s top scorer. He returned to the pavilion after scoring 28 off 88 balls, ending Australia’s last hopes of avoiding the follow on. Only five batters reached double figures.
Earlier, South Africa had built a massive first innings total of 425 on the third day, thanks to an extraordinary century from Temba Bavuma. Australia suffered a batting collapse on the fourth day of the second Test of the series at St George’s Park. A brilliant spell from Marco Jansen left Australia struggling at 69 for six before lunch and facing the prospect of a follow on.
Bavuma’s 179, Jansen’s 85 and Keshav Maharaj’s 82 helped South Africa declare their innings at 425 for nine yesterday afternoon.
Australia had lost one wicket for three runs by the end of the third day’s play after coming out to bat late in the day. On Wednesday morning, they lost six wickets within 33 overs. Jansen alone took four wickets for 16 runs.
Nick Maddinson was dismissed without scoring on the fourth ball of the innings. He was caught by Keshav Maharaj off Kagiso Rabada’s bowling.
Australia came under fire from Jansen early on the fourth day. He dismissed four Australian batters, Travis Head, Scott Boland, Renshaw and Alex Carey, without allowing the opposition to settle.
