Australia v South Africa: second Test, day one – live | Australia cricket team

fifteenth over: South Africa 41-1 (Elgar 19, de Bruyn 3) Boland is within the recreation in opposition to de Bruyn, who retains taking part in outdoors off stump. Chops a pair previous gully, performs some dot balls alongside the bottom into the cordon. The solar has come out in Melbourne and it’s warming up.

14th over: South Africa 39-1 (Elgar 19, de Bruyn 1) Positive from de Bruyn, who sees one other brief one from Lyon and will get again to muscle a pull shot into the deep. Only downside is that he picks out the one sweeper, Travis Head at deep backward. One run, after Elgar took one and Carey let by a bye.

thirteenth over: South Africa 36-1 (Elgar 18, de Bruyn 0) Boland hits the stumps… and no wicket! Forward defensive from Elgar, the ball goes into the turf and rolls again in opposition to his off stick. Another stroke of luck for the visiting skipper, who doubles down by taking part in a straight drive for 4.

twelfth over: South Africa 32-1 (Elgar 14, de Bruyn 0) Nathan Lyon on early, from the Shane Warne Stand finish. Elgar has performed him loads. Gets a uncommon Lyon brief ball to chop for 2, then pushes a single.

eleventh over: South Africa 29-1 (Elgar 11, de Bruyn 0) Less than two overs and he’s into the motion. Positive begin from Erwee however one other low rating.

WICKET! Erwee c Khawaja b Boland 18, South Africa 29-1

tenth over: South Africa 23-0 (Elgar 10, Erwee 18) Not simply blocking, is Erwee. Throws the bat at width from Cummins, steering the ball previous gully alongside the carpet for 4. Nice timing.

ninth over: South Africa 23-0 (Elgar 9, Erwee 14) Here’s Scott Boland! Big ovation for the native bowler on the scene of final 12 months’s nice triumph. Erwee doesn’t respect the event, darting off for a single to cowl. He hasn’t bought the memo that no one is meant to attain off Boland. Elgar compounds the rudeness with an identical shot.

eighth over: South Africa 21-0 (Elgar 8, Erwee 13) Cummins tightens the screws on this over to Elgar, utilizing a little bit of width and angling the ball in at instances, going outdoors off stump at others, not conceding a run.

seventh over: South Africa 21-0 (Elgar 8, Erwee 13) Another nudge from Elgar, one other sequence of leaves from Erwee. It’s not like they’ve raced away, however they’ve negotiated the primary half hour confidently.

sixth over: South Africa 20-0 (Elgar 7, Erwee 13) Leaving width, taking part in when straight: Erwee is doing the fundamentals. Can’t assist himself when Cummins drops brief although, taking part in a hook shot and edging simply high-quality of the keeper for 4. Then Cummins hits the right line, drawing him right into a ahead push, so almost edging it behind. In between these two errors, Erwee performs flick by midwicket for 4.

fifth over: South Africa 12-0 (Elgar 7, Erwee 5) Starc retains bowling straight, however by Erwee a few instances onto the pad. Angling down leg each instances, says the umpire. Starc doesn’t argue. Eventually Erwee will get width and reaches for a drive sq., netting a pair.

4th over: South Africa 9-0 (Elgar 7, Erwee 2) Trying to get stride ahead to Cummins is Elgar, after Erwee drives one other run. Then Elgar plonks on the entrance foot too early, and drives again a catch! Bursts by the fingers of the Australian captain. He has to achieve excessive and to his left after Elgar reaches means out in entrance of his physique too early. Not the sort of probability a bowler expects with a brand new ball, and it goes to waste.

third over: South Africa 8-0 (Elgar 7, Erwee 1) Same once more for Elgar, nudging one off Starc, then Erwee performs the smallest off-drive down previous the bwoler and rushes by for his first run. Starc will get some swing outdoors the off stump and has Elgar reaching, jamming the ball down into the bottom.

2nd over: South Africa 6-0 (Elgar 6, Erwee 0) Elgar escapes strike from Cummins instantly, nudging one other leg-side run to ship Erwee down for an examination. Cummins hits a good line to him, simply outdoors the off stump largely, and Erwee will get to mud off his go away.

1st over: South Africa 5-0 (Elgar 5, Erwee 0) Mitchell Starc with the ball from the Members’ End, loping in to pitch up and see if he can swing it. South Africa’s two left-handers on the crease. No worries for Elgar although, Starc bowling too straight a few instances and being picked off for a two and a 3 by midwicket. Better begin for SA’s captain than when he gloved one down the leg facet in Brisbane.

The nationwide anthems are out of the way in which, and we’re resulting from play.

The soundtrack to the Warne video is in fact Coldplday: always remember that Chris Martin was within the Dream BBQ mural that Warne had commissioned.

crowd on this morning, and the 2 groups are on the sector whereas the massive display and the PA performs a Shane Warne tribute video. This can be an enormous a part of the subsequent few days – the primary Boxing Day Test with out him for thus lengthy. As a Victorian whereas taking part in, Warne was all the time an enormous a part of these events, and saved a few of his finest performances for this floor.

“I would have batted first as well,” says Dean Elgar. “A little bit surprised [at Cummins’ decision]. Normally you’d want to bat first and get through the day. It’s going to be nice and hot, so everything is in favour of the batters. We’ve just got to apply ourselves and make the best of conditions that lie in front of us. We’re in a good space with regard to the ball, so hopefully those mental scars are there [for the Australians].”

“It looks like a good wicket, the most that’s going to be in it will be this morning,” was Cummins’ rationale. “Here at the MCG the wicket normally gets better and better. We had to have one Victorian in the side, so Scotty Boland was here. Josh Hazlewood had a couple of good bowls, but once we got closer he put his hand up and said I’m not quite right.”

Teams

Australia win the toss and bowl

And why not a probably soon-to-be-redundant argument for David Warner on the high of the order? Another couple of low scores would possibly throw this out the window, however I’m considering that endurance is the correct strategy to go when a participant’s report is that this good.

How about my now-redundant argument that Boland Must Play forward of Hazlewood, even when simply this as soon as? It may be classed as Boxing Day leftovers.

If you wish to know extra about what’s occurring within the South African team, with its wildly good bowling and wildly dangerous batting, right here’s Daniel Gallan.

Preamble

Geoff Lemon