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DAY 1: Rabada wrecks Australia but game in balance after 14-wicket opening day

football11 June 2025 17:36| © MWP
By:Neil Manthorp
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Kagiso Rabada claimed 5-51 to help dismiss Australia for just 212 while fellow opening bowler Marco Jansen claimed 3-49 as South Africa emphatically vindicated their decision to bowl first on the first day of the World Test Championship final at Lord’s on Wednesday.

But Mitchell Starc (7-3-10-2) struck early in South Africa’s reply and with Josh Hazlewood (1-10) and captain Pat Cummins (1-14) also claiming wickets the underdog Proteas stumbled to 43-4 by the close of a dramatic day to completely cede the advantage.

Right-hander Aiden Markram (0) was comprehensively bowled by a Starc inswinger while left-hander Ryan Rickelton (16) edged a similar delivery to Usman Khawaja at slip.

Wiaan Mulder’s painfully shotless innings of six from 44 balls was ended with a Pat Cummins delivery rattling into his stumps and Tristan Stubbs (2) was bowled by the ever-consistent Josh Hazlewood.

Captain Temba Bavuma required 31 balls to score his first run and will resume day two on three not out in the company of David Bedingham (8*) who clipped two crisp, legside boundaries to get a static scoreboard moving.

Australia were reduced to 67-4 at lunch but Steve Smith (66) and allrounder Beau Webster (72) added 79 for the fifth wicket in the afternoon session to lead a recovery to 190-5 at tea, but South Africa ripped out the final five wickets for the addition of just 22 runs with Rabada claiming three to have his name inscribed on the famous Honours Board for the second time.

Spinner Keshav Maharaj (1-19) began the collapse bowling a reverse-sweeping Alex Carey (23) with his first ball after the resumption and Rabada bowled Cummins (1) with a snorting leg-cutter which hit the top of off stump.

RABADA'S MOMENT OF GLORY

Webster’s good fortune came to an end with an ill-disciplined waft at a wide Rabada delivery which Bedingham pouched at second slip ending a top score innings of 72 from 92 balls (11x4) and Jansen was too quick and too straight for Nathan Lyon whose stumps were rearranged.

But Rabada was not to be denied his moment of glory and another magnificent, high-speed cutter ripped through the defences of Starc to end the innings after just 56.4 overs.

Rabada claimed 5-52 against England at Lord’s three years ago and joins Makhaya Ntini and Allan Donald in the modern era with a second entry on the Honours Board.

Rabada also moved from 327 test wickets to 332 passing Donald’s total of 330 to move into fourth place on the all-time list for his country behind Dale Steyn (439), Shaun Pollock (421) and Makhaya Ntini (390).

Webster lived a charmed life early on looking especially vulnerable against Rabada against whom he played and missed over half a dozen times.

Jansen was unlucky not to trap him lbw with just a single to his name when the replay on South Africa’s review showed the ball to be hitting the top of the leg stump – but umpire Chris Gaffaney’s ‘not out’ verdict remained.

Webster had scored just eight when a Rabada delivery crashed into his pads directly in front of the stumps but South Africa decided not to review with captain Bavuma indicating an inside edge.

Television replays showed there was no contact with the bat and the batsman survived again.

South Africa’s luck changed, however, when Bavuma brought part-time offspinner Markram (2-0-5-1) into the attack in order to switch ends for swing bowler Mulder – only to see him dismiss the great Smith claiming just his fourth test wicket.

Smith drove at a wide ball and edged to Jansen at slip who instinctively knocked the ball in the air before pouching a fine catch at the third attempt to dismiss Smith for 66 from 112 balls with 10 fours.

Rabada led the attack with a magnificent opening spell of accurate and hostile fast bowling in the morning session with figures of 6-4-9-2 while fellow opening bowler Jansen claimed the other two wickets with both men benefitting from some brilliant catching.

Opener Khawaja was the first to depart for a shotless 20-ball duck when an outside edge against Rabada flew at high speed to Bedingham at first slip and his replacement, Cameron Green (4), edged Rabada three balls later to second slip where Aiden Markram held a low screamer to his right.

Marnus Labuschagne, promoted to open the batting, scratched his way unconvincingly to 17 from 56 balls before pushing at a widish ball from Jansen and edging to ‘keeper Kyle Verreynne to leave the Australians tottering at 46-3.

Travis Head (11) attempted to counter-attack with a lavish square cut for four against Jansen but the tall left armer had the final word – albeit fortuitously – when Head flicked at a full length ball down the legside only to see Verreynne dive to his right to claim a stunning one-handed catch.

The match will doubtless change direction over the course of days two and three but, with 14 wickets falling on the first, the most popular prediction beforehand – that it would not reach the fifth – seems most likely to come true.

SOUTH AFRICA: Temba Bavuma (capt), Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.

AUSTRALIA: Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.

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