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DAY 5: Proteas clinch series with Harmer-Rabada show

cricket31 October 2026 13:40| © MWP
By:Brendon Atwell
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Simon Harmer bagged six wickets as Australia were dismissed for 111 in their second innings to give South Africa a massive 176-run victory to clinch the three-match Dafabet test Series 2-1 at YesPlay Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday.

"We just had normal chats around not letting them get too far ahead of us, especially in the first session. Out of experience, we know you don't win a match in that first session (on the final day) but you can certainly lose it," said Marco Jansen. "We knew if we just stayed patient, then we would set it up later in the day," added Jansen.

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Australia had slumped to 60 for seven at lunch in pursuit of a very unlikely 288-run target and it took 12.1 overs after lunch for the Proteas to make a breakthrough. It came when Simon Harmer (21.1-14-16-6) switched from the Wynberg end to the Kelvin Grove end. With his first delivery, Cameron Green (27) came dancing down the wicket and missed the attempted block with the ball cannoning in to the top of off stump.

"Yeah, chasing 280-odd is never going to be easy. There was a clear path forward and we thought it was achievable but we never really gave ourselves a chance," said Australian captain, Pat Cummins after the match.

However, Cummins (11) and Nathan Lyon (33*) produced a valiant stand of 45 from 105 deliveries to take their side to the brink of tea and possibly push a pulsating test match into the final session. Cummins and Lyon had quite a few heart-in-mouth moments with the ball just missing the outside edge of the bat, falling just out of reach of the fielder's hands as well as rolling just past the stumps.

"There was definitely a thought of 'Hier kom 'n ding' but we just had to play the waiting game, we didn't have to go searching. We were speaking a bit about it, that we would wait for the new ball and where we would have tried a bit to think out the box. Aiden actually mentioned it, that if there was a partnership that we didn't expect, then we would have to think again," said the world's No 1 test allrounder.

But man-of-the-match Harmer picked up his fifth wicket of the innings, trapping Cummins in front and despite the Australian captain immediately reviewing, the writing was on the wall. The fall of the ninth wicket on the brink of tea resulted in Temba Bavuma requesting the additional 30 minutes to try and find the final Australian wicket.

Then Harmer beat the outside edge of Josh Hazlewood's bat, with the ball knocking the off-stump back to hand Harmer his sixth scalp and 10th for the match and victory for South Africa.

PERFECT START

Kagiso Rabada (3-14) handed the home side the perfect start on the fifth morning when he dismissed Matt Renshaw for a first-ball duck and then three deliveries later having Marnus Labuschagne (4) trapped in front to leave Australia 5-2 after the first over.

More Rabada magic followed with the big wicket of Travis Head (14), driving at a delivery outside the off-stump and steering it straight to man-of-the-series Jansen in the gully region, giving Rabada his 350th test wicket, and leaving Australia in a heap of dung at 22 for three.

"It's not easy dealing with a guy like KG, he wants to play every game. The way that he bowled today was really him being close to his best. I think he can always get better," stated Bavuma.

Harmer (3-5) offered Josh Inglis a life when on two, a sharp chance off his own bowling that he was not able to latch onto with Australia 32 for three. Inglis' life would not last long though as a suicide-run saw Marques Ackerman quickly return the ball to Rickelton, who whipped the bails off with Inglis (4) short of his ground.

"We knew the new ball was going to be a key period. But if we could just get through that period, it would get a bit easier. We probably over-played the spin a bit and should have backed our defence a bit longer," said Cummins.

Harmer struck twice in his fourth over when Alex Carey played a ludicrous reverse-sweep with Jansen diving forward from short fine-leg to take a great catch and then two balls later Cooper Connolly edged behind to Rickleton to leave Australia 42 for six half-an-hour before lunch.

Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc batted bravely for the final half hour to the luncheon interval with both batsmen turning down singles to protect their wickets. Green faced 73 deliveries for his unbeaten 25 however Starc played the final ball before lunch into his pad from Harmer and was caught by substitute fielder, Corbin Bosch.

Cummins had won the toss on day one, asking the Proteas to bat first, a decision that looked to backfire when Aiden Markram (78) and Marques Ackerman (95) produced an opening stand of 158. However, the Proteas faltered and despite a seventh wicket stand of 95 between Rickelton (42) and Jansen (52), South Africa were bundled out for 329 at the close of the first day.

"The opportunity to bat first worked in our favour, because it has been a while that we've seen a pitch at Newlands on day five turn like that," added Bavuma. "You need a bit of luck to go your way, and we would have batted first anyway but you still need to play proper cricket," added the South African skipper.

Devastating bowling from Starc (6-72) in the final session ripped the heart out of the South African first innings, especially with the new ball when he claimed four wickets for just two runs.

"We thought if we could get 10 wickets on the first day then we would be ahead of the game," said Cummins.

POWERFUL POSITION WASTED

Australia finished off the second day in a powerful position, taking a one-run lead with only four wickets down as Renshaw (74) added 58 for the first wicket with Head (41) and 126 for the third wicket with Green (65). Inglis (102) and Alex Carey (80) ended the day with an unbeaten 145-run stand for the fifth wicket.

However, South Africa fought back, ending the fifth-wicket stand on 185 and dismissing Australia for 429 shortly after lunch on the third day, taking the final six wickets for just 59 runs. Simon Harmer (4-104 was the key, removing both Inglis and Carey as well as Head and Labuschagne while Jansen ended with 3-60.

The Proteas ended day three in a precarious position of 140 for four, having lost Bavuma (35) five minutes before the close of play. Ackerman produced another good display with the bat, scoring 62 while adding 64 runs for the third wicket with Bavuma.

"We were under pressure, and as a batter, we came up against one of the best bowling units going around," said Bavuma.

Day four belonged to Rickelton (102), who scored his third test century and going past 1000 test runs, and Mulder, who marshalled the tail well in scoring 115 before being last man out. Rickleton and Mulder shared in a vital stand of 154 from 319 balls for the fifth wicket before a mix-up saw Rickelton run out by Inglis at the non-striker's end.

Mulder and Rabada (2*) really frustrated the Australians with a vital 36-run stand for the final wicket as South Africa were bowled out at the close for 387, setting the visitors a target of 288 to win the test and the series.

Starc continued to have a good test with the ball, adding 3-65 to his six wickets in the first innings while Cummins (2-71) and Lyon (2-101) contributed.

SOUTH AFRICA: Aiden Markram, Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Temba Bavuma (capt), Matthew Breetzke, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada.

AUSTRALIA: Travis Head, Matthew Renshaw, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey (wk), Cooper Connolly, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.

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