SA wobble again after another day of interruptions

After almost two days of waiting, watching and wondering whether the second cricket Test would ever get properly under way, South Africa finally got a chance to spend some meaningful time at the crease at St George’s Park on Monday – but Australia’s attack ensured the Proteas paid a heavy price for their slow start.

At the close of play, the hosts were 97/5 after 43 overs, with Temba Bavuma on 41 off 108 balls and Wiaan Mulder (2) in the middle, while Australia’s leading wicket-taker was Scott Boland with 4/31 from 14 overs.

After a further two sessions were lost on the second day, play eventually resumed at 3.45pm. SA had already lost Aiden Markram and David Bedingham in the space of two deliveries late on Sunday, leaving them 20/2 after 12.2 overs.

There was little respite for the hosts, with Marques Ackerman and Matthew Breetzke also departing early to leave the Proteas 47/4 after 23.5 overs.

Boland was the chief destroyer, producing another disciplined spell to claim Markram, Bedingham, Ackerman and Ryan Rickelton, decimating the SA batting stocks.

Mitchell Starc removed Breetzke, while Josh Hazlewood was almost unplayable at the other end.

Bavuma once again found himself carrying much of the responsibility with the bat, having negotiated the Australian attack with considerably more authority than most of his teammates.

But the scorecard only tells part of the extraordinary story of this Test, which has been dominated by the weather and the condition of the St George’s Park outfield.

Australia won the toss on Sunday and opted to field, but the contest barely had time to settle before rain intervened.

The hosts managed only 12.2 overs on the opening day, with Markram and Bedingham falling to Boland in consecutive deliveries to leave the hosts 20/2.

The frustrations continued into Monday morning and early afternoon as the heavens opened first and then niggly wet spots on the outfield delayed proceedings, while the ground staff worked on the playing surface. Several inspections failed to produce the green light for a restart.

Even when the weather improved, the outfield remained the major concern, with wet areas preventing the teams from returning to the middle. Lunch came and went with SA still on 20/2 and so, too, did the tea break.

Eventually, after further inspections and more waiting, the umpires gave the players the go-ahead for a 3.45pm start, giving the match its first sustained opportunity to move beyond the dozen overs managed on day one.

South Africa, however, could not take full advantage.

The early dismissal of Ackerman, who had fought through the first day, brought Breetzke to the crease, but the newcomer lasted only 17 balls before Starc found the edge and Alex Carey completed the catch.

Rickelton, meanwhile, who gets a first crack behind the stumps at Test level after taking over the wicketkeeping duties from regular gloveman Kyle Verreynne, fell for 31 when Boland struck for a fourth time, removing the lefthander after a stunning catch by Matt Renshaw at first slip in the latter stages of the day's play.

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