Mitchell Starc turns it around after brutal Newlands start

Pace merchant Mitchell Starc admitted Australia had plenty to think about at lunch after South Africa dominated the opening session of the Newlands Test, but the left-arm quick's ability to adapt helped turn the tide as the Proteas were bowled out for 329 on day one.

SA raced to 140 without loss after the Aussies won the toss and elected to field, with Aiden Markram and Marques Ackerman putting the visitors' attack under pressure.

Ackerman went on to make 95, while Markram scored 78, before the tourists fought their way back into the contest.

Starc, who conceded 39 runs in his opening seven overs, was among those punished by the aggressive approach by the home side, but after the interval, Australia found ways to make the Newlands surface work for them.

“If we can delete that first session, I think we had a pretty good day,” Starc said.

“Clearly it wasn't our best stuff and I think after lunch we were back on the money.”

The pitch offered less pace, bounce and sideways movement than Australia had anticipated, forcing the bowlers to adjust their plans rather than rely solely on conventional seam movement.

Starc said the Australian attack had to reassess its approach during the innings.

“It was quite slow, that tennis-ball-type bounce. Clearly not as much sideways movement and swing as we thought there might be on offer,” he said.

“They pounced on that in the first session. We had to reassess at lunch and I thought we found different ways to be effective.”

Those adjustments eventually produced a dramatic turnaround.

South Africa moved from 140 without loss to 203/1, but then lost five wickets for 29 runs before Marco Jansen and Ryan Rickelton combined to rebuild the innings.

Jansen's 52 and Rickelton's 42 helped the hosts recover to 327/6 before Starc returned with the second new ball.

He then produced a devastating closing spell, taking four wickets in 11 deliveries to dismiss South Africa for 329 and finish with 6/72.

He revealed that he had reviewed footage from the series, as well as his Ashes bowling, in an effort to understand why things had not consistently felt right.

“I had a bit of a look last night with James Franklin and Ronnie, and also my wife has watched a lot of cricket. We've been around long enough to try and problem-solve while we're going,”

That process paid off when the second new ball started moving late, allowing Starc to exploit conditions he had been unable to find earlier in the day.

“It would have been nice to do it with the new ball in the first hour, but I think that's a feature of our group,” he said. “We can problem-solve before the end of the day's play.”

Nathan Lyon also played a key role in Australia's fightback, finishing with 2/70 and dismissing Ackerman for 95 after the South African batter had threatened to take control of the innings.

Starc praised the veteran spinner for maintaining his composure when Ackerman attempted to attack him.

Furthermore, the left arm quick expects more momentum swings before the result is decided.

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