Inglis backs Australia to strike again

Wicketkeeper batsman Josh Inglis believes Australia did enough on day three to keep themselves firmly in the third Test at Newlands, with the wicket deteriorating and the visitors confident they can make the most of their late strikes when South Africa resume on Friday.

Australia achieved a 100-run first-innings lead after being bowled out for 429, but SA fought back to 140/4 by stumps, 40 runs ahead overall and four players back in the shed.

However, Australia removed Marques Ackerman for 62 and Temba Bavuma for 35 in the final hour of the day, leaving Matthew Breetzke and Ryan Rickelton at the crease and six wickets still in hand.

Inglis, who made a century earlier in the day, felt Australia had managed the pressure well despite South Africa's fightback.

“I think we sort of controlled the tempo there really well in that last session,” he said.

“Although they put on a pretty good partnership and were playing well, they weren't really getting away from us.”

Inglis and Alex Carey had earlier added 185 for the fifth wicket, with Inglis making 102 before Simon Harmer finally broke the partnership.

Carey followed four overs later for 80 as the home side claimed the key wickets they needed to prevent Australia from building a much larger lead.

The tourists eventually lost their final six wickets for 59 runs, but Inglis felt the groundwork laid by the attack earlier in the innings remained important.

“I thought Gaz (Nathan Lyon) bowled brilliantly and looked threatening the whole time,” he said. “When you work for a couple of hours there and then get the rewards right at the end, it's really satisfying.”

The Australian wicketkeeper-batter also expects the pitch to become increasingly difficult as the Test progresses, with dust and turn already becoming more noticeable on day three.

“Obviously the further it goes into the game, I think it's only going to get harder and harder,” Inglis said.

“It's obviously spinning a fair bit. We've got a new ball in 30-odd overs, so hopefully we start well tomorrow.”

That combination of a deteriorating surface and the new ball could give Australia two avenues to attack South Africa's remaining batters.

Inglis said the visitors would not necessarily be thinking about a specific target, but admitted they would not want the hosts to build too far beyond their current lead.

“You don't want them getting too many more than maybe 200 or so,” he said.

South Africa had looked in trouble at 31/2 in their second innings before Ackerman and Bavuma added 64 for the third wicket. Their departures, however, gave Australia a lift heading into the final evening.

Inglis said the Australian approach will be to maintain that pressure rather than chase wickets recklessly.

“It felt quite tough to score,” he said of the earlier stages of his own innings when he batted alongside Carey.

“I just knew if I just needed to hang in there, there was no reason to try to push on or press on.”

That patience could again be required on day four, particularly with the pitch offering increasing assistance to spin.

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