At 97-5 with Australia yet to bat, the price of South Africa’s selection gambles is becoming harder to ignore, and the balance of power in this series sits firmly with the tourists. For much of Monday in Gqeberha it looked as though rain would wash out any meaningful play on day two of the second Test. By the close, the hosts may have preferred that outcome.
Scott Boland needed only seven deliveries to add to the two wickets he claimed amid the rain on day one. The 37-year-old, relentless in line and length, found the perfect length to drag debutant Marques Ackerman onto the front foot. Ackerman had defended nicely for 38 balls, but here he neither defended nor unleashed a drive. Instead he stumbled forward, nicked through to wicketkeeper Alex Carey, and became the 85th victim of Boland’s 20-Test career. Boland finished the day with 4-31, once again emphatically pressing his case.
What changed: the batting line-up itself. That Ackerman, one of two changes after the first-Test defeat, was opening against the red ball for the first time in his career pointed to the problems South Africa face. The other new face, Matthew Breetzke, was brought in on the back of his white-ball form after Tristan Stubbs played two poor strokes in the first Test. Breetzke’s feet barely moved in making four from 17 deliveries before he was dismissed trying to force Mitchell Starc loosely through the covers off the back foot.
Ackerman’s selection had a knock-on effect elsewhere. Ryan Rickelton, another fine white-ball player with a modest red-ball record, was moved from opener to number six and wicketkeeper. Having top-edged a pull last week, he was worked over by Pat Cummins’ bouncers late on day two. He had already been hit on the body and dropped on 26 by Marnus Labuschagne when, stuck on the crease, he edged Boland while pushing tentatively outside off stump. On another day the ball would have found the turf, but Matt Renshaw stuck out a right hand at first slip and somehow scooped the ball up above the ground.
Meanwhile, Boland’s numbers underline why Australia have not missed spinner Nathan Lyon, whom he replaced, or Josh Hazlewood, who remained at the team hotel throughout the day because of illness. His Test bowling average now stands at 18.08, and no bowler since the First World War has taken as many wickets at a better rate. Of his 84 deliveries in this innings, 63% landed on a good line and length, while 24% of those would have gone on to hit the stumps. On that latter metric, Cummins holds the next best record but lags well behind at 12%.
Whether Boland has proven yet again that he is ideal for seaming conditions, or that he deserves more opportunities, can be debated. Ollie Robinson, who bowls a similar style, will surely have taken note back home as he prepares for England’s tour of South Africa.
With the weather set to improve, the Proteas have three days remaining in this Test to reverse the momentum of a series that appears to be heading in only one direction. Much will depend on Temba Bavuma, who remained on 41 not out, and seamer Kagiso Rabada. Rabada returned match figures of 11-150 against Australia on this ground in 2018, a South Africa win which levelled that four-match series going into the infamous Sandpaper Test.
The hosts may need something similar and more here, because right now their batting does not appear up to the test.