Johannesburg - IOL Sport’s Stuart Hess looks at the Plays of Match of the first Test between the Proteas and Australia at the Gabba which ended after just two days with a six-wicket win for the home side.
PLAYS OF THE MATCH
2 - Days of play. Actually it was less than that. Just 145.2 overs were bowled at the Gabba, which is less than two days worth of play given 90 overs are supposed to be bowled in a day. It’s only the fourth time a Test has finished in two days in Australia; the others occurred in 1894/95 at the SCG v England, 1930/31 at the MCG v West Indies, 1931/32 at the MCG v South Africa. It was calculated that the 867 balls bowled at the Gabba made it the second shortest Test ever in Australia after that 31/32 match in which 656 balls were bowled
5 - Mitchell Starc became the fifth Australian seamer to pick up 300 Test wickets, when he bowled Rassie van der Dussen with a beauty that seamed back into the right hander from over the wicket. Starc joins Glenn McGrath, Dennis Lilee, Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee.
92 - Travis Head’s first innings was the highest score in the match. He quite rightly got the Man of the Match award - although some cynics may say it should have gone to the Gabba groundsman.
CATCHES - There were some very good ones; Cameron Green at gully - in the first innings to get Sarel Erwee - Khaya Zondo’s leap at short leg to dismiss David Warner and Lungi Ngidi's ankle poach off his own bowling to end Starc’s innings.
DAVID WARNER - It’s a small win for the South Africans, but a noteworthy one, in that they’ve kept the pressure on the left-hand opener, who followed a golden duck with just three runs in the second innings. He’ll play his 100th Test at the MCG next week and it won’t be a pleasant build-up.
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