Australia vs South Africa: Travis Head defies conditions as bowlers make merry on Day 1 of first Test

Brisbane: Travis Head defied the conditions to produce a run-a-ball 78 that got Australia within seven runs of South Africa’s first innings Saturday on a series-opening day when 15 wickets fell.

Head’s unbeaten innings and a 117-run partnership with Steve Smith (38) helped justify Pat Cummins’ gamble to bowl first after winning the toss.

Conditions were perfect for bowling early and the green, grassy pitch at the Gabba was well exploited by both attacks, with 13 wickets falling in the first 60 overs as Australia bowled out South Africa for 152 and then slipped to 27-3 in reply.

Left-arm paceman Mitchell Starc and off-spinner Nathan Lyon took three wickets each for Australia to set the tone for the bowlers and then South Africa paceman Kagiso Rabada struck on the first ball of the home team’s innings to remove David Warner for a golden duck.

A thrilling 15-wicket day!

See all the scores and the wickets in our match centre here #AUSvSA

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 17, 2022

South Africa allrounder Marco Jansen struck with his first ball of the match, in the 9th over, when Marnus Labuschagne (11) edged to Dean Elgar in the slips and then Anrich Nortje struck with his second ball of the match, in the 10th over, with a ball that lifted sharply and which Usman Khawaja (11) edged to third slip.

Head then joined Smith at the crease and the fourth-wicket pair combined for the biggest partnership of the day, surpassing the 98-run fifth-wicket stand between Kyle Verreynne (64) and Temba Bavuma (38) that salvaged and then prolonged South Africa’s first innings.

The Australians lost two wickets in the two overs before stumps, with Smith bowled by Nortje seven minutes before stumps and Rabada having night-watchman Scott Boland caught behind on the last delivery of Day 1.

It’s the first test series between the two countries since the so-called Sandpapergate scandal in South Africa in 2018 that rocked Australian cricket, and the ball-tampering saga was the main talking point ahead of the first test.

Cummins made an effort to steer the conversation around Australia’s bowling attack in a different direction by taking the risk of bowling first after winning the toss at the Gabba. He was the first Australian captain to do that in 22 years since Stephen Waugh led Australia to an innings victory against West Indies in 2000.

DAY 1 | STUMPS