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The Australian batting lineup lived through a nightmare on Day 4 of the Gqeberha Test against South Africa. While the visitors made a comeback after Scott Boland wreaked havoc on the first two days, the hosts made a comeback with Temba Bavuma's daddy hundred and Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer's 80s. But Australia couldn't stand for long against a 6 feet 10 inches tall Jansen, who bagged a fifer, getting bowled out for 99. Bavuma didn’t play safe and enforced a follow-on. Australia were 156/4 in their second innings, still trailing by 170 runs. After the day’s play, the Aussie head coach Andrew McDonald refused to defend the batters’ horrendous display, including Marnus Labuschagne’s error in judgement.
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"Disappointing – I think that's the word that I'd use to sum it up," said McDonald after South Africa enforced a follow-on against Australia after 56 years.
"Some of the shots that we played in the scenario – we knew we had a lot of work to do at the start of the day and I think some of the shots that some of the players played today, they'd take back.
"There was some batter error there, and I think we are better than that, but as it sits right now, I can't defend that."
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Labuschagne does himself no favour
Labuschagne is on thin ice and is on the verge of getting dropped again. It has been 14 innings since his last Test half-century. On Day 4, Labuschagne was dismissed cheaply by Anrich Nortje in Australia’s first innings. While following on, he played himself in. He had a review going in his favour as well. But he couldn't stop himself from playing a lofted shot against Harmer. He played against the wind and was caught by mid-on fielder Jansen. Labuschagne dragged himself out of the ground, dismissed for a 98-ball 39, knowing that it may be his last innings on the tour.
McDonald rued the number of times Labuschagne has failed to capitalise on a good start and lost his wicket in 30s. He is disappointed in the way he lost his wicket, especially when Australia were looking to build a big partnership after opener Nic Maddinson's early dismissal. Opener Travis Head and Labuschagne put on a 92-run stand for the second wicket.
"You saw what we saw," McDonald said. "For me, the option (to hit Harmer over the top) is there if the ball's in the right area – it is a strength of his. But, in that scenario, as I said, there's probably some shots that players would take back.
"He did a lot of hard work once again. It feels like I'm on repeat around the amount of 30s that he has got – you would say that's been a danger period for him. They had a good partnership going and we were starting to claw our way back into the game.
"When you do that hard work, you've got to cash in … so he'd be disappointed. We're disappointed, and we find ourselves in this situation. What I will say is, we've still got six wickets in hand, so there is a long way to go in the game."
Will Smith bat on Day 5?
After Labuschagne, Steve Smith did not walk out to bat at no.4. Matt Renshaw took up that role and was knocked over by Kagiso Rabada for 11. Harmer inflicted more damage and got rid of Beau Webster for a single-digit score. Later in Day 4's play, Australia sent nightwatchman Boland to bat. Boland faced as many as 33 balls and scored two runs. On the other end, Head remained unbeaten for 87 off 138 balls.
Smith had issues with his neck when he was batting in the first innings. He was receiving medical attention in the dressing room. But he will have a big role to play on Day 5. McDonald has confirmed that Smith will walk out to bat on the final day of the Test.
"We felt it was best to hopefully get the batting unit through to tomorrow and then hopefully he's better placed," the 45-year-old said.
"We've seen the physio working on him, so he'll bat tomorrow.
"It's not something that will rule him out of the innings, but it was just a little bit more time than we expected on the back of the first innings.
"Sometimes he changes his technique when he's fully fit too, but he was limited in what he could do."
What Australia need to do on Day 5?
Australia still trail by 170 runs. There is light rain expected in the morning, but the forecast looks promising for the hosts. Aussies will need a big partnership. They can’t expect Head to go into defensive mode. They want him to get rid of a huge chunk of the existing trail. What they currently need is Boland to delay throwing his wicket away and cop a few blows. Then, they want Smith to bat through the day with contributions from middle and lower-order batters. Even a draw under the circumstances will be nothing short of a win for the Aussies.
McDonald already thinking of changes?
The head coach confirmed that Cameron Green and Josh Inglis have attained match fitness. Green can come in place of Webster, whereas Inglis can be a potential opener. Last year, he had scored a century in a successful run chase against England Lions as an opener. Nic Maddinson has not justified his comeback to the side and crumbled under pressure. Australia may experiment with Inglis as their revolving door for the search for an opener is likely to continue in this series as well.
“They’ll be on the selection table for Cape Town, but I don’t want to talk selection at this presser,” McDonald laughed.
Will Gqeberha Test outcome lead to changes in WTC standings?
Whether Australia lose, draw or win the second Test of the series, they will stay at the top of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 standings. South Africa need a win to stay in the third position. If the Test ends in a draw, South Africa will share the third spot with Bangladesh, who have a win percentage of 55.56. In case of a loss for the Proteas, which looks unlikely, they will slip to fifth place.
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