This final has been called \u201cThe Ultimate Test\u201d and though almost \u00adcertainly the product of a W1A-style ideas splurge back in Dubai, the \u00adtagline scarcely felt more appropriate watching wickets tumble for a second day in succession.<\/p>\n
It had appeared for all money that Pat Cummins had sealed the fate of the World Test Championship<\/a> mace after lunch. Thundering in from the Nursery End, a four-wicket burst meant he finished with figures of six for 28 and South Africa were all out for 138 in 57.1 overs \u2013 74 behind \u2013 all it needed was a further top-up of runs.<\/p>\n Instead, with assistance from a beige Lord\u2019s surface that has delivered a bat\u2019s width of nibble \u00adthroughout, South Africa delivered a stirring fightback of their own. At stumps Australia were 144 for eight \u2013 a lead of 218 runs \u2013 and the \u00adspectators who had roared on the spectacle could finally draw breath.<\/p>\n Some of them were probably query\u00ading the pitch on the way out. But 28 wickets falling in just six \u00adsessions may say as much about how bowlers can adjust quicker to a one-off showpiece. After a rusty first day, Lungi Ngidi was the final one to get up to speed, his cheap lbw removals of Steve Smith and Beau Webster, amid figures of three for 35, dragging South Africa back into the contest.<\/p>\n Lungi Ngidi (far left) is congratulated by his South Africa teammates after a successful review results in the wicket of Steve Smith. Photograph: Alex Davidson-ICC\/ICC\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Their heads could easily have dropped after the onslaught from Cummins in which he became the eighth Australian to 300 Test \u00adwickets. There could also have been a few envious glances cast by Kagiso Rabada, star of the first innings. As sublime as he was, Cummins had also profited from a collective asphyxiation that resulted in, among the frontline bowlers, only Mitchell Starc going at more than two runs per over.<\/p>\n But after Rabada once again made early inroads \u2013 Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green nicked off \u2013 the South African cavalry arrived. In the space of a dizzying first 25 overs Australia were suddenly 73 for seven. Marco Jansen ended \u00adMarnus Labuschagne\u2019s second stab at \u00adopening, Ngidi found a rich groove and Wiaan Mulder wiped out the \u00addangerous Travis Head, bowled neck and crop.<\/p>\n By the close the defending champions were grateful to Alex Carey for a nuggety 43 that added to his \u00adpersonal story at Lord\u2019s and, along with support from Starc, meant the chase would require the highest total of the match. Had Jansen followed Rabada\u2019s late removal of Carey lbw by holding Starc at slip, the metronomic Mulder would have claimed a deserved second wicket.<\/p>\n South Africa will be hoping the top order that crumbled to 30 for four on the first evening can hold firmer \u00adsecond time around. A bit like the World Cup semi-final in \u00adKolkata<\/a> 18 months ago, their first effort felt like a Chinese finger trap, every \u00adwriggle making things tighter. There was some defiance, Temba Bavuma and David Bedingham throwing the odd counterpunch, but the task was\u00a0arduous.<\/p>\n Having shut down Bavuma for 36 via a loose shot to cover, Cummins simply came into his own after the interval; the blue-eyed boy from the Blue Mountains delivering an \u00adavalanche of wickets. Smashing the surface with remorseless \u00adaccuracy, his spell of 4.1 overs, four for four \u2013 closed off with a stunning \u00addiving catch by Webster in the deep \u2013 appeared gamebreaking at the time.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers’ thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week\u2019s action<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n It had begun with a scene straight from Super Rugby, Cummins appealing for an lbw against Kyle Verreynne and summarily flattened as his mark attempted a single. Cummins cared only for the review, however, and when three reds flashed up on the big screen, he was suddenly amid a scrum of jubilant teammates.<\/p>\n This was the first of five wickets to fall for just 12 runs \u2013 as well as the first of two in the over thanks to a return catch from Jansen \u2013 but most \u00adcritical was that of Bedingham. Though \u00adtypically a dasher for Durham, the right-hander had ground his way to 45 only to be undone on the back foot by a classic edge behind. Most \u00adheinous was Keshav Maharaj, run out after dithering over a second run.<\/p>\n But after holding the ball aloft \u2013 and a quickfire interview on the boundary\u2019s edge \u2013 there was precious little time for Cummins to soak it all up in the dressing room. Australia\u2019s captain was pressed into service 90 minutes later once Mulder breached Head\u2019s crooked defence. The \u00admuscular Ngidi was up and about at the other end, however, and soon it was Cummins hearing the stumps rattle.<\/p>\n In the end it took Carey to quell the flames, the wicketkeeper hustling his way to the top score of the innings and a 61-run stand with Starc that could yet prove pivotal. The last time a Test match in England was won by a side making its highest total in the chase was Headingley 2019 and \u00adAustralia will not want a repeat. Either way, the Ultimate Test is set to be a quick one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This final has been called \u201cThe Ultimate Test\u201d and though almost \u00adcertainly the product of a W1A-style ideas…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":180404,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4101],"tags":[1406,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-180403","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cricket","8":"tag-cricket","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114674663984165076","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180403\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}