Prince leads South Africa recovery

South Africa 238 for 6 (Prince 79*, Pollock 4*) v Australia
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out

Australia showed they were not expecting a bout of dead-rubber syndrome as they drove into the top half of South Africa's batting order, but their hopes of a full day of domination were ended by a fine innings from Ashwell Prince. The home side, which was missing Graeme Smith with a finger injury, was in desperate trouble at 161 for 5 on a bouncy surface before Prince stepped in with a crucial and unbeaten 79 during a testing opening exchange.

Only three days after sealing the series at Durban, Australia's attack showed they were again in the groove until they were stalled by Prince as he turned a bad day into a solid one with South Africa at 238 for 6. Most of the batsmen worked hard for small patches, but Prince applied himself for the longest and was rewarded for his toil after waiting 18 balls for his first run and receiving a reprieve when the fielders offered an unconvincing appeal to a caught behind off Andrew Symonds before tea.

Prince was at his strongest when hitting through cover, where the best of his ten boundaries came off the back foot, and he also nudged and shuffled singles and twos to maintain his momentum. His partnerships of 55 with Jacques Rudolph and 72 with Mark Boucher were important in pushing South Africa strongly through the final session, which ended 11 overs early due to bad light, after they were over-powered in the first two.

It seemed Jacques Kallis's wicket would be the big one as he made his debut as captain and immediately started showing his team-mates the way. However, Brett Lee struck when he fired a sharp off-cutter that flicked Kallis's pads and drove into the stumps, dropping South Africa to 106 for 4. After winning the toss, Kallis watched his top three fall to judgment lapses ranging from medium to severe, and he appeared to be employing the right tactics until Lee sneaked through when he was 37.

With the ball moving in the air and off the pitch, the batsmen often had no choice but to shake their head in a combination of frustration and disbelief, particularly during the first two sessions. Lee was fast and uncomfortable, Michael Kasprowicz shaped the ball in both directions and Stuart Clark added another performance that made him look like a Test regular instead of a novice in his third game. It was a surprise they didn't finish off their opponents when they started so poorly.

Smith's absence forced a reshuffle that had Gibbs opening with AB de Villiers and Boeta Dippenaar coming in at three. However, all three forgot their discipline after making useful starts and the dismissal of Gibbs was the worst - bowled for the eighth time in six Tests. The promotion from No. 3 was a strange one for a player struggling with his technique and he departed for 16 offering no shot to a Kasprowicz off-cutter that never had the intention of going over or around the stumps.

Australia struck first when de Villiers seemed to run out of patience and drove Clark sloppily to Damien Martyn at mid-off. It was an easy dismissal for Clark, who followed up with the wicket of Dippenaar for 32 to a ball moving away.

The tourists were in control until after tea when Rudolph and Prince found scoring easier during an extended spell from Symonds in conjunction with Shane Warne. While Symonds posed few problems, Warne tricked Rudolph by delivering a series of wrong'uns after he badly misread an early one. The mistake cost him his wicket in confusing circumstances. Rudolph's edge went to Matthew Hayden at first slip and he thrust his hands forward and down before appealing. The umpire Tony Hill was asked for clarification and after meeting with Steve Bucknor gave Rudolph out for 25.

Replays could not confirm the catch had been taken and boos greeted Rudolph's walk from the ground with his side at 161 for 5. South Africa's sense of injustice was eased a couple of overs later when Boucher was given not out on 1 to a loud edge off Kasprowicz. Boucher made a perky 24 before slipping against Symonds, leaving Prince to finish off on a day where he almost stood alone.

AB de Villiers c Martyn b Clark 12 (26 for 1)
Lazy drive to mid-off and taken low down

Herschelle Gibbs b Kasprowicz 16 (38 for 2)
Left off-cutter that was never missing middle

Boeta Dippenaar c Gilchrist b Clark 32 (97 for 3)
Edged an attempted cover drive on the up

Jacques Kallis b Lee 37 (106 for 4)
Brutal off-cutter brushed pad on way to stumps

Jacques Rudolph c Hayden b Warne 25 (161 for 5)
Didn't picked wrong'un and nicked to first slip; questions over whether it carried

Mark Boucher lbw Symonds 24 (233 for 6)
Angling in, hit on front pad and a long way forward