Live Report - Australia vs South Africa, World Test Championship final

At 12.45pm on a sunny Saturday at Lord’s, South Africa secured the most significant moment in their cricket history with the World Test Championship title. It was not without nerves – how could it be? – but this time there was no agony at the end. Aiden Markram took them to the brink with an epic 136, an innings that will go down as the country’s most important in Tests, before the winning runs were driven through the covers by Kyle Verreynne to spark the celebrations.

No longer was the 1998 ICC Knockout, with its various names and caveats, the only reference point for South Africa’s global success. After so many near-misses, they had a crowning moment. It will be a hugely popular victory, too, as the underdog story so often is, and as part of the wider narrative around the health of Test cricket outside of the Big Three.

For all the success Australia have gathered over the years, this will be a bruising experience given they had managed to take a 74-run first-innings which had been extended into three figures before collapsing to 73 for 7 on the second evening. The lower order repaired some of the damage, and the bowlers gave it their all, but for once they finished second.

The moment of sweet, sweet release. Sydney 1992, Edgbaston 1999, Durban 2003, St Lucia 2007, Auckland 2015, Bridgetown 2024 ... and all the other horrors in between. South Africa's long and gruesome relationship with big-stage failure has ended in the sunshine at Lord's, and with the greatest doubters in world sport becoming believers before our eyes. South Africans have been out in force today, and this is their moment!

But first Mitchell Starc makes them wait ... from the Pavilion End, with Kyle Verreynne facing up to a tight umbrella field from Australia. First ball is pushed into the off-side, the second is an attempted ramp, with Australia appealing for the catch and it would have been given out with a review! The third cramps him on the pads ... still no way through.

And then, finally, a slap through the covers for the moment of glory! Verreynne and Bedingham embrace in the middle. The handshakes from Australia are magnanimous ... they've been well beaten in the end, but it was a typical fight to the end from cricket's most storied winning unit.

But what a turn-up for the books. Incredible!

Oh my goodness... this happens in such slow-motion, no-one realises it's over! Aiden Markram whips magnificently off his pads, straight to Travis Head at midwicket. The reaction from Australia is so flat, you'd assume it's just a regulation piece of fielding. But then Markram lifts his bat to his head in self-admonishment, and Lord's slowly dawns that his innings is done!

He deserved to be there at the end, and yet, there's also something fitting in Markram getting his own moment as he walks off the pitch to a standing ovation. He has broken this chase. He has broken Australia. And that doesn't happen often...

South Africa's veteran scribe, Stuart Hess, who has seen a few, sums it up thus:

Josh Hazlewood rocks up with the new rock... but his first two balls are over-pitched and on the pads, and pinged away for a four and a three! The harder it comes, the harder it goes... seven to win now... there's no coming back from this. And I'm not even bothering with caveats...

Down below the Media Centre, the ICC machine is ready to roll into action ... the pieces of the podium are waiting to be rolled out onto the outfield, with the big bold words "CHAMPIONS" front and centre.

Out in the middle, the target is down below 20, as David Bedingham rifles a straight drive down the ground off Pat Cummins to another euphoric cheers from the South African contingent. Even Firdose Moonda looks capable of believing, as she rehearses the killer bars she's about to spit on BBC Test Match Special...

There's a moment of drama as Bedingham clips Lyon off his hip, down into Travis Head's boot at short leg, but the replay proves it was a half-volley off the turf. No Edgbaston '85 reincarnation after all ...

An attempted launch to leg off Mitchell Starc by David Bedingham - he's up on one leg, Lara-style, for the pull through midwicket, but the ball thumps the knee-roll to a vociferous appeal. They have just one review left, and Pat Cummins has gone for it! But this has clearly hit outside off, and that's all their lifelines gone.

Desperation stakes for Australia? They have wasted all three of their reviews this morning - an lbw appeal from Cummins that was clearly missing leg, and a speculative leg-side strangle. And, as if they needed any reminder of galling defeats in England, it was their wasted review at Headingley 2019 that arguably cost them the outright Ashes victory that they so craved...

Meanwhile, Markram marches on, bringing up the South Africa 250 to more raucous cheers... 32 to win now, and with half an hour to go until lunch, it seems certain they will bat on for the extra half-hour.

"I'm not panicking, I'm calm," says Firdose in the least convincing statement of the week

Mitchell Starc had been held back in the early exchanges this morning ... but he's into the action in no uncertain terms now! As Australia's likeliest producer of magic balls, he serves up a moment of perfection from round the wicket to Tristan Stubbs. It angles in, hits the seam, zipped back through the gate and pinged the top of his leg stump. One ball earlier, Australia had burned another review on a speculative strangle, but as David Bedingham arrives, the pressure is on straightaway!

Steven Smith has avoided surgery on the compound dislocation he suffered on the third day against South Africa at Lord’s but still faces a race against time to be fit for the upcoming Test series in West Indies.

Smith went straight to hospital after leaving the field when he sustained the injury to his right little finger spilling a sharp chance offered by Temba Bavuma.

The wound was cleaned, stitched and the finger placed in a splint and it’s understood he will be able to bat if he can tolerate doing so with the splint, which he will need to wear for up to eight weeks although the wound itself is expected to heal in around a fortnight.

The impact on him in the field would also need to be assessed and it could hinder his ability to field in the slips.

Australia’s first Test in West Indies starts on June 25 in Barbados followed by matches in Grenada and Jamaica during July. Smith had also been due for a brief stint for Washington Freedom at MLC between the end of the WTC final and the first Test.

Ashwell Prince, speaking at the close last night, had some profound wisdom to impart:

It is the attitude that South Africa have taken into the first 45 minutes of the morning. Bavuma's loss was a blow, but Markram is striding on, with two more fours - both off Cummins - the latter an authoritative pull. Tristan Stubbs meanwhile has bedded in in atypical fashion. It's an attritional grind, to match some of their first-innings tempo, but this time around, with a clear goal in sight, it somehow doesn't matter so much.

Australia's anxieties are betrayed when Cummins calls for a very unlikely lbw review - missing leg by a distance. But Nathan Lyon enters the attack from the Pavilion End and quickly finds big turn... this isn't going quietly just yet!

Six overs gone on the fourth morning at Lord's, and 11 runs chipped away by South Africa for the loss of one wicket, the captain Bavuma. It's fraught!

We've been here before. Just six months ago in fact. And a year ago. And a few years ago. And Temba Bavuma's dismissal has made us all think we are going to be there again. No team should think that they don't have it with seven wickets in hand. But no team is South Africa.

It doesn't help - or maybe it does help - that there are so many neutrals surrounding us, all of whom seem to be delighting in the tension [I deny everything! Ed]. We know you all want South Africa to win but we also know you like watching them squirm and squeak and somehow get themselves into positions where they can squander it all.

Batting coach Ashwell Prince said his job was to tell the batters to stay calm and do exactly what they have always done but, hello??? That's never worked before! Not when it matters, at least. Prince, more than anyone, knows what it's like to bat with everything on the line, with everyone doubting him. There was real emotion in his voice and on his face last night when he explained how tough someone like Bavuma has had to be.

As for the feeling now - well, I don't know. It felt electric when the batters walked out and the crowd cheered and we want so badly to get excited ... but but but but ....

Now then... here comes the jeopardy for South Africa. It had been an anxious but calm start for Bavuma, Markram and their vast contingent of fans in the stands, who have flooded into Lord's from all corners of London, desperate to witness their slice of history.

There are huge cheers for Bavuma's push into the covers for the first run of the day, while Markram opens his account with a three to long-off, which pushes his captain's dodgy hamstring to its limits. But in the same over, Pat Cummins tightens his line on off stump, finds just enough movement with some extra bounce, and Carey snaffles the edge, high on the blade/handle. His brave innings is done... and as Tristan Stubbs comes out with 65 still needed, Australia have got that one wicket that Dan Vettori had called for last night...

Here we go then. The day four at Lord's that no-one anticipated, and the potential for a result every bit as unexpected. South Africa are within touching distance of a sensational victory in the World Test Championship final, after a day of wonderful batting and even greater resolve from Aiden Markram, whose 11th Test century has underpinned this challenge, and Temba Bavuma, whose refusal to yield even when his hamstring went twang is deserving of its own huge space in the annals.

Between them they've added 143 for the third wicket, to bring a daunting target of 282 down to a tantalising 69. In all ordinary circumstances, this final passage of play would be a cakewalk... but let's be real, that's not how South Africa roll in the big ICC events.

So many years of misery, near-miss, heartbreak and failure have brought us to this moment. It could, it should, be a cathartic healing moment for the nation. But Australia will have other ideas. They always do. Even when, as Dan Vettori admitted at the close, the writing seems very much on the wall.

Play is set to resume at 10.30am. The outlook is dry, but - beware - there was substantial overnight rain, thunderstorms and all, and it is distinctly humid this morning. These are not the picture-perfect batting conditions from the third day... and seeing as 11am starts have been standard in the UK for generations, that early half-hour could be Australia's best chance to make the ball talk before the moisture burns off. The ball, however, is already 56 overs old, so won't have the hardness that the quicks would want. Place your bets!

South Africa can dare to dream. With Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma playing the most significant innings of their careers, the latter while carrying a hamstring injury, they closed within 69 runs of claiming the World Test Championship, which would be the finest hour for a cricket nation steeped in history but short on silverware.

The second-wicket pair combined to add 143, a partnership that will go down in South Africa folklore barring extraordinary events on the fourth morning, with Markram reaching his eighth Test century from 156 deliveries in the closing moments of the day. They repelled everything Australia threw at them on a pitch that, with the sun out for most of the day, was at its friendliest for batting of the Test. The way Australia’s last-wicket pair of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood had earlier been able to add 59 in 22 overs had foretold what was to come.

Still, Australia felt favourites when they set about defending 282 but despite the early loss of Ryan Rickleton, edging a very full delivery from Starc which was confirmed by the third umpire, there was a notable urgency to South Africa’s batting. In the first innings it took until the 20th over to reach 30 (and cost them three wickets) whereas this time they were 47 for 1 after 10.

Starc struck again to have Wiaan Mulder caught low at cover, but then came a vital moment when Bavuma, on 2, edged to Steven Smith at first slip. Smith was stood so close he was wearing helmet as the carry off the surface continued to die and the chance burst through his hands, leaving him with a compound dislocation of his right little finger. The agony was clear on his face as he immediately left the field. By the end of the day, it was likely shared by team-mates.

It's a juicy half-volley on the pads, pinged gleefully away through deep midwicket! Off comes the helmet, he throws his head back in exhausted elation ... he looks like he's crying already. On his watch, he's delivering South Africa to glory! And there's one more over to come tonight ...

It's come from 156 balls, with eight fours. And it's his 11th hundred, but his third in the fourth innings. What a clutch performance.

It may be academic, but it's just a touch gloomier at Lord's now, as we enter the final half-hour of the day ... and almost immediately, Hazlewood finds some extra nip from a good length to take the shoulder of Markram's bat. Correlation or causation? Take your pick ...

Markram, however, is utterly unfazed. From the final ball of the same over, he steps into a magnificent straight drive, the best of his innings! Clean through long-off, as tight to the stumps as is possible. He's onto 97 ...

Aiden Markram is such a good off-side player. Not content with picking off Nathan Lyon from the Pavilion End, he now takes on Beau Webster with a late dab from the Nursery, past the gloves of Carey who is up to the stumps, and away through deep third. He's moved along to 89, as the requirement dips down to 98... there's nominally 48 minutes left this evening, but the prospect of an extra half-hour if victory is imminent...

Another nudged single, another hobble on that ropey hamstring. Temba Bavuma trots through to an 83-ball half-century, and on his watch, South Africa are marching to World Test Championship final glory. It's the 29th time he's passed fifty, but given the context, and the injury, it's surely already his greatest.

Bavuma, facing up to Lyon from the pavilion end. There's a puff of dust as the ball bites the pitch, and takes the top-edge of Bavuma's forceful sweep. Sam Konstas, the sub fielder, hurtles in at deep square and takes on the chance, but the ball dies just in front of him, and skips away for four as he ends up eating the turf! It's only a half-moment, but those are the sort that go against teams on the ropes...

Markram and Bavuma have now brought up the highest stand of the match, surpassing the 79 added by Smith and Webster in the first innings. And the speed of their scoring in the past few overs gives a very strong sense that they'd want to finish it tonight, while the going is good, the sun is out, and the Australians are down and heading out.

Talking of which, here's a very good reason why South Africa shouldn't let Australia's mighty seam attack regroup overnight. The nation's muscle memory won't be able to forget the events of their comeback Test at Bridgetown in 1992 in a hurry... 122 for 2 overnight, chasing 201... and then, this...

Temba Bavuma is still soldiering on. The sprinted threes that a fully fit version would have been pushing have become laboured twos, and Australia are invariably firing the ball back at his end in a bid to wear him down physically.

But between him and Aiden Markram, the inverse is true in terms of the match situation. Bavuma's best stroke of the innings is a pushed drive back through the line off Pat Cummins, that rolls inexorably to the pavilion boundary to take the requirement down below 150.

With a nominal 29 overs still to come tonight, it's not inconceivable that this ends in a flourish, but the likelier upshot is that we return on day four, but for how long?

Australia aren't yet beaten, but there's an unfamiliar resignation in their body language and field settings, as their wicket-taker Mitchell Starc returns from the Nursery End. His first ball induces a thick edge, but it flies away through deep third for another boundary. "Living on a prayer," rings out around Lord's. Yep, they're halfway there...

There've been just two maidens in Australia's innings, which tells a tale. In that stodgy first innings, they racked up 17.

Cricket Australia has confirmed that Steven Smith has "suffered a compound dislocation of his right little finger while fielding in the slip cordon during the ICC Men’s World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s.

"He was assessed by Australian team medical staff at the ground and taken to hospital for x-rays and further treatment."

Ouch, and double ouch. The images in the aftermath were pretty sickening and that confirms the worst. He's clearly a major doubt for any role in their tour of West Indies that gets underway in ten days' time. And obviously will play no further part in this game. The only saving grace of that is that Australia have done all their batting.

That said, he was picked as a leggie on debut here, against Pakistan in 2010. A few speculative overs of flighted filth might have been the key here.

In the meantime, Markram and Bavuma nudge on through to their fifty partnership from 81 balls. That is a perfect tempo in these circumstances.

Aiden Markram has moved along to a priceless half-century. Temba Bavuma has been confirmed with a left hamstring strain, but is soldiering on, hobbling the easy singles that are opening up in an increasingly defensive Australian field. The hundred is up, the target is slipping downwards... what could possibly go wrong?

It's not desperation time for Australia yet, but that moment may not be too far away. South Africa are ticking down these runs despite Temba Bavuma limping between the wickets. Aiden Markram is putting together what could be the most significant innings of his career. Australia have started with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood after tea, obviously nothing wrong with that, but Cummins may have to think a little out-of-the-box before long. Is it worth a spell of wicket-to-wicket seam from Beau Webster, perhaps with Alex Carey up to the stumps and a ring field? And it still feels there’s role for Nathan Lyon to play.

That is tea, and South Africa are, on the face of it, in an extremely promising position at 94 for 2, still needing another 188 runs to win the World Test Championship. However, Temba Bavuma is in a serious amount of bother after tweaking a hamstring ten minutes before the interval. He's hobbled through to the break on 11 not out, but some of his singles in the final over were laboured in the extreme. CSA have confirmed he will be assessed at the tea break... we could be in for a retired-hurt here.

Aiden Markram has been driving well in this innings which is his strength and a sign that he is feeling in good touch. Markram had a decent home summer with two half-centuries in the four Tests. It's fair to say there's been some pressure on him to take ownership of an innings and he has started to show signs of that here. More than half of his runs have come on the off-side, and he has forced Australia to open up gaps in the field. He's made it to tea but you get the feeling that if South Africa are to have a chance, he will have to be there well beyond it.

Bavuma has had injuries to both hamstrings in the recent past. A left hamstring niggle kept him out of the Boxing Day Test against India in 2023, before he had the chance to bat; a right hamstring injury put his place in the ODI World Cup semi-final in doubt but he eventually played.

Steven Smith was under the lid at slip, which shows how close he was standing in light of the number of balls that simply haven't carried on this surface. But this one flies alright, off another hard-handed slap from Temba Bavuma, and he's immediately leaving the field for treatment! That looks really nasty, potentially a break and/or dislocation, and he's biting his wrist in pain as he heads through the Long Room. Real issues for his participation in the tour of the Caribbean later this month, not to mention his MLC gig...

Anyhow, back to the moment itself. It's a big let-off for a chaotically purposeful Bavuma. Remember he took 31 balls to get off the mark in the first innings. But this time he could have been out three times in eight balls. In addition to his skewed slog over point and that palpable drop, he also swung wildly across the line to Nathan Lyon, and under-edged past his leg stump...

He's certainly Australia's man of the moment...

Mitchell Starc had been beaten out of the attack with 20 runs in his first three overs, notwithstanding the early wicket of Rickelton. But here he comes from the Pavilion End, and lures the hard-handed drive from Wiaan Mulder, who picks out Marnus Labuschagne at short cover! The man was placed there perfectly for the shot, with Starc invariably aiming full and luring such strokes. There's a suspicion that he ran his fingers down the side of the ball there, maybe a fraction slower than his quarry was anticipating. Nope, in fact it was up at 88mph! A very fast cutter in that case!

Temba Bavuma comes out to the middle, with a bit of Bavball in mind, perhaps? His second ball certainly implies it's the case! A wild uppercut of a drive over point! Not timed, but the bat speed gives it enough legs to clear the fielder... that's a statement from the skipper.

Cummins hits his hard length, and snags the edge of Aiden Markram's half-committed blade. The ball fizzes into the cordon, but is already dying as it bissects the keeper and Khawaja at first slip, neither of whom are able to move in time. South Africa's own bowling effort was littered with edges that didn't carry... there's a bit of payback as Markram bags another four to move to 27...

South Africa are 51 for 1, needing another 231 to win the World Test Championship final. Where's your money?

Now then... we have a real contest brewing here. Aiden Markram made a six-ball duck in the first innings, and Wiaan Mulder made 6 from 44 balls. Both, you might argue, were playing against type. Not so much in this second dig, with the sun on their backs and the intent burning off their blades.

As my favourite graphic shows, since Rickelton's wicket, they have been picking off the bad balls at a rate of close to a boundary every over, and aside from Mulder's first four through the cordon, they've been emphatic blows through the covers and point, as well as a scorching Mulder pull in Cummins' second over.

However, there's a new challenge now. Here comes Nathan Lyon, whose fourth ball comes close to turning back through Mulder's gate. The score, incidentally, is 47, chasing 282 ... the same as it was when Flintoff entered the attack in Edgbaston '05...

After the earlier mention of a target of 282 reviving memories of Edgbaston 2005, here's some potentially good omens for South Africa: at Edgbaston in 2008 South Africa needed 281 when Graeme Smith produced his epic 154 not out. Can someone do a Smith this time?

There's no keeping him out of the action at the moment. Mitchell Starc prises out the first wicket of South Africa's run-chase, as Ryan Rickelton flings his hands through a drive at a full and wide delivery, with the ball skewing away to the keeper.

The ball was swinging appreciably from Starc's habitually full approach over the wicket to the left-hander, but Rickelton stands his ground, adamant that he's hit the turf and missed the ball. The umpires review, and Snicko suggests a twin noise, but also - crucially - a spike before the bat has touched the ground.

It's a big blow from the first ball of Starc's second over, although with nine runs on the board, South Africa's approach has been visibly proactive, at least compared to their first-innings approach. The tone was set by Aiden Markram's first-ball push-and-go to get off his pair, while Rickelton's first scoring shot had been a emphatic clip off his toes through square leg.

Wiaan Mulder, he of the first-innings go-slow, nudges his first boundary through the cordon to keep South Africa moving despite the setback.

There had been an extra half-hour allocated with Australia nine-down, but conveniently that wicket fell on the precise stroke of the scheduled 12.30pm lunch break. Here's Andrew McGlashan's thoughts on a stand that wouldn't go quietly...

It was always envisaged that Australia’s big three quicks would have a huge role to play in this match – but two of them are doing so with the bat.

Mitchell Starc has played the innings of his life; he’s scored more runs than this (he has a best of 99) but arguably never more important ones than today.

Josh Hazlewood, meanwhile, showed that he has a good defensive technique and not for the first time in the last couple of years.

Australia would have bitten your hand off for a lead of 281 when they were 73 for 7 but this pitch has gone to sleep. It will be fascinating to see what life Australia can get with the new ball. Over to Starc and Hazlewood, again.

It's done! Hazlewood rocks onto the back foot to a wide one from Aiden Markram, and levers the ball straight to cover! He traipses off, looking utterly gutted - the most Test-match-batter departure he's ever produced - but what a job he's done.

The tenth-wicket stand is a whopping 59 - making Starc and Hazlewood the second pair with three fifty-plus partnerships for the tenth wicket in Test cricket, after BJ Watling and Trent Boult. Hat tip to Sampath for the stat.

So, South Africa will need 282 for victory... now those are some familiar areas... better get an umbrella ready for chewing!

He reaches it in slightly streaky fashion, but that's how the boundaries have rolled this morning. A big flash outside off, a slice up and over the cordon, and away through deep third. It brings up Australia's 200 as well, and South Africa are starting to look deeply demoralised.

What a time to produce such an innings, from 131 balls with four fours - he's no mug, of course, with 11 fifties now including a top-score of 99 against India, but it's his first since September 2019, which happened to be another crucial knock that helped seal the Ashes that summer.

Here is the stand, 48 and climbing, and programmed to update in real time ... refresh at will!

Can a change of ball trigger a change of luck for South Africa? It certainly worked for England in Australia's last Test in London two years ago ...

Meanwhile, the task is beginning to look daunting.

Close to an hour gone this morning. Here's Andrew McGlashan's take on the Aussie resistance so far...

Pat Cummins hoped for a 250-lead last night and now he’s got it. Mitchell Starc is stitching together one of his most important innings. It's the 12th time in 141 Test innings that he's reached 40, and what a time to do it. Meanwhile Josh Hazlewood plays his role in holding up an end. It’s not all come from the middle, but that hardly matters for Australia. However, can South Africa take a positive from this? Batting doesn’t seem quite as tricky so far with the sun out, albeit the ball is now also older. While it’s clearly frustrating for them and making the task harder, the batters should take it as a sign of what’s possible.

It started as a trickle, but it's beginning to look like a torrent for South Africa. Mitchell Starc is playing a blinder ... and how crucial does that last-over miss at gully last night feel now?

Four boundaries have accelerated that lead to a daunting 250... and though each of them has come from an edge of one description or another, both Starc and Josh Hazlewood have been largely untroubled. That might be a good omen for South Africa's chase in belting conditions. But equally, this ball is more than 50 overs old now ... Australia's seamers with a new ball will be a different prospect.

We can't say we haven't been here before, but every time it feels more and more nerve-wracking. We've already established that I'm the superstitious type and today feels like a day when the stars should align. The sun is out, and they say it's the best batting conditions of the game, but anything more than 240 runs (and this is adjusted from 140 yesterday, which I thought would be challenging) feels like a bridge too far. But still  you think - you only need someone to get 80, and everyone else to rally around and maybe even 260 is possible.

Why do they do this to us? Why am I even saying us? I am a journalist that's been here FIVE times in the last two years, dammit, and too many times for me to recall in the last 20. But it's these last few years that have made South Africa think anything is possible.

Since the Springboks won the 2019 World Cup and did the double, then Banyana Banyana became African Champions, then Bafana Bafana took third place at the men's event, and the women's team reached two finals. We're a nation that's punching and we're punching for more than ourselves.

In cricketing terms, this has been seen as a statement about the relevance of cricket beyond the big three, in general sporting terms, it's about proving that a country with a variety of socio-economic problems can still achieve on the highest stage. That's so much pressure to put on 11 okes (as we say) who just want to play a game.

For now, we watch. Sometimes between the gaps in our fingers, or out of our peripheral vision. Is today the day? Ask me in a few hours.

... Rudi, where are you? (In the Mound Stand is my best guess...)

Full, straight, angling into the pads. Nathan Lyon plays across the line to Kagiso Rabada, and the first wicket of the day is in the bag! Lyon reviews, as well he might, but to no avail. Ball-tracker has that hitting leg stump, and it's three reds on the board.

Australia have added four runs to their overnight lead of 218, as Josh Hazlewood comes out to join Mitchell Starc.

It's the big question on all our lips... what is achievable for South Africa? Those two wickets won't take themselves, so if Australia can stretch this lead from 218 to 250-plus, that could be utterly pivotal to this contest. Lord's, it must be said, is an absolute picture this morning. It's perfect weather for batting.

Before the start of play, there will be a moment's silence in memory of the victims of yesterday's horrific plane crash in Ahmedabad. Our thoughts with all the families affected.

If South Africa can close out this contest (and, yes, it is still a big if ...) then the mid-innings impact of Lungi Ngidi will deserve a prominent mention in dispatches. He came into the contest under an injury cloud, having not played a red-ball match in 10 months, and bowled poorly in the first innings, with no discernible rhythm. All that changed yesterday, however, in a soaring nine-over spell - his second-longest in Tests - which ripped the heart out of Australia's batting. Firdose Moonda pays tribute, and scotches a few myths about his selection in the process.

Good morning all, welcome back to Lord's for the third (and surely final) day of the third (and hopefully not final!) World Test Championship final! It's been a humdinger so far, for all 28 wickets of it across two chaotic days. And between the endeavours of Pat Cummins and Kagiso Rabada, two of the mightiest fast bowlers in history, we've been treated to some performances worthy of this contest's lofty billing.

So, the sun is properly out today, after two oddly cloudy days to launch the contest, which have doubtless played their part in the dominance of ball over bat. Australia lead by 218 runs overnight, but with just two tail-end wickets in hand. Can South Africa clean those up quickly, and come out with the intent that they so manifestly lacked at the outset of their first innings? I, for one, can't wait to find out.

For two hours in the middle of day two, Australia had one hand on the mace after taking a 74-run first-innings lead at Lord’s. For the next two, South Africa did their utmost to prise their fingers from it and for the one after that, Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc shared a 61-run eighth wicket stand as they tried to hang tight. As things stand, Australia still have a few fingers on it after a gripping day of Test cricket.

It was, once again, a day for bowlers on what looks like a good batting pitch. Fourteen wickets fell on day two, the same number as the first day, for a total of 28 wickets in six sessions.

Pat Cummins stole the early headlines when he became the first visiting captain to take a five-for at Lord’s and then went on to pluck his 300th Test wicket. Then it was over to Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen who had Australia 44 for 3 before Lungi Ngidi, back in the Test side after 10 months and off a poor first innings, redeemed himself with three wickets in a nine-over spell which broke Australia open.

Where things stand at the end of the day is that South Africa will already have to pull off the fourth-highest successful chase at Lord’s and do it against Australia’s unrelenting attack. That means it’s probably still advantage Australia after a breathless seven-and-half-hours in a final that has hit fast forward.

Final over of the day... and Starc gets a life as Jansen fumbles at gully! The cordon has been persecuted all day, they've had to creep closer and closer with the balls endlessly falling short... and finally one zips off the splice, and it's onto him too quickly! Zoinks!

Two balls, and two runs later, we reach the close. Australia lead by 218 with two wickets standing!

We're into the final ten minutes of the day, and Kagiso Rabada thuds Carey's pads from round the wicket! The finger goes up, it's full and angled in, Carey reviews... to no avail! It's shown to be clipping leg on umpire's call. And Carey's priceless knock ends on 43.

Every bit as important as his runs is the speed at which they came. He and Starc have stretched that lead at more than four an over, which has been a demoralising acceleration for South Africa after the efforts they made to get back into contention. Now, however, the tail is fully exposed.

Rabada seems to be stretching his groin at the top of his mark. But after another no-ball, he finds Lyon's edge but it falls short of slip... again!

The edges keep coming, including an incredibly low one off Carey to Verreynne that reaches him on the half-volley, to Rabada's dismay. Then Starc leaves a ball from round the wicket that zings over the top of his middle stump. But between them, Australia's eighth-wicket pair have drawn the sting, and a nudge off the pads from Starc takes that lead to 200. In the context of what's gone before, that feels ... significant.

Is this the moment for South Africa? No it is not! Alex Carey steps into the length from Marco Jansen and gets thumped on the knee-roll. Umpire Illingworth's finger goes straight up, but there is a review. It could have been high, but instead it's a thin inside-edge, not unlike Bavuma's earlier in the day.

Carey's response is a drill through the covers for four. The stand extends to 32, the best of the innings - beating the 28 that the openers added a session and a lifetime ago. Starc, meanwhile, is playing a fine hand in support of Australia's last recognised batter.

The drinks have done the trick for the moment for Australia. Stiff ones for Carey and Starc as they gird their loins and set their sights on the close. The edges are still coming, but they are routinely bouncing short, even with Aiden Markram clearly taking a step forward at second slip.

But, back come Rabada and Jansen for a final push before the close... can South Africa end an epic session on a further high? The close of play, incidentally, will be 6.06pm, thanks to that short rain delay.

74 for 7, and an hour of this still to come!

A wicket has fallen every 31 balls in this Test!

Strewth, it's another one! Pat Cummins thumps an emphatic boundary, then gets cleaned up by a yorker! It's speared in full, deflects off the pads, Ngidi has three in a stunning spell!

Six..six... (for) six ... the number of the beast. Hell and fire has been released!

Travis Head is the next to go, in a stunning surge from South Africa's seamers. It's Wiaan Mulder's turn to get in on the act, with a wonderful wobble-seam from round the wicket. Utilising the overcast conditions to mess up Head's alignment. It pitches on off stump, it nips back off the seam, thumps the back pad and wrecks the stumps. Australia's most dangerous man is gone for nine. This is going to be a bar-brawl to the finish!

Lungi knows... it's full, it's straight, it's angled in at the top of middle. Ngidi's appeal is more of a beatific absorption of the moment, as Beau Webster plays outside the line once more, and this time cannot get help from DRS and non-appeals. He had just edged his final boundary down through the cordon, but he's gone now for 9, and Ngidi is in a sweet, sweet rhythm.

Kagiso Rabada's advice to his team-mate after a tough first day was on point. "Have a steak. Have a milkshake. Watch a movie." He'll watch this spell back a few times. At 65 for 5, the lead is 138... which is exactly what South Africa made first time out...

The clouds have been closing in, the floodlights have been in full beam for several overs now. It's not been easy for batting out there, but Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne hadn't looked especially troubled ... until now!

Out of the blue (or grey, as it happens), Labuschagne winds into an ungainly wipe through a full length from Jansen. It was very wide, and fairly full, and presumably there to be bashed. But somehow he loses his shape in the process and scuffs a nick through to the keeper. He's gone for 22, having made 17 in the first dig... on both occasions, they have been decent starts and insubstantial finishes... 56 balls first time around, and 64 now.

If that was the boost that Australia needed, then the bonus comes six balls later! Smith, on 13, is pinned in front of off stump by a pumped-up Lungi Ngidi. It's a huge initial appeal, but umpire Gaffney says no. South Africa review... and there is an utter explosion of joy from the fielding side as three reds pop up on the big screen! One ball later, he nips one wickedly off the seam to Beau Webster, who just about keeps it out. Drama in excelsis!

Jansen, incidentally, has got Marnus three times in five innings now, for a total of 35 runs. Bunny status loading...

Andy Zaltzman on TMS (but unquestionably through the power of Statsguru), notes that Australia's top three have contributed a total of 49 runs in six innings in this Test - their lowest completed return in England since 1890.

While the on-field umpires did not think so, and while we still don’t know whether Australia Pat Cummins withdrew the appeal or declined to appeal in the first place, we decided to take the query to Fraser Stewart, MCC’s Head of Cricket and their former gatekeeper of the Laws.

According to Stewart, the right conclusion was reached either way, although he acknowledged the ball could have been considered to be still in play as Bedingham moved quickly to pick it up from his pad-flap.

"The ball was lodged in the pad and it was probably stationary for a nanosecond and then, as Bedingham moved to go and pick it out, the ball itself was moving again,” Fraser told ESPNcricinfo. “Obviously, he got the inside-edge and, with that in mind, potentially a catch is on the cards (but) Australia didn't really appeal with any significant seriousness.”

Stewart said that, under the Dead Ball Law (20.1.1.4 and 20.1.1.5), once the ball is “trapped between the bat and person of a batter or between items of his/her clothing or equipment”, it becomes dead ball and Bedingham was “free to pick it up”.

“So it's a subjective decision over whether the ball had been lodged there for long enough,” he added. “It was, for me, the right decision for the game, but perhaps a very strict interpretation of the Laws might say that the ball hadn't been completely stationary, it was still moving, and therefore, Bedingham should be out Obstructing the field.

“But there would be far more be noise around it if it had been given out that way, rather than us discussing it now that it hasn't been given.”

It had been an ominously peaceful start to Australia's second innings, as their lead extended past 100 ... but Kagiso Rabada isn't done just yet! Two wickets in three balls send a jolt of electricity around Lord's, as Steve Smith marches out to a chorus of boos ... pantomime or otherwise, there's no escaping them in England, even in a neutral Test.

First to go is Usman Khawaja, caught behind off another superb round-the-wicket delivery, which squares up the left-hander to take the nick to the keeper.

It completes a bleak contest for Khawaja, after a 20-ball duck in the first innings, and a further grind of 6 for 23 this time. At the age of 38, and with a tour of the Caribbean coming up, you begin to wonder how much longer he has got... but then again, he did get a double-century three Tests ago, and as Pat Cummins said (in relation to Marnus Labuschagne) before the Test: "[we'd] rather give someone an extra little run than pull the pin too early."

Still, Khawaja's returns are riches compared to those of Cameron Green. Three centuries in a stellar stint for Gloucestershire made an unanswerable case for his inclusion, but it turns out that Division Two in the County Championship isn't quite the preparation you might need for Rabada. His Test lasts a grand total of five balls, as he dangles his bat outside off to his second delivery, and steers Rabada to third slip for a duck. Rabada has both men in a single over for the second time in the Test.

Australia head into tea on 32 for 2... not quite such a rosy scenario as it had seemed 15 minutes ago.

Metronomic is what we usually associate with Hazlewood, but Cummins is equally punctilious and highly disciplined, regardless of whether he is bowling in Sydney, Ranchi or Lord’s.

There’s no secret sauce to his success: just bang the ball on the seam, on the right length and lure the batter into committing the mistake. But finding that right length is not something fast bowlers find it easy, let alone doing it at will.

Yes, Jasprit Bumrah does it for sure, and then there’s Cummins. The Australian captain would’ve seen how Kagiso Rabada succeeded on the first afternoon, sticking to certain lengths on a pitch assisting seam as well having enough carry.

Of the five wickets Rabada picked up, three came from short-of-a-length deliveries, and two pitched on length. Overall Rabada bowled 80 of his 95 deliveries on those lengths.

While Cummins did use the short-of-length option frequently, the majority of his deliveries were pitched between the hard length and fuller length, drawing the batter to play at the ball. Cummins bowled 44 balls on length, sticking to the off-stump channel while picking up three wickets and giving away 7 runs; he also bowled 27 balls on the full length off which just 5 runs were scored while two wickets fell.

While questions have been asked of whether South African batters were too timid in scoring, Cummins’ aggressive intent with the ball, which has been backbone of his success, never allowed them to feel comfortable.

South Africa fought hard before lunch, but it's been a blizzard of wickets since the resumption. And now, with the sun out, and a handy 74-run lead banked, it's going to take a hell of an effort from their bowlers to get back into the contest now.

A day of landmarks for Pat Cummins. His place on the Lord’s honours board, a six-wicket haul and his 300th in Test cricket. It was an immense performance from Australia’s captain. Lifting his team when it needs it most has become a calling card for him. The game wasn’t quite on a knife-edge when he began making today’s inroads, but South Africa were threatening a fightback.

Since lunch he was supreme, with his spell reading: 4.1-1-4-4. There was the lbw to remove Kyle Verreynne, after the pair clattered into each other mid-pitch, a leading edge gathered off Marco Jansen, the outside edge found off David Bedingham then, finally, Kagiso Rabada brilliantly caught at deep square leg.

Cummins’ efforts, supported by Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and a tidy spell from Nathan Lyon, has earned Australia a lead of 74 which, the way the match is playing out, feels substantial. Cummins not only has another memorable haul, he may have one hand on the mace.

He's a bit good, really. Pat Cummins claims his fifth sixth wicket, and his first entry on the Lord's honours board, as David Bedingham's vigil ends with a snick to the keeper for 45. It's typical tight-lined harassment from Cummins, finding extra nip up the slope after drawing the batter in with the initial angle into the stumps.

Not long afterwards, South Africa are nine-down, after a lax piece of running leads to Keshav Maharaj's run-out - he came back for the second after a nudge to backward square, and was caught short by a flat return.

And then, with Kagiso Rabada on a hiding to nothing, he swings across the line at Cummins' next delivery, and picks out a diving Beau Webster at deep midwicket! Cummins' post-lunch spell is a sensational 4.1-1-4-4.

South Africa's post-lunch slump is very similar to that of Australia post-tea yesterday. It was 5 for 20 in 35 balls then, this one is 5 for 12 in 35 balls.

So much drama in the third over after lunch... but the upshot is that Pat Cummins has marched along to 298 Test wickets with the scalps of Kyle Verreynne and Marco Jansen for a duck, and South Africa have slumped to a ropey 126 for 7!

First, though, there was another extraordinary flirtation with (the spirit of?) the Spirit of Cricket ... Australia are being pursued by such moments today!

The incident occurred as Cummins fired in a full-length delivery, angled into Verreynne's pads. The ball deflected to the leg-side, and the batter put his head down and sprinted ... straight into Cummins' back as he turned towards the umpire for a vociferous appeal! The collision is inevitable and leaves both men flat in the middle of the pitch, with the non-striker's stumps at the Australians' mercy. Shades of Ryan Sidebottom and Grant Elliott at The Oval in 2008, when Paul Collingwood decided he wanted to play tough and insist on the run-out.

However, Cummins is far more interested in the original appeal! HawkEye duly serves up three reds, to South Africa's surprise, as the ball was certainly angled down the leg-side. But Verreynne is on his way for 13 from 39 balls.

There's significantly less debate three balls later however. Marco Jansen's long levers could have been handy in reducing this deficit. However, he manages only a tame stab back up the pitch, for Cummins to grab the return catch in his followthrough. After a morning of hard toil, South Africa are back up against it, with a hefty deficit looming unless David Bedingham can eke something out from the tail.

Final over before lunch... and Alex Carey is on the cusp of another Spirit of Cricket rumpus! The incident occurs as David Bedingham plays back to a length ball from Beau Webster, and inside-edges into his pad-flap. The ball is still wriggling around as Carey swoops round to gather, and clearly looks ready to fall back towards the turf - and potentially into the keeper's gloves - as the batter reaches down and grabs it before it can drop!

It's clearly an appeal-worthy moment ... Michael Vaughan was given out for a less palpable moment in an India Test many moons ago. Although, since 2017, that mode of dismissal has been subsumed into Obstructing the Field... as per Law 37.3.1

Also relevant is Law 20.1.1, which pertains to when a ball becomes dead.

But I wonder how much the events of 2023 are in the keeper's mind as he swoops round. The umpires consult, the fielders grin and grimace, and in the end, umpire Illingworth signals dead ball. Hmm... Carey is being pursued by narrative in this contest! Off they troop with the game in the balance at 121 for 5, a deficit of 91.

Australia have again bowled very well this morning, but unlike yesterday evening they only have one wicket to show for it. Not for the first time they are grateful for Pat Cummins’ ability to strike when batters are set. Temba Bavuma had played very nicely before driving on the up to cover.

Josh Hazlewood was metronomic during the session, but it was interesting that that the ball that almost brought a wicket was fuller than his usual length. Ahead of the game he spoke about pushing up a touch fuller in English conditions. Meanwhile, Nathan Lyon put together a very economical five-over spell that cost just two runs; unlike against the quicks, the South Africa batters were rather in their shell against him.

However, a bad session for South Africa this morning could have left them too much ground to recover. They still have a hefty deficit to make up but have kept their heads above water.

Ten minutes to go until lunch, and the weather is closing in around St John's Wood. But, have no fear, my trusty seaweed assures us we'll be back in action pretty soon after lunch. Though there might be a half-hour delay.

This time there's no reprieve for Temba. He's played well through the covers, chasing the width with intent and without fear of taking the aerial route. But this time, he plays a touch too loosely to Pat Cummins, and Marnus Labuschagne leaps in the covers to end a gutsy knock. Thirty-six runs in total, 3 from 37 last night, and a further 33 from 47 today. His 64-run stand with David Bedingham has nevertheless changed the tone of this innings, with the deficit now down to 118.

Cummins, meanwhile, nudges up to 296 Test wickets... and he's still only the third most prolific in this attack, and the fourth most prolific in the contest!

Time for a change of approach from Australia, as Nathan Lyon enters the attack after a solitary over on the first day.

It was here, in 2023, that Lyon infamously tore his calf while fielding in the Ashes Test. Asked on the eve of the game whether he was keeping everything crossed for the avoidance of a repeat, Pat Cummins responded: "Yes. Yeah, I wish you didn't say that."

South Africa are 81 for 4 at the end of the 34th over... meaning they've almost doubled their overnight 43 for 4 in barely half the number of overs, and without further loss. Factor in a key reprieve for Temba Bavuma, and their morning could hardly have gone better.

It feels unfair that you haven’t even waited a full hour before asking me to do some work - and risk jinxing everything (I am of the Neil McKenzie school of superstition) but I am cautiously optimistic about what we’ve so far from South Africa.

We know David Bedingham is an attacking player, and saw it with his two fours to close out the first day, but it's Bavuma who can sometimes raise eyebrows with his approach. Let’s just say he doesn’t mind taking his time and given South Africa’s position and their history of being brittle over the last few years, his go-slows are justifiable, but he has got some go-forward so far.

Bavuma's two lofted drives over cover were nothing short of magnificent but I also like the more proactive approach to strike rotation. Somewhere in the back of his mind will be the obvious: he was out on 17 and some technological miracle kept him there. If you don’t take advantage of those moments, especially in a big game, you’ll kick yourself. No kicking yet, except on. Maybe.

Another fascinating moment in a Test that won't stay still for long. On 17, Bavuma is pinned in front of all three by the relentless Josh Hazlewood, and reviews after a long and reluctant contemplation. Let's face it, when it comes to balls going over the stumps, South Africa's captain isn't the likeliest candidate for such a reprieve, but his wicket is worth the gamble on DRS ... and so upstairs we go.

And lo! There's a spike of inside-edge as the ball goes past the bat! He clearly didn't know he'd not hit it, and the accompanying TV image appears to show daylight between bat and ball, although the gap between frames is potentially a factor in that.

Either way, it is about as slender a let-off as it is possible to get in Test cricket. And given how this partnership with David Bedingham has begun this morning, with real and tangible intent from both men at both ends, it's vital for South Africa's hopes. Even another half-hour of this tempo could chew that deficit down towards double figures...

Aggression from the outset... up to a point. Temba Bavuma was a picture of stoicism on the first evening, but his opening stroke today is an inside-edged drive off Mitchell Starc, who then beats him outside off after another expansive waft. It's a small sample size, admittedly, but maybe a clue that yesterday's grind is unsustainable for a team that has to target parity at the very least in this first innings.

And then, off the final ball of the over, he gets another drive away, into the covers where a fumble gifts him a second run. Josh Hazlewood then re-tightens the screw with a maiden to David Bedingham, but the die is cast. As if to prove the point, Bavuma plants his front foot to Starc's next delivery, and levers a launch up and over the covers for his first boundary... more runs than he'd managed in 37 balls last night!

Hello again WTC thrill-seekers. It's day two of the final between Australia and South Africa, and after 14 wickets fell on a remarkable opening day, it's hard to know quite what's in store today, except more fast-forwarded action. South Africa did their utmost to slow down time with the batting tempo in the evening session, but by the time they'd lost four wickets, they were still 169 runs adrift of parity, and probably in need of something more urgent...

Funnily enough, that's what I argued in my end-of-play analysis ... but were South Africa configured to go harder?

Up until that point, however, the day belonged to Kagiso Rabada. Back in harness after his month-long drugs ban, and clearly very eager to put his recent past behind him. He did so in style with a wonderful five-wicket haul, then fronted up in a very impressive press conference afterwards. Firdose Moonda pays tribute to his enduring brilliance.

It was a weird old day for Alex Carey too, back at the scene of his Ashes-igniting dismissal of Jonny Bairstow two years ago, and doubtless earning the wrath of his wife Eloise for unfurling that wretched reverse-sweep once again... a dropped catch compounded his personal woes, though Australia's seamers had closed ranks around him to take the spotlight off him by the close. Nevertheless, Andrew McGlashan documents his endeavours.

David Bedingham finishes the day with a misleading flourish of two fours in two balls. But the grind will go on tomorrow. Fascinating stuff.

Australia's quicks followed what Kagiso Rabada started as the defending champions hit back strongly on the opening day of the World Test Championship final. The contest had been billed as a battle between two attacks and in all 14 wickets fell to suggest the destination of the mace could be decided sooner rather than later.

Rabada’s 5 for 51, the second time he has got his name on the Lord’s honours board, kept the defending champions to 212 before Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood struck back during the final session to leave South Africa tottering on 43 for 4 and looking towards their captain, Temba Bavuma, for inspiration.

Australia’s reshaped top three had fallen before lunch after Bavuma had been pleased to bowl first under overcast skies. But at 146 for 4, with Steven Smith set, and 192 for 5 they had an opportunity to recalibrate themselves only to lose their last five wickets for 20. Aiden Markram removing Smith was up there with one of the more unexpected wicket-taking combinations on offer in this match.

Australia needed a response and Starc provided it in the first over (again) when Markram dragged on an inswinger. He should quickly have had a second, but Alex Carey dropped a regulation outside edge off Wiaan Mulder although he didn’t have to wait too long when Ryan Rickleton nicked a drive to first slip.

Mulder, batting at No. 3 for just the third time in Tests, laboured to 6 of 44 balls before being beaten on the drive by Cummins. In the closing moments of a day that was never short on action Hazlewood, back in the side after injury, produced a gem of a delivery that nipped back through Tristan Stubbs. Concerns about South Africa's batting order were ringing true, not that Australia's had looked convincing.

HazleGod. A stunning delivery from the metronomic Josh Hazlewood, not so much nipping the ball up the slope as thrusting it back off the seam, and through Tristan Stubbs' gate. Such control of movement from an invariably perfect length. And at 30 for 4, South Africa's hopes of a first-innings lead seem a long, long way away.

The moment arrives with an compact nudge off the pads through square leg off Josh Hazlewood, and he even rushes back for the second. South Africa's captain is into credit at long last.

The grind is done, and it's an undignified end for Wiaan Mulder. Pat Cummins aims just a fraction fuller than before, finds some shape through the air and through the gate, and Mulder is left looking dumbfounded as his bails are sent spinning with the top of middle knocked back. Six runs from 44 balls at No.3 is not a pretty return. You could argue there was something in common with Hashim Amla's legendary 25 from 244 balls at Delhi in 2015... but this was not a rearguard on a fourth-innings dustbowl. At the very least, he has helped soften the new ball for the incoming Tristan Stubbs. But at 25 for 3, the lack of forward momentum is telling.

A long, long time ago, way back in the second over, Wiaan Mulder got off the mark first-ball with a pushed single into the covers. Eleven overs and 34 consecutive dot-balls later, he finally did the same to Mitchell Starc, to double his tally. Ironic cheers rang out around Lord's, but you have to be in it to win it. And having survived that critical life off Carey, he was clinging on to good effect.

Another edge off Cummins falls inches short of Steve Smith at second slip, then Mulder doubles his score again with a soft-handed edge down through deep third. Every little counts, especially with Temba Bavuma yet to get off the mark in 13 balls. As South Africa themselves showed with the ball this morning, life will get easier when the ball gets softer. But with Nathan Lyon and Beau Webster waiting in the wings, it's unlikely to be a rest cure for the remaining 35 minutes of the day.

Starc's shape through the air is something else. Curling from that left-arm line, luring the drive on a teasing full length, but it keeps bending that half a bat's width too far for Ryan Rickelton's alignment ... the edge is a thick one, Khawaja at first slip makes no mistake. It was a promising knock, studded with three lovely fours. But unfortunately for South Africa, those strokes have been the exception, not the rule so far. Tough times in prospect as Australia sense a real chance to turn the screw.

Another huge moment in this contest, and it's that man Carey who lets it slip.

His reverse-sweep is already drawing askance looks, given the collapse it instigated. But now, with Mitchell Starc in the midst of a thrilling new-ball burst, he's handed Wiaan Mulder a life on 1. A full length outside off, enough of that habitual movement to take a fat, palpable edge. It's an utter sitter to the keeper, but the ball bursts clean through his gloves, clangs his chest, and falls to the turf. The moment is so low-key, it almost passes unnoticed. Starc looked ready to celebrate, then bailed out, as one might when you realise it wasn't a nick after all. And given how Carey fell, the ball was obscured from view. But the replay leaves us in no doubt. How crucial will that be!

At the other end, Ryan Rickelton has rifled two superb straight drives to move into double figures. Most of South Africa's forward momentum has come from two shots. It's that sort of a day.

Quite the statement performance with which to put his recent troubles behind him. Here's the full list of South African wicket-takers

Now then... suddenly 212 on the board looks rather more healthy. Mitchell Starc steams in from the Nursery End, with that tight left-arm line, shaping in at the right-handed Aiden Markram, threatening to move either way, and cramping him for room each and every ball. The sixth is the money shot - bending in wickedly, kicking off the pitch, into the inside-edge and down into the stumps. Markram is gone for a sixth-ball duck. Game on!

Alex Carey and the reverse sweep. We’ve been here before. His wife, Eloise, has previously made clear her thoughts on it. “My wife is the harshest critic of the reverse. She says, 'don't play the bloody reverse sweep, not again,” Carey joked in 2023. “But I just politely tell her, 'you haven't played the game. Yes, you're going to get out to reverse sweeps and sweeps... but it can also produce some success as well.”

His decision to play it when he did on the opening day at Lord’s will come in for plenty of scrutiny. From 192 for 5, and the prospect of reaching 300 if he and Beau Webster could continue under clearing skies, suddenly turned into a lower-order collapse.

Carey’s numbers with the reverse sweep illustrate the risk-reward factor. In Test cricket he has scored at more than a run-a-ball with it (129 runs from 113 balls) and been dismissed on six occasions. He used it to good effect in Sri Lanka earlier this year, but conditions at Lord’s were certainly not Galle. Yet, as for so many modern players, Carey sees it as just another of his shots. Today it went wrong.