Australia batted to a dominant position with a first-innings total of 466 in the first Test against South Africa on Friday, and then took two Proteas wickets in four balls to ram home the advantage.
South Africa recovered some composure by reaching 85-3 at the close of the second day, but on 2-2 and with captain Graeme Smith out for a duck, the Proteas had been in dire straits at the start of their innings.
In the first over, Mitchell Johnson had Smith caught behind when he found the outside edge of the skipper's bat. Three balls later Hashim Amla (one) was caught in the slips by Australia captain Ricky Ponting off debutant Ben Hilfenhaus' second ball of the match.
Veteran South Africa batsman Jacques Kallis then became the eighth player to reach 10,000 Test runs when he got to 12, but he edged a catch to Michael Hussey in the gully on 27, with the score on 49-3. Kallis also reached 10,000 runs in one-day internationals in Australia last month.
Kallis said he would probably appreciate the moment better when he came to the end of his career. "I have had many ups and downs in my career," he said, "but the greatest thing for me has been the way this team has played over the last two years.
"We are on the back foot at the moment but this team has the character and ability to fight its way back into this match."
Proteas captain Graeme Smith praised Kallis' contribution to South African cricket.
"It is a fantastic achievement and one that is thoroughly deserved. For a large part of his career he had to carry South Africa's batting and it is this longevity which is one of the signs of true greatness," Smith said.
"If you add in his 250 wickets and his 100-plus catches, you get a good idea of what a giant of the game he has become."
South Africa faces an uphill battle to get back into the match and will need to be as patient as Australia was after their initial first-innings hiccup.
Earlier on the second day, debutant Marcus North hit a powerful 117 to help guide Australia to an imposing 466 all out at tea.
Australia, seeking to rebound from a 2-1 series defeat against the Proteas at home in December and January, showed admirable composure after stumbling to 38-3 on the first day.
North and No. 9 batsman Johnson, who thrashed 96 not out off 131 balls including 10 fours and five sixes, added 117 for the eighth wicket. The stand demoralized the hosts who had taken two wickets in the first five overs after taking the second new ball.
The Australia duo had taken the total to 413 when North, who hit a dozen fours, was beaten by spinner Paul Harris and stumped by Mark Boucher.
But there was more punishment to come for South Africa. Johnson, who had also proved a difficult batsman to dismiss in Australia, threw his bat at everything once North was out. He clubbed Harris for 26 runs - three sixes and two fours - in an over to move into the 80s, and took three fours off a Dale Steyn over to get into the 90s.
However, he fell four runs short of a maiden Test century as he watched partners Peter Siddle (nine) and Hilfenhaus (0) caught in the slips off successive balls from Morne Morkel to bring the innings to a close. Siddle had also been caught off a no-ball one delivery earlier.
As a result, Australia was firmly in control at tea, after ending the first day with a score of 254-5.
Despite two dismissals in six deliveries with the second new ball earlier on Friday, the South Africa attack battled to dismiss the Australia tail.
Fast bowler Makhaya Ntini took his second wicket of the match in the fourth over, when wicketkeeper Brad Haddin pulled a delivery from wide outside off-stump to Harris at mid-on. That careless shot brought to an end the valuable sixth-wicket partnership of 113 runs between Haddin (63) and North.
Five balls later, Andrew McDonald (0) edged Dale Steyn to second slip, and with the score on 296-7 the new ball seemed to have given the Proteas a chance to keep the Australia first-innings score below 350. But it was not to be.
Australia added 97 runs in 33 overs in the pre-lunch session.
The inability of the South Africa attack to bowl out the tail cheaply is reminiscent of their experiences in the recent 2-1 Test series triumph in Australia. On that occasion South Africa's strong batting allowed the Proteas to triumph eventually, but spirited resistance from the Australian tail is a worrying trend they will want to eliminate.
Steyn finished with 4-113, and Morkel's two wickets in two balls to end the innings saw him finish on 3-117.
AP
Saturday, February 28, 2009 4:24:26 PM
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