Australia v South Africa: Pace attack and Steve Smith put tourists in charge

First Test, Durban (day three of five)

Australia 390 & 33-0: Maddinson 17*

South Africa 284: Bedingham 49; Cummins 3-54

Australia lead by 139 runs

Scorecard

Australia’s modern Test side remain a fascinating one to unpick.

Viewed by many in England as there for the taking in last winter’s Ashes despite a 4-1 win, they are also labelled too old by many observers at home.

The victims of recent shock defeats by West Indies and Bangladesh, they are still unbeaten in their past nine Test series.

But while their struggling batting line-up was bailed out by Matt Renshaw across the first two days of the first Test in Durban, they took control over South Africa on day three in an all-too familiar way.

Nine years after they first appeared together as Australia’s bowling quartet, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon produced their latest relentless performance to dismiss South Africa for 284. There was even some magic from Steve Smith thrown in too.

Cummins took three wickets, Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon two apiece, in doing so brushing off any doubts about their effectiveness at the start of a run of Tests against the world Test champions, in-form New Zealand, India and England.