Ahead of the start of play on day two of the second Test between Australia and South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), it was advantage Australia.

The Proteas batting line-up had flopped to 189 all-out on a pitch said to favour the batters – the only highlight being a partnership of 112 between Kyle Verreynne and Marco Jansen.

In response, Australia raced to 45 for one at the close of play on day one, with an out-of-form David Warner sitting at 32 not-out.

And as Warner and Marnus Labuschagne (5*) strode to the wicket at 10.30am local time on a scorching day in Melbourne – Australia on just 144 runs with nine wickets in hand – the Proteas bowlers had a mammoth task.

Finding form

Labuschagne (14*) and Warner (47*) got Australia off to the perfect start, navigating the first six overs of the day and scoring at a healthy run rate to take the score to 70 for one.

Then there was a glimmer of hope.

In the 18th over, Warner pushed an Anrich Nortje delivery into the covers and the pair completed the single, but an overthrow opened the opportunity for the second. And while Warner made it comfortably, hesitation in the middle meant Labuschagne (14) came up short, being run out by a combination of Keshav Maharaj and Nortje to leave the Aussies at 75 for two.

David Warner of Australia is helped off the field after celebrating his double century against South Africa on Tuesday. (Photo: Quinn Rooney / Getty Images)

But with Steven Smith and Warner at the crease, Australia went into cruise control. Warner brought up his 50 soon afterwards, fittingly off his nemesis Kagiso Rabada, which marked his first in 10 innings.

There was a chance at 109 for two as Smith (9*) gloved a Marco Jansen delivery down the leg-side, but wicketkeeper Verreynne couldn’t hold onto the catch. It would prove to be crucial, since the chances were few and far between.

Piling the pressure on

Warner (81*) brought up 8,000 Test runs after running four runs off the bowling of Maharaj. He became the eighth Australian to reach the milestone, and in the process moved ever closer to a century in his 100th Test.

Australia brought up the 150 in the 40th over, with Warner (89*) and Smith (32*) quickly taking the game away from South Africa.

Nortje emerged as the Proteas’s standout bowler, bowling with intensity and express pace that beat the bat on numerous occasions. However, there was a brief scare for the right-arm quick as he was hit by a low-flying Spider Cam in a freak incident after the end of the 47th over. Luckily, he was unharmed.

And as the bowlers began to tire in the 37-degree heat, their job only got more difficult.

Milestone after milestone

As Warner geared up to face Rabada on 96 not-out, the pressure was on. He was playing his 28th innings since his last Test century against New Zealand in early January 2020, and during that time he had gone out in the 90s twice. There had been calls for the 36-year-old to be dropped, having struggled over the past year, highlighted by scores of zero and three in the first Test at the Gabba.

But when Warner pulled a leg-side delivery to fine leg for a boundary, the crowd were on their feet. The left-hander became just the 10th player to score a century in his 100th Test, and notched up his 25th in the process.

The Proteas’ day was summed up when Smith (39*) got a faint edge off the bowling of Rabada and was caught behind, with the umpire giving the Australian out. However, the Proteas’s celebrations were quashed after it was revealed that Rabada had bowled a no-ball.

Read in Daily Maverick: “Australia vs SA: Proteas top order fails again, but late partnership keeps game alive”

To rub salt in the wound, three off the next ball took Australia’s total to 190 for two, surpassing South Africa’s dismal first-innings effort with eight wickets still in hand.

Smith soon cashed in on his lifeline, bringing up his 36th half-century in Test cricket six overs later. And the milestones kept coming.

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The pair brought up their 150-run partnership in the 60th over, while Warner brought up 150 of his own after smacking Maharaj for a boundary seven overs later. Smith, meanwhile, overtook Sir Vivian Richards on the list of all-time leading run scorers in Tests.

There was some brief consolation as Smith (85) guided a Nortje delivery to Theunis de Bruyn at gully to leave Australia 314 for three, ending what may prove to be a match-winning partnership of 239.

Aussie domination

Despite struggling with severe cramping, Warner kept piling on the runs. And after he edged a Lungi Ngidi delivery to the boundary, Warner brought up his third double-century in Test cricket and mustered the energy to leap into the air to celebrate an innings for the ages.

Lungi Ngidi reacts during day two of the second Test against Australia on Tuesday. (Photo: Darrian Traynor / Getty Images)

Unable to walk, Warner retired hurt immediately afterwards, and as he struggled off the field with the help of two physios, the entire MCG crowd was on their feet. He had scored more than the entire South African team combined in an innings which included 16 fours and two sixes.

The new ball provided no relief for a defeated Proteas bowling attack as Travis Head continued the onslaught, scoring at a strike rate of more than 100.

It wasn’t all good news for Australia though, as Cameron Green (6*) got wrapped on the index finger by a 145km/h delivery from Nortje. With his finger visibly bleeding and swollen, Australia’s star bowler of the first innings retired hurt. It is unclear whether Green will be able to continue, and he joins Mitchell Starc, who injured his finger on Monday, as an injury concern.

Head (48*) and wicketkeeper Alex Carey (9*) navigated the rest of the day’s play, with the former hitting seven fours and one six during his 48-ball stint at the crease.

Australia ended the day at a mammoth 386 for three, 197 runs ahead of the Proteas’s first-innings total, while Warner was undoubtedly the star of the day.

Day’s reflections

“They batted really well. We tried to get a breakthrough the whole day, and I thought they controlled the situation well. They calmed it down when we were hitting our areas and then when the guys were a bit tired or when it was a little bit late in the day and the ball wasn’t doing much – then they sort of dominated again,” Nortje said after the day’s play.

Nortje was the pick of the Proteas bowlers with his one for 50 in 16 overs. He bowled with an express pace rarely seen in cricket, with one delivery reaching 155km/h.

Marnus Labuschagne of Australia is run out. (Photo: Quinn Rooney / Getty Images)

“From my side I was just trying to get a breakthrough somewhere in the innings. My role is to be more aggressive, bring out the pace and try and speed it up. So that was the plan. It didn’t really work out, but I thought the boys bowled really well and I thought everyone nailed their role in the team. Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way,” he said.

After his run-in with the Spider Cam, Nortje confirmed it hasn’t affected his bowling.

“So far so good. Just knocked the shoulder and the elbows a bit sore, but otherwise seems to be okay. I’ll just monitor it and see how it goes with the Doc.” DM