---
title: "Aussie batters make Proteas toil and broil under the blistering Newlands sun"
description: "Australia ended day two of the third Test at Newlands on 330 for four in reply to the Proteas’ 329 all out. Josh Inglis and Alex Carey are unbeaten on 85 and 51 respectively."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "WALTZING AUSTRALIA"
author: "Craig Ray"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/craig-ray/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-10-28-aussie-batters-make-proteas-toil-and-broil-under-the-blistering-newlands-sun/"
published: "2026-10-28T19:34:33"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 1046
---

# Aussie batters make Proteas toil and broil under the blistering Newlands sun

> Australia ended day two of the third Test at Newlands on 330 for four in reply to the Proteas’ 329 all out. Josh Inglis and Alex Carey are unbeaten on 85 and 51 respectively.

By Craig Ray · Published 28 October 2026, 21:34 SAST

## Content

It was a long day of grind in the blazing sun for the Proteas, underlining how wasteful their largely self-inflicted batting collapse on day one was.

Instead of pushing their total well past 500 on day two, they were sweating it out against a belligerent Aussie batting unit.

Every run, every boundary the Aussies drove, pulled and bludgeoned to all parts of Newlands was like a kick in the guts for the Proteas, knowing that they should have started day two by batting.

Rewind to the session after lunch on the first day: the Proteas were 158 without loss and in total command of the Test on a placid batting surface.

Five hours later, they were all out for 329 – losing 10 wickets for the addition of 131 runs – leaving Australia to start their run chase in perfect batting conditions on day two.

![Proteas toil](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/IR7loE2XXwdgJfjWaTskVrZxnm4=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2999/TL_2641758_704967.jpg)

*Josh Inglis of Australia on his way to 85 not out at stumps on day two of the third Test against South Africa at Newlands. (Photo: Grant Pitcher / Gallo Images)*

Australia might not have a vintage batting lineup, but on a pitch as true and demon-less as this one, they almost all looked like Don Bradman as South African bowlers toiled and broiled under the blistering sun.

The great Kagiso Rabada was reduced to resembling a mid-level club player as he failed to extract any lateral movement on the road-like surface. In mitigation, he was struggling with stomach cramps and spent some time off the field during the day.

His first six overs with the new ball cost only 18 runs, but the ball passed the bat only a couple of times.

His next spell of five overs cost 40 runs as a short-pitched ploy met with fierce counterattack from tall right-hander Cameron Green.

![Proteas toil](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/q_3V9T0m402XXOhQV-bpQZAzKXE=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2999/TL_2641676_243505.jpg)

*Aussie batter Cameron Green scored 65 on his Test return. (Photo: Grant Pitcher / Gallo Images)*

Rabada’s 10th over went for 16 runs as Green pulled him for two sixes and a four in consecutive balls. After 11 overs, Rabada had disappeared for 58 runs.

To add insult to injury, late in the day Rabada was hit out of the attack with the second new ball, as he finished with miserable figures of 18 overs, none for 81. He went at 4.5 runs an over.

The optimistic view is that Rabada seldom has two bad days and with the second new ball just overs old, he will be smarting to make amends early on day three if he overcomes his illness.

With Rabada’s woes and no real threat from seamers Gerald Coetzee and Wiaan Mulder, it was left to the left-arm pace of Marco Jansen and the spin of Simon Harmer to produce the few positive moments for the home team.

![Proteas toil](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/rliNz1SYk3ohvfA-f9PSjM8Rzjc=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2999/TL_2641688_685898.jpg)

*Left-arm seamer Marco Jansen took two of the four Australian wickets on day two of the third Test at Newlands. (Photo: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images)*

### **Quick wickets**

Harmer made the initial breakthrough with Australia on 58 without loss when Travis Head chopped the Proteas’ spinner’s first ball on to his stumps.

It’s become a regular mode of dismissal for the left-hander. Head departed with a typically positive 41 from 49 balls.

Under-pressure Marnus Labuschagne was next to the crease and lasted five balls without scoring. He tentatively prodded and caught a thick edge where Aiden Markram took a sharp slip catch. It seems the end of Labuschagne’s Test career is rapidly approaching.

From a position of complete ease, with Head and opening partner Matt Renshaw in control, Australia were suddenly 58 for two.

![Proteas toil](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/qDIidWRlJruhU40IU8RjY6pXeY8=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2999/TL_2641628_871686.jpg)

*Proteas’ spinner Simon Harmer took two wickets in an over in one of the only bright spots of day two for the home team in the third Test. (Photo: Grant Pitcher / Gallo Images)*

It was a vital period when the returning Green came to the crease, and while he took 15 balls to get off the mark, he played himself in.

He and Renshaw put on 126 for the third wicket as they wrestled back control of the match.

Green played well for his 65, surviving one scare when he edged Coetzee to slip. Harmer dived forward and thought he had completed the catch, but replays showed it landed millimetres short when Green was on 22.

Jansen stepped up with wickets in consecutive overs, removing Renshaw who attempted an upper-cut slash and faintly edged it to wicketkeeper Ryan Rickleton on 40. It was Jansen’s 100th Test wicket.

In his next over, Jansen picked up the wicket of Green (65), who also edged with Harmer taking a sharp catch.

At 185 for four, the door was open again for the Proteas to make inroads, but Inglis and Carey dug in and slammed it shut. Jansen also struggled with a back niggle late in the day to add to South Africa’s problems.

![Proteas toil](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/O9vrr5tyJ9q2Tn8wUZMWwmrrYf4=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2999/TL_2641715_879493.jpg)

*Australia’s Alex Carey scored 51 not out on day two of the third Test. (Photo: Grant Pitcher / Gallo Images)*

### **Aussies take control**

With the second-last ball of the day, Australia took the lead, moving to 330 for four, which is where the score remained at stumps.

At the crease, Inglis was on 85 not out and in sight of his second Test century.

Carey will resume alongside him on 51 not out. The two shared an unbeaten 145-run fifth-wicket partnership.

The under-fire touring batting unit, bowled out for 99 in the second Test in Gqeberha, has responded well and Australia are in prime position to push for victory from here.

With six wickets remaining and the pitch perhaps set to play its best on day three, the Aussies have a chance to post a significant first-innings lead – somewhere in the region of 150 runs.

Considering they will bat last on a pitch that will dry out and start to take more spin, they could still do with padding their lead well into three figures.

For the Proteas, it will be a night of trying to come up with plans to break the Inglis/Carey stand and capture the required six wickets with as little damage as possible.

South Africa must find some answers on day three to have any chance of winning while Australia are in pole position to push for victory, which would also lead to winning the series. **DM**