Wednesday. At lunch yesterday the Proteas looked like running away with the decider, and by the close they were defending a total that felt light. Fluit’s Five 28 October has a Test to win back, two draws in Cairo, a hat-trick to argue about and a cup night in Chatsworth.
1. The Big One: Fluit’s Five 28 October starts with Australia’s reply
Day two begins at 10:30, and for the first time in this Test the bat is in Australian hands. South Africa made 329, which reads fine on a scorecard. It does not feel fine when you remember the openers had 158 on the board before the last nine wickets fell for 171.
So the morning belongs to the seamers. Australia go in without Steve Smith, who missed the decider after failing a late fitness test on his neck, Cricket Australia reported. That leaves a gap in the middle order the Proteas will want to attack early, with the series level at 1-1 and four days to settle it.
Our view: two wickets before lunch and 329 starts to look plenty. The build-up to the decider is in our Newlands preview.
2. The Matchday Move: Cairo at lunchtime, Chatsworth at seven
Two South African clubs find out their African road today. CAF draws the Confederation Cup groups at 13:00 SAST, then the Champions League groups an hour later, at the Egyptian FA’s headquarters in Cairo: sixteen clubs in each, split into four groups of four, with the games starting in November.
Orlando Pirates go into the Champions League draw fresh from a cup night they had wrapped up by half-time against Milford. Durban City go into the Confederation Cup draw, then straight into a knockout cup last 16 tie against Stellenbosch at 19:00 at Chatsworth Stadium, the PSL confirms. CAF’s own draw notice has the details.
3. The Talking Point: does Duba start the derby?
Wandile Duba scored all three as Kaizer Chiefs beat TS Galaxy 3-0 at FNB Stadium last night, every goal coming after a goalless first half. Saturday brings Orlando Pirates to the same ground for the Soweto Derby.
The braai argument writes itself. Our view: you do not leave out a 22-year-old centre-forward who has just found his finishing in the week it matters most. The other side has a point too. Galaxy arrived with one win in nine games this season, according to The Citizen, and Pirates are a different animal. One brilliant half against a struggling side is a lead, not a verdict. How the night unfolded, in our match report.
4. The Stat That Matters: 18 minutes
That is all Duba needed for his hat-trick, by the count of both The Citizen and SoccerMag. For context, Chiefs had gone 45 minutes without a goal, four days after their penalty exit from Africa against Red Arrows.
What the number says: Chiefs are not short of chances, they have been short of conviction in front of goal. One player found it in a burst. The question for Fernando Da Cruz is whether that burst carries into Saturday, or whether it was a cup night against a side low on belief. Either way, eighteen minutes changed the mood of Chiefs’ week. Where that Red Arrows night left them.
5. The One to Watch: Durban City
Few clubs will have a Wednesday like this one. At lunchtime Durban City learn their first CAF group stage opponents. In the evening they play Stellenbosch for the last place in the knockout cup quarter-finals, and the PSL makes the quarter-final draw on the field at Chatsworth straight after the final whistle. Those quarter-finals follow from 6 November.
Africa and a home cup tie, six hours apart. For a club in its first continental campaign, it is the kind of day that builds an identity. How they reached the group stage with a 6-1 aggregate win.
One for the fire tonight: is 329 enough at Newlands without Smith in Australia’s line-up? Yes or no, and back it up with one name.