Gilchrist was put down at slip when he had 11 and took advantage of his reprieve to push on to 52 not out as Australia reached 84 without loss after the first 15 overs of their innings. Matthew Hayden was the other not out batsman on 26.

The luckless bowler was South African captain Shaun Pollock and the hapless fielder Jacques Kallis who allowed a head-high edge to burst through his hands at first slip.

Kallis had further cause to rue the mistake when he came onto bowl in the 12th over of the innings, replacing Makhaya Ntini at the Old Fort Road end. Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden took 11 off his first over, raising the Australian 50 in the process.

Nantie Hayward caused Gilchrist rather more problems when he came into the attack at the Umgeni end, crashing a short ball into the batsman’s earpiece as he tried to hook. Gilchrist needed to change his helmet, but seemed otherwise unharmed.

In Hayward’s next over, however, Gilchrist adjusted to Hayward’s extra pace, hooking him for successive boundaries to reach his 50 off 44 deliveries.

Remarkably, Australia were not docked any overs despite going 20 minutes overtime in bowling their 50 overs.

The pair came together at 158 for five in the 36th over and stayed there until the 49th to give South Africa perhaps their best chance in the series of finally winning a match...

With Australia slow in getting through their overs – they ran 20 minutes over their allotted three-and-a-half hours - the South Africans may find themselves having to defend their total in less than the regulation 50 overs.

The South Africans seemed to have given themselves a launch pad when they arrived at the last 20 overs on 125 for three, but there was an immediate setback when Jacques Kallis hooked Glenn McGrath down the throat of Jimmy Maher at fine leg as the Australia fast bowler came back for his second spell.

Kallis had made a relative pedestrian 21 off 41 balls when he was out at 125 for four and the fifth wicket went down when Neil McKenzie was adjudged caught at the wicket for 17 off Shane Warne at 158 for five.

McKenzie was clearly unhappy with umpire Rudi Koertzen’s decision and although he may have had a point – replays suggested his bat had touched his pad rather than the ball – he may well find himself having to explain his actions to match referee Cammie Smith later in the evening.

His dismissal, however, brought Boucher in to share the best partnership of the innings. From fairly watchful beginnings, the South African pair gradually accelerated with Rhodes going to his 50 off 58 deliveries off Jason Gillespie with the fourth and fifth fours of his innings and then hitting a third boundary for good measure as 13 came off the 46th over.

Rhodes then launched into all-out attack, slapping Glenn McGrath twice over mid off for four as he brought up the 250 in the 49th over before he perished for 76 off 70 balls, slicing McGrath to Ricky Ponting at backward point at 255 for six.

Boucher ended unbeaten on 41 with Shaun Pollock not out on 6.

The 21-year-old Smith, playing his second one-day international, provided the anchor to the home team’s innings after Australian captain Ricky Ponting had won the toss and chosen to bat first.

After their best start of the series, South Africa lost their second wicket following a handy partnership of 42 between Smith and Nicky Boje, pushed up the order for this game. Boje had helped Smith punish Australian change bowlers Brett Lee and Ian Harvey, but when he tried to turn Lee to leg in the 17th over, a leading edge looped back to the bowler for the simplest of catches.

Boje made a run-a-ball 22 with the wicket going down at 82 and it took Jacques Kallis 10 balls to get off the mark before he chopped Lee down to the third man for a single. Kallis had looked uncomfortable against Lee and was beaten for pace before he opened his account, but he survived to help add 28 for the third wicket.

Smith made 41 on debut in Bloemfontein on Saturday and again fell short of a 50 when he tried to lap Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist scrambled around to take a catch off a top edge. Smith was out for 46 at 110 for three and South Africa very nearly lost a fourth wicket off the next ball when local hero Jonty Rhodes swept at his first delivery for the top edge to drop short of Jason Gillespie at backward square leg.

With 20 overs of the innings remaining, Kallis was on 21 with Rhodes on 7.

Not that they had to do particularly well to improve on the 18 put on by Gibbs and Gary Kirsten in the second game at SuperSport Park. The Smith-Gibbs pairing was the fourth combination used by South Africa in five games and Gibbs, certainly, profitted from a missed chance before he became the first wicket to fall.

He had taken one fortunate four off Glenn McGrath when he gloved an attempted hook over Adam Gilchrist’s head and gave a clear chance on 16 when Gilchrist spilled a straightforward chance in the seventh over of the innings.

Gibbs’ luck finally ran out in the 10th over when he swung wildly at one that left him from Jason Gillespie and this time Gilchrist snaffled the catch.

Gibbs’ 25 came off 27 deliveries with the wicket going down at 40.

Smith, meanwhile had played a calmer innings, at one point hitting Gillespie straight and square for boundaries in the sixth over of the match, and he was joined by Nicky Boje, pushed up the order for this match.

After six overs for 25 from the Old Fort Road end, McGrath was replaced by Brett Lee whose first delivery was tucked away through midwicket for four by Smith to raise the South African 50 in the 13th over. With Boje taking a boundary off the last ball of the over, Lee’s first six deliveries cost Australia 13.

Ian Harvey took over from Gillespie (6-1-20-1) at the Umgeni end and almost took a wicket with his second ball when Boje’s attempted drive lobbed over the head of Gillespie at mid off. Undeterred Boje produced a cheeky sweep for four off the next ball.

After 15 overs Smith had moved to 31 with Boje on 10.

If Australia win this fifth match they will take an unassailable 4-0 lead in the seven-game series. A South African victory, on the other hand, will give the home team a chance of a 3-3 draw.

The Australians welcomed back Shane Warne and Michael Bevan to their starting lineup. Warne replaces Nathan Hauritz while Bevan comes in for Darren Lehmann who has a strained right hamstring.

South Africa, meanwhile, made three changes to the side that lost the fourth match of the series in Bloemfontein on Saturday. Herschelle Gibbs returns to the opening position in place of Gary Kirsten who has been dropped from the squad; fast bowler Nantie Hayward comes in for Roger Telemachus and Jon Kent makes his one-day debut for South Africa in the place of Andrew Hall who has also lost his place in the squad.

Lance Klusener misses his second game running with a hamstring injury.

Teams

South Africa: Shaun Pollock (capt), Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Neil McKenzie, Jonty Rhodes, Mark Boucher, Nicky Boje, Jon Kent, Makhaya Ntini, Nantie Hayward.

Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Damien Martyn, Michael Bevan, Jimmy Maher, Ian Harvey, Brett Lee, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath.