Gilchrist was finally out for 91 sweeping at Paul Adams to be caught on the deep square leg boundary by Graeme Smith. His innings brought his aggregate for the series to 457 and he now averages 228.5.

He was the ninth man out at 311 for nine after Australia’s had lost their eighth wicket on 289 when Brett Lee was bowled for a duck, dragging one on as he drove at Makhaya Ntini.

Last man out in the innings was Jason Gillespie, caught at the wicket as he drove at Andrew Hall to give the bowler his first Test wicket.

Gilchrist, though, was the star of the show with another wonderful exhibition of strokeplay. Even when the South Africans posted seven or eight fielders around the boundary rope, Gilchrist was able to pierce the field with powerful drives and pulls and he 14 fours in an innings that took just 107 deliveries.

His aggregate of 457 places him third on the list of leading Australian run scorers in a three-Test series. Matthew Hayden scored 549 at an average of 109.8 against India last year while Mark Taylor scored 531 runs at 128.25 against Pakistan in 1998/99.

Gilchrist, who came into this match having scored 366 for once out in the first two matches of the series, was on 68 at the drinks break. At this stage he was averaging 434 for the series with the South African bowlers once again unable to keep him in check.

After their mid-afternoon slump, Gilchrist and Shane Warne added 57 for the seventh wicket before Warne pushed forward to Makhaya Ntini for Mark Boucher to take a routine catch at the wicket.

Warne was out for 26 with the seventh wicket falling at 287 to bring out the late afternoon drinks.

After Ricky Ponting had been run out for 89, South Africa struck twice either side of the drinks break when Mark Waugh was caught at slip for 45 off Jacques Kallis and Steve Waugh caught at the wicket off Paul Adams for 7. It was the third time in as many innings that Adams had accounted for the Australian captain, caught off a top edge cutting on this occasion.

The loss of the Waugh brothers reduced Australia to 182 for five, but some characteristically clean hitting from Adam Gilchrist suggested there might still be some wag in the Australian tail.

Driving powerfully and cutting with exquisite timing, Gilchrist helped Damien Martyn add 48 for the sixth wicket before David Terbrugge came back into the attack to bowl Martyn through the gate for 11 at 230 for six.

With Shane Warne now at the crease, Australia went to tea with Gilchrist unbeaten on 37.

Ponting, who scored exactly 100 not out at Newlands on Tuesday, looked set to repeat the feat as he played flawlessly to move smoothly to 89 after lunch Durban. Together with Mark Waugh, he put on 108 for the third wicket until Waugh pushed Jacques Kallis towards cover and called for a quick run.

Gibbs picked up smoothly and threw in one motion to break the wicket at the striker’s end and a television replay revealed that Ponting had just failed to make his ground.

He was out for 89 off 100 balls in 154 minutes with Australia’s third wicket falling at 169.

If Ponting had not given a chance, Waugh had been lucky to survive on more than one occasion, making liberal use of the inside edge. Twice during the 29th over he edged Makhaya Ntini past leg stump for fours and in Ntini’s next over a bottom edge from an attempted cut went dangerously close to his off stump.

He also survived a confident appeal for a catch at the wicket off Ntini in the 31st over, but television replays showed that umpire Srinivas Venkataraghavan had got it right, the ball brushing the arm on the way past rather than the glove.

His luck ran out in the drinks over when he offered Graeme Smith a straightforward catch at slip to depart for 45. At the break Steve Waugh was not out on 3 with Damien Martyn to come to the wicket.

For once Australia’s prolific opening pair of Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer failed to punish the South African bowling. Langer was out for 11 in the second over of the day while Hayden went after bringing up the 50 partnership with Ricky Ponting for the second wicket.

Hayden had been given a life before the first drinks break when an edge off Jacques Kallis squeezed between Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie at first and second slip, but when Kallis induced another edge, McKenzie claimed the catch, low down and to his left at second slip.

Television replays suggested there might have been some doubt about the catch, with McKenzie plucking the ball off the turf, but Hayden was out for 28 at 61 for two.

There were no further alarms for Australia during the remainder of the session with Ponting going to his 50 after 96 minutes when he pulled Andrew Hall past square leg for his eighth boundary.

In all South Africa used all five of their bowlers during the session with David Terbrugge taking one for 17 in seven overs the most successful in his comeback game.

Left-arm spinner Paul Adams bowled two overs before lunch, conceding 14 runs with Mark Waugh bringing up the 50 partnership in just 48 minutes with a cover driven four.

At lunch Ponting had 62 with Mark Waugh on 11.

Terbrugge is playing his first Test match for three years and he made an immediate impact after Langer had hit two fours in taking 11 off Makhaya Ntini’s first over. The Australian batsmen would have clearly targetted Terbrugge, but when Langer tried to pull his first ball he succeeded only in skying it towards square leg.

Four fielders converged on the catch, but it was Gary Kirsten who sprinted up from mid on to take it and Australia were 11 for one.

The setback did not stop Ponting attacking Ntini whenever he was too full or wide, but Terbrugge kept things tight at the other end, conceding his first runs when Heyden got of the mark with a pushed two off the last ball of the sixth over of the day.

Hayden took a pair of boundaries off Terbrugge’s next over after which Jacques Kallis came into the attack from the Umgeni end and he almost had Hayden in his second over when an edge a catchable height squeezed between Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie at first and second slip and ran away for four.

At drinks Hayden was 24 with Ponting on 18.

With Australia already having won the series, the Test has become a contest of South African pride and Australia’s ability to maintain their own high standards in a dead match.

Boucher’s decision was clearly based on the belief that the pitch might offer some help to the fast bowlers during the first morning, but he has also ensured that South Africa might have to face Shane Warne in the fourth innings on the fourth and fifth days.

South African fast bowler David Tergbrugge was making his comeback after a three-year break from Test cricket, replacing Dewald Pretorius in the only change to the side that lost at Newlands on Tuesday. Australia field an unchanged team.

Teams

South Africa: Mark Boucher (capt), Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Neil McKenzie, Ashwell Prince, Andrew Hall, Paul Adams, Makhaya Ntini, David Terbrugge..

Australia: Steve Waugh (capt), Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath.