Close Australia 46 for 0 trail South Africa 239 all out (Hall 70, McGrath 3-42, Gillespie 3-52) by 193 runs
scorecard

After four Test defeats in a row, including that innings-and-360-run demolition at Johannesburg, South Africa came into the match with a sense of foreboding that they can rarely have felt at this level. And Australia, led by that renowned bloodhound Glenn McGrath, quickly made certain that their fears were justified. South Africa were reduced to 92 for 6 inside 35 overs, and though a spirited performance from the tail lifted them to 239, Australia will not lose much sleep tonight. This is a side, after all, that have scored more runs in one incomplete innings at Johannesburg (652 for 7) than South Africa have since managed in three (531 runs for 30 wickets). And by the time Langer and Hayden had crashed 46 runs in eight overs before the close, the size of the task was taking on its usual gargantuan proportions.

South Africa were on the rack from the moment Mark Boucher won the toss and elected to face his demons. Within the first hour Herschelle Gibbs (12), the debutant Graeme Smith (3) and Gary Kirsten (7) had all been blasted out by Australia's three-pronged seam attack. McGrath was metronomic, Jason Gillespie mixed jaffas with dobbers, and Lee bowled with a pace and rhythm seldom seen. One of his deliveries was clocked at 157.4 kph (97.4 mph) - the fastest ball recorded in modern times.

After the initial onslaught, Jacques Kallis and Neil McKenzie batted sensibly for 13 overs in a partnership of 45, but Steve Waugh still had an ace to play. It's one thing dodging the traffic, it's another coping with the wiles of Shane Warne. After leading the team out at the start of his 100th Test, Warne marked the occasion with a magical piece of bowling that did for McKenzie. He began his third over with a standard legbreak which McKenzie turned to the on-side, followed up with the flipper, and completed the knockout with a ball that ripped past the edge and into middle and leg stumps as McKenzie (20) propped half-forward like a badly constructed film set. The teams went to lunch three runs later, at 73 for 4.

Nearly everything rested on Kallis, but he survived just nine balls after lunch, as McGrath unfurled an absolute snorter that spat off the seam and flicked the edge on the way through to Adam Gilchrist (73 for 5, Kallis 23). And McGrath struck again shortly afterwards, angling one across Prince (10) to find the edge of a limp bat. At 92 for 6, South Africa had reached their nadir.

It was not an auspicious moment to make a debut innings, but Andrew Hall, the burly allrounder brought in to fill the shoes of Shaun Pollock, got off the mark in style, casually flicking his fourth ball from McGrath to the midwicket boundary. His refreshingly uncowed approach caught Australia a little unawares, and in partnership with Boucher, he added a useful 55 for the seventh wicket. Boucher, no doubt cursing the name of Daryll Cullinan between deliveries, eventually fell for 26, flailing frustratedly at Lee (147 for 7), and Paul Adams - career average 6.7 - wandered to the crease for his first Test innings in over a year, at the dizzy batting heights of No. 9.

What happened next had certainly not been scripted, but it lifted South Africa's spirits no end. Hopping into line like an obedient bunny, Adams revived memories of his innings on this ground in 1995-96, when he drove Devon Malcolm to distraction with a match-turning knock of 29. On this occasion he squirted and slapped his way to 35, his highest score in Test cricket, and crowned his innings with one astonishing six off Shane Warne, walloped high and handsomely over cow corner.

Hall at the other end was equally impressive, upstaged only by the quirkiness of Adams' shot selection. He marked his debut with a battling 50 - and had made 70 by the time Gillespie induced a tired waft in the 79th over (229 for 9). Six balls later, Warne wrapped the innings up with a big legbreak that turned across Makhaya Ntini (14) into the hands of Mark Waugh at slip. A total of 239 was riches compared with the raggedness of the top-order, but as Langer and Hayden scratched away at the veneer late in the day, it became clear how poor a score this was.

Andrew Miller is on the staff of Wisden.com

Teams

South Africa 1 Herschelle Gibbs, 2 Gary Kirsten, 3 Graeme Smith, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Neil McKenzie, 6 Ashwell Prince, 7 Mark Boucher (capt & wk), 8 Andrew Hall, 9 Paul Adams, 10 Makhaya Ntini, 11 Dewald Pretorius.

Australia 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Justin Langer, 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Steve Waugh (capt), 5 Mark Waugh, 6 Damien Martyn, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Jason Gillespie, 11 Glenn McGrath.

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