AUS v SA, 1st Test Day 1 Review: Proteas capitulate as David Warner cashes in

David Warner cashed in with some heavy hitting in the final session of the first day in the first Test match between Australia and South Africa. In spite of the spiteful wicket at Perth, the southpaw played his natural game, something that many have seen over the years. While the conditions did not affect the southpaw, the conditions did affect most of the South African batsmen on the day.

The day began with stand-in skipper Faf du Plessis calling the toss right and making the executive decision to bat first. Little did the 32-year old know what Mitchell Starc had in store for the visitors. The 27-year old Starc had promised to crank it up prior to the start of the encounter. And that was exactly what he did.

‘Chin Music’ was the order of the day in the first 30 minutes as Stephen Cook did not even survive long enough to see the close of the first over, Although the pacer was coming off yet another injury, it seemed quite clear that he was raring to go. Mitchell Marsh completed the catch that quite effectively set the tone for the series.

For many months, Josh Hazelwood has been paired with the 27-year old Starc. This explosive partnership of bowling is perhaps one of the most impressive in the world. The fact that they complement each other so well is a trademark only Australian pacers have been fortunate to have year on year. Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla were the next to fall when Josh Hazelwood cashed in on the inroads made by the impressive Starc.

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Peter Siddle, the man who had been left out in the cold following a stress fracture was back in the scheme of things. He looked as though he belonged up there in lights as he marked his comeback with the wicket of JP Duminy. The latter had provided Peter Nevill with yet another catch in Test cricket. At 4/32, Faf du Plessis was clearly lamenting his decision on batting first, although, he could not blame his batsmen at the pacers were all over the Proteas in a flash.

There was some solidity shown when skipper du Plessis and Temba Bavuma batted for a period of time without losing their wicket. However, this was not to last long as the skipper was the next to depart a few minutes prior to the close of the lunch interval. At 5/81, the Proteas broke off for a much-needed break, an opportunity to rethink their strategies once again.

This rethinking was complete and in effect as Bavuma and wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock took the stage yet again to do battle. De Kock was in terrific nick as he managed to find the gaps on the off-side in tandem while Bavuma made sure that he was surviving in spite of the body blows and managing to do battle. Despite the fact that Bavuma was dismissed for 51, the crusade was continued by Quinton de Kock.

The 23-year old, who has a bit of the school-boy charm in his character in the flesh went on to smash the ball to the fence on numerous occasions. Even a few stares and smiles from the intimidating Mitchell Starc did little to unnerve him as he cracked on towards a well-deserved 100. This continued until a miscued pull shot from the bowling of Josh Hazelwood saw the youngster taking the stride back to the haven of the pavilion.

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The innings was closed when Mitchell Starc sent the stumps of Dale Steyn for a quick stroll before the Aussies would resume play at the close of the day. The sunlight seemed to be terrific enough in Perth allowing David Warner and Shaun Marsh to toy around with the South African pacers till the close of play.

As mentioned several times previously, David Warner is aka the Virender Sehwag for the Australians. Not because of his swagger, but because of his ability to play the same way no matter what the conditions or the circumstances. Warner made merry of the South African bowlers. And these were by no means Mickey Mouse bowlers, to say the least. Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, and Vernon Philander have all been in the reckoning to be the best in the world no matter what.

However, in spite of their acumen and previous exploits, they were being taken to the cleaners by David Warner. Even Shaun Marsh, Warner’s opening partner on the day had amassed 29 runs in 67 deliveries while David Warner had racked up 73 runs in 62 deliveries. This also included a six off Dale Steyn, a shot that ended well beyond the fine leg fence.

Brief Scores:

South Africa, 1st innings: 242 all out (Q de Kock 84; M Starc 4/71)

Australia, 1st innings: 105/0 (D Warner 73*)

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