12th over: Australia 45-1 (Warner 32, Labuschagne 5) Better from Jansen, shaping the ball back into the right-handed Labuschagne from over the wicket, but the run-machine uses the curve to work three through the on-side. Warner then enjoys a slice of luck, failing to leave securely and the ball deflecting off his raised blade – but away to safety. He shows all his experience thereafter, milking the clock with a mid-pitch chat, plenty of equipment fiddling, and then pulling away from the strike as Jansen was about to bowl. The outcome is stumps.

11th over: Australia 42-1 (Warner 33, Labuschagne 2) Nortje replaces Rabada in the attack, and he’s the first South African pacer to hit his mark from the off. Bowling in the high 140s kph he hits a tidy length to Warner, making the batter play repeatedly. But this is old-school Warner, looking to seize every counter-punching opportunity, and he earns four with a thick-edge over gully for four, then picks up two more with a short-arm bunt through midwicket. This is the kind of forceful opening batting that has sustained Warner into his 100th Test.

10th over: Australia 35-1 (Warner 27, Labuschagne 2) Labuschange gets off the mark with a couple during a second poor over in a row from Jansen. This has not lived up to expectation so far from South Africa with the ball.

“Not sure if it’s a commentary cliche as such, but the ongoing David Warner hagiography by the Australian broadcaster is getting a bit tiresome,” emails Alex Greggery. “It feels like they’re trying to will him back into form through pure Mind Power.” I fear I have also fallen into that trap Alex, barracking for the story. See earlier posts about Cameron Green’s intervention – we like to find narratives that can sustain us through a column or an OBO or commentary stint and make them hang together coherently. Sometimes we get sucked into the world of our creation.

9th over: Australia 33-1 (Warner 27, Labuschagne 0) Warner continues to assert himself against an off-colour Rabada, calling loudly, running aggressively, and putting the onus back on the bowler to do something radical to dismiss him. Elsewhere in the over, Justin Langer called Ricky Ponting “Punt” on the telly; which caused a double take from your correspondent. For the uninitiated, Ponting’s nickname during his career was Punter, but to abbreviate it further is asking for trouble on live television.

8th over: Australia 28-1 (Warner 23, Labuschagne 0) Marco Jansen takes his two-metre plus frame from first slip to the top of his run-up. He finds Warner in that punchy, pugnacious mood that’s served him so well in his 100-Test career, looking to score from anything outside the line of fourth stump with those crouched jabs, slashing at the ball like a cinematic sword-fighter. After Rabada and Ngidi started poorly, so does Jansen, ending a tame opening over with four leg-byes that scurry away to the rope.

7th over: Australia 21-1 (Warner 20, Labuschagne 0) South Africa needed that breakthrough after a poor start with the new ball. Australia will now be eyeing off the 20-or-so minutes to the close a little more anxiously.

6th over: Australia 17-0 (Warner 17, Khawaja 0) Ngidi sends down a third harmless over in a row. Warner can’t find the timing to profit.

Peter Moller asks if the height difference between first slip (Jansen) and keeper (Verreynne) is a record? Without checking any data I am going to say with enormous confidence that it is.

I reckon most of this is probable; only the 20 wickets on day three seems unlikely, but I’d suggest 10+ wouldn’t be unrealistic.

5th over: Australia 17-0 (Warner 17, Khawaja 0) Rabada finally starts to hit his line and length, so unfathomably he drops short without menace, allowing Warner to pull another risk free boundary. A trademark back-foot bunt into the offside for three keeps Warner moving. He’s 17 off 21 and giving off the body language of a man on a mission.

4th over: Australia 8-0 (Warner 8, Khawaja 0) Ngidi has show more control than Rabada but he still lacks rhythm in these early exchanges. Maybe I’m judging him harshly on the evidence of this tour to date, but Ngidi seems expendable to me in this XI. Surely Rabada, Jansen, Nortje and Maharaj is a strong enough four-man attack to allow for an extra batter?

The crowd has been announced as 64,876.

3rd over: Australia 7-0 (Warner 7, Khawaja 0) David Warner gets off the mark with a boundary! It was a shot missed by the host broadcaster, who were advertising a new Guy Ritchie movie, but replays show Rabada dropping short and Warner whipping his hands through a brutal pull with serious speed. South Africa’s ace sent down a dreadful opening over, and after a slow start to his second, the radar recalibrates, but Warner is still able to pick up three more with a clip off his pads.

2nd over: Australia 0-0 (Warner 0, Khawaja 0) Lungi Ngidi hits a much better line and length, angling the ball into Usman Khawaja from around the wicket then trying to make the Kookaburra hold its line or even move away off the seam. Khawaja is patient, playing what he has to with soft hands, and leaving confidently.

1st over: Australia 0-0 (Warner 0, Khawaja 0) Rabada starts short, targeting that right armpit, but he’s wayward down the legside every delivery! He failed to make the batter play at all. Such an anticlimax. They might have been decent deliveries to a right-hander, but to a leftie they were dross. All the while Rabada’s pace dropped each delivery as he searched for his line. Not the start the Proteas wanted.

Warner takes guard, busy and bristling. Kagiso Rabada has the new ball. There’s a short leg under the batter’s nose. This should be fun…

Some info on Mitchell Starc’s injury from an eagle-eyed reader (and emergency physician)

Thanks Dr Nick!

Australia will have **commentary cliche alert** an awkward hour or so to bat. Against this South African new ball attack with shadows stretching across the MCG, this could be just the setting Warner needs to counterpunch his way back to life.

68th over: South Africa 186-9 (Nortje 0, Ngidi 0) Ngidi sees off the remainder of the over to allow Green his dip at a five-for.

66th over: South Africa 182-6 (Jansen 59, Maharaj 2) Jansen gets off strike straight away which allows Lyon yo torment the new batter. A bat-pad to begin with looks awkward for Maharaj, as does the follow-up which became a leg-slip crowd catch. The outside edge is threatened next ball before a mistimed cut earns two, but in an unconvincing fashion.

65th over: South Africa 179-6 (Jansen 58, Maharaj 0) That was another excellent knock from Verreynne, but he will feel like he left plenty of runs out there after getting well set on a flat deck. Meanwhile, Starc is back out on the MCG, with the middle of finger of his bowling hand heavily bandaged.

64th over: South Africa 179-5 (Verreynne 52, Jansen 58) Verreynne absorbs most of Lyon’s over before peeling off an easy single. There’s little going on for the fielding side out there but the concentration from the South Africans in the middle deserves commendation.

63rd over: South Africa 178-5 (Verreynne 51, Jansen 58) Just the one off the bat to Verreynne from Green’s over, but the scoreboard also benefits from a couple of byes, one of which the product of Steve Smith’s misfortune chasing the runaway ball. Most of Green’s deliveries are aimed at Jansen, who Australia are convinced is susceptible to deliveries targeting his ribs (as am I) but he deals with those ok, only to almost perish chasing a wide one.

As I warned you about earlier, the accompanying noise to the Test is now: “Five… four… three… two… one… WAHEYYYYYY!” as a series of Mexican waves lap gently at an unisinterested shore.

62nd over: South Africa 175-5 (Verreynne 50, Jansen 58) Jansen plays Lyon away for the second maiden in a row. It’s a curious over, one in which Lyon deviated from his stock 89/90 kph pace up to 102/103 kph for a couple of deliveries, showing how creative Australia are becoming in their efforts to break this solid partnership.

61st over: South Africa 175-5 (Verreynne 50, Jansen 58) Cummins needs a spark of inspiration and he turns to Cameron Green to locate it. His young allrounder responds with a line and length maiden. “Gee, it looks like a nice batting pitch now,” coos Ricky Ponting on the telly. Australia have an hour and a half or so to avoid an inquest into Cummins’s decision at the toss.

59th over: South Africa 170-5 (Verreynne 49, Jansen 54) As Boland toils, replays suggest Starc has dislocated the index finger of his left hand. That will bring his continued participation in this match into question – as a bowler at least. For the first time this summer, Australia have some questions to answer.

57th over: South Africa 159-5 (Verreynne 46, Jansen 46) Boland is instructed to bowl a tighter line, and is handed a field accordingly. He gets a heavy effort ball to lift on Jansen that raps the batter on his bottom glove, but trickles away to safety. Jansen is showing real fortitude today, wearing plenty of deliveries without losing his head.

56th over: South Africa 154-5 (Verreynne 43, Jansen 45) Australia now have two men out for the sweep so Jansen only earns a single for his efforts. Verreynne, who is rarely on strike, is no sooner on it than he’s off it, cutting to the point sweeper for one. Lyon then finds the edge of Jansen’s bat with a delivery that keeps low, but the allrounder jabs down just in time to squirt the ball along the turf to Smith at first slip.

The atmospheric noise is now quintessential Boxing Day afternoon at the MCG. The low rumbling sound of thousands of inebriated patrons just about keeping it together to pay attention to a slow-moving game of cricket. Beer snakes, Mexican waves, and evictions on their way.

55th over: South Africa 152-5 (Verreynne 42, Jansen 44) A touch more spite about Boland’s 12th over, drawing suggestions the surface may be quickening up after a day baking in the hot Melbourne sun.

As the clock ticks over to 3:50 (Shane Warne’s cap number) the 60,000 or so inside the MCG stand to applaud and break out a rendition of “Waaaarrrrrrnnnniiiieeeeee”. Lots of white floppy hats doffed in appreciation. Lovely scenes.

54th over: South Africa 151-5 (Verreynne 42, Jansen 43) Just the single from a run-of-the-mill Lyon over.

53rd over: South Africa 150-5 (Verreynne 42, Jansen 42) Scott Boland shares duties with Lyon after tea, but he serves up an early gift for Kyle Verryenne, allowing the right-hander to ease a couple of runs down to fine-leg off his hip. “With this old ball, the pitch looks unthreatening and full of runs,” I type, just as Boland gets one to nip off the pitch and past Verryenne’s outside edge. There’s a performative appeal for caught behind from bowler and keeper, one lacking the conviction of belief, but Smith in the slips is adamant, and he convinces Cummins to review, but there’s a clear gap between bat and ball on the replay.

Just as an aside, Australia are two overs behind on the over-rate. It will be interesting to see if they respond to this, following its role in their failure to reach last year’s World Test Championship final.

52nd over: South Africa 148-5 (Verreynne 40, Jansen 42) Bathed in hot afternoon sunshine in the middle of the MCG, Marco Jansen resumes South Africa’s innings by sweeping Nathan Lyon for four. He’s then a very lucky boy, propping forward to defend and inside-edging onto his pad, but the ball lobs out of reach of short-leg without carrying as far as short mid-on.

The teams are back out for the final session. 39 overs are scheduled to be bowled. That’s unlikely, but it’ll be a 150-minute block regardless.

Darryl Accone joins in the conversation about the health of South African cricket, from, appropriately enough, South Africa. “Apropos Eamonn Maloney’s contentions about the decline in South African cricket: it’s more a case of a series of shambolic and scandal-ridden administrations run by miniature versions of the power-hungry and avaricious overlords in Cricket Australia, the BCCI and the English game. Kolpak didn’t help the South African national team either - though the England XI certainly benefited. The last factor, unspoken, is a prejudice at provincial and national level towards young South African players with English or English-sounding surnames. (Please note no special pleading: my surname is northern Sicilian and Piedmontese.)“

You had me at “Dear Jonathan,” Robert Wilson. It’s a pleasure to correspond once more. “Ooooh hello there. MCG. Aussie home Tests, my winter has finally turned the corner. The temperature even jumped ten degrees today here in Paris. It’s an act of Grace. Australian cricket isn’t really for Australians, it’s for desperate Europeans huddling through their unending winter - it’s a superbooster Vitamin D shot. The Aussie OBO is an absolute Godsend. It’s the Marshall Plan. It’s Lend-Lease. It gets us through the dark days. So thanks a bunch for that, old thing. Plus, we seem to like Mitchell Starc more than any actual Australian does.” Well, perhaps more than many Australians. There is one actual Australian who likes him bigly.

51st over: South Africa 144-5 (Verreynne 40, Jansen 38) For the final over before tea, Cummins sets a field suggesting he is only going to bowl bouncers. Of course, that doesn’t bother Verreynne who pulls the opening delivery dreamily for a single. Then, despite the field, Cummins bowls length to Jansen, who guides a boundary through the gully region, to much confusion in the commentary box. Back to Plan A it is, and JANSEN IS DROPPED HORRIBLY BY KHAWAJA. That was stinky bad from Australia’s poorest fielder, failing to hold on at short fine-leg with the ball whipped just to his left at waist height. That was the designed dismissal but Khawaja could not seal the deal. Cummins must be ropable, not that he’ll show it.

50th over: South Africa 138-5 (Verreynne 39, Jansen 33) Seven from the over as the Proteas nudge Lyon around the MCG. Verreynne’s confidence is now so high he is happy to reverse sweep the Goat bowling around the wicket to the right-hander. This partnership has now more than doubled South Africa’s score.

“I’d give South Africa and West Indies administrators a bit more of the un-credit than that,” replies Eamonn Maloney in response to the conversation beginning in the 41st over. “Their domestic structures are plainly rubbish and technical education not up to it, without getting too chicken and eggish. In the case of the former there’s also a connection with the nation’s inexorable slide down the global prosperity rankings - I dare say the prospects of starting a conversation about that are higher within the OBO than with say James Brayshaw but still too broad a subject while the live action’s on.”

49th over: South Africa 131-5 (Verreynne 34, Jansen 31) Verreynne just doesn’t seem to want the strike. Yet again he finds an easy single, inviting Jansen to deal with Cummins as thoughts meander towards the tea interval. It’s a different Jansen this over though, the big allrounder aiming a couple of long-levered (sorry Geoff) mows at deliveries landing just back of a length. Neither swipe connected – unlike Cummins’s follow-up shorter ball that cannoned into the South African’s ribs.

48th over: South Africa 130-5 (Verreynne 33, Jansen 31) The definitive over of the session: Verreynne milks an early single then Jansen blocks out. Nathan Lyon hasn’t caused too many problems so far.

47th over: South Africa 129-5 (Verreynne 32, Jansen 31) Another over, another early single to Verreynne, this time against the bowling of the returning Cummins. A misfield gifts Jansen a single but he’s soon back on strike when Verreynne demonstrates he can pull with the confidence of 2006 vintage Russell Brand.

46th over: South Africa 126-5 (Verreynne 30, Jansen 30) Verreynne milks his customary single then Jansen is DROPPED at short-leg by Labuschagne. Very very tough chance with the fielder under the lid staying low but the ball just hits his fingers instead of nestling into his palms. The lanky No 7 responds by swiping a brace of boundaries; the first smited over long on, the second swept in front of square-leg. This is becoming a fun contest.

45th over: South Africa 117-5 (Verreynne 29, Jansen 22) Jansen has defended doggedly, showing plenty of ticker, but I’m unconvinced about his positioning a smidgen legside of the ball to Starc. He looks a sitting duck to me if the bowler decides to aim for the body, but Starc neglects to do so, instead inducing a drive from the outside half of the bat that carries in the air through cover, then whistling one so close to the off bail it left no room for more Christmas pud. For reasons best known to him, Starc then shifts around the wicket and Jansen stands and delivers a pretty agricultural straight drive for four.

44th over: South Africa 111-5 (Verreynne 29, Jansen 16) Verreynne is proving his half-century in Brisbane was no fluke. He picks up Lyon’s length very early here, rocks back, and arrows a cut to the point boundary. Both batters exchange singles before Lyon has reason to reach his hands to his exposed scalp, getting a delivery to skip forward, catching Verreynne with his bodyweight going back when it should have been heading forward.

43rd over: South Africa 105-5 (Verreynne 24, Jansen 15) Verreynne drives Starc competently through the covers for three. Jansen digs in, racking up his 63rd delivery at the crease.

mes_go

26 December 2022 3:26am

Does SA have a batting coach??

Justin Sammons is the man you’re after, and here he is talking about belief and whatnot a couple of turkey sangas ago.

42nd over: South Africa 102-5 (Verreynne 21, Jansen 15) Not before time, Cummins recalls Lyon to the attack to try to break the best South African partnership of the match so far. The Goat does not achieve his goal at the first time of asking, with the script remaining resolutely unchangeable. Verreynne gets a single; Jansen blocks and leaves.

41st over: South Africa 101-5 (Verreynne 20, Jansen 15) For the umpteenth over in a row Verreynne milks a single to keep his score moving, but on this occasion, instead of dropping anchor, Jansen creams a full delivery wide of mid-on for a rare boundary. That did not impress the new bowler Mitchell Starc, and he replied by digging a ball into the giant allrounder’s midriff then whistling a follow-up follow-up past the No 7’s grille.

Eamonn Maloney enquires: “Do you like ‘Roston Chase, frontline spinner’ or ‘Marco Jansen, test match no 7’ for the coveted 2022 Symptom of The Game’s Malaise?” I’d opt for the latter, but I’d rename the award to 2022 Symptom of The Big Three Hijacking The Game and Reaping What They Sowed.

40th over: South Africa 96-5 (Verreynne 19, Jansen 11) Another over, another Verreynne single, however the incident of note was when the batter fell across to the offside and missed a straight delivery from Green that generated a hearty appeal for LBW that was turned down by Pistol Paul Reiffel. Cummins declined to review. Ball tracking indicatds the delivery was on course for an umpire’s call on height. Verreynne receiving the rub of the green from a Victorian umpire no stranger to MCG LBWs.

39th over: South Africa 95-5 (Verreynne 18, Jansen 11) Another eventless over featuring a Verreynne single. Jansen is now 11 from 46 deliveries, restricting his game to two shots – a textbook forward defensive, and a leave outside off.

“Not an annoyingly repeated commentary cliche but during England’s series in Pakistan, Mohammad Rizwan was shouting ‘catch it’ every time an England batter hit the ball regardless of whether or not there was an actual catching opportunity. Not surprisingly that became very annoying very quickly,” emails Chris in Hanoi.

38th over: South Africa 94-5 (Verreyne 17, Jansen 11) Verreynne takes a single from Green’s over as this Test proceeds in conventional fashion.

My list of banned commentary cliches:

- “Next into the commentary box is James Brayshaw”.

Thank you Geoffrey. Hello all. Happy cold turkey day. Test cricket innit.

37th over: South Africa 93-5 (Verreyne 16, Jansen 11) A quiet Scott Boland over leading up the drinks break, Jansen very happy to leave as often as he can.

“The Fox commentary team have mentioned that bowlers are ‘asking questions’ for the 17th time in just one hour,” writes Tim Lester. I am contemplating doing the washing up. Could we put together a list of banned commentary cliches and send them in? A definitive OBO list by close of play, please.”

That’s me done for the day. But my first entrants would be:
- long levers
- balls that stay hit once somebody has hit them
- seeing it like any large spherical object

For the rest, I’ll leave it to all of you out there, and your host Jonathan Porpoise Howcroft.

36th over: South Africa 92-5 (Verreyne 15, Jansen 11) Green to Jansen, must be some tall-guy territory thing going on because Green immediately bounces him. A couple sailing by, but Jansen has been patient so far and waited for anything full enough to drive, taking a couple more runs when it comes.

35th over: South Africa 89-5 (Verreyne 14, Jansen 9) Shot from Jansen. On the front foot to Boland, driving him for four. That does tend to be where players find the fence off this bowler. Rarely short enough to pull, rarely wide enough to cut or cover drive. He does bounce Jansen afterwards. Add a couple of runs squeezed to leg. Three slips, gully, point, short leg.

34th over: South Africa 83-5 (Verreyne 14, Jansen 3) Cummins gets a breather with Green taking over. He has a wicket already. That makes 19 in his 18th Test, good going, especially considering that he wasn’t allowed to bowl in some of them. Jansen gets a nick that goes along the ground through the conrdon for one, then Verreyne nearly cleans up Umpire Kettleborough at square leg with a pull shot. Lucky the ump is awake and doesn’t rob Verreyne of four runs. The scorecard says the Jansen run was a leg bye.

33rd over: South Africa 77-5 (Verreyne 9, Jansen 3) Boland is back. Hat-trick is coming. He has the MCC pavilion at his back, and Jansen fishing like Huck Finn at a ball that seams away. Tries a bouncer after four balls, keep them guessing. Beats the edge again. A couple of extras off the pad.

32nd over: South Africa 75-5 (Verreyne 9, Jansen 3) Ouch! Jansen gets a whack from Cummins. A rising ball, Jansen is too long a piece of spaghetti to get out of the way. Tries to ride the bounce but it keeps coming up at him. Hits him just under the armpit.

The oxter, as Chris Wallace-Crabbe might say.

31st over: South Africa 74-5 (Verreyne 9, Jansen 2) Verreyne keeps playing everything that Starc bowls around off stump, expanding his defence into a drive when it suits him, adding a couple of runs here, a couple there. Starc bounces him, one that doesn’t get up that high but comes through quickly as Verreyne flinches under it.

30th over: South Africa 70-5 (Verreyne 5, Jansen 2) No sooner down there than Starc is called into action again. Top edge from the pull shot of Verreyne, it hangs for a long time and eventually drops just short of Starc as he slides in like a centre back trying a studs-up challenge. That gets Jansen on strike for five balls, and he defends a straight line studiously enough, unperturbed by the one that Cummins whistles past his outside edge.

29th over: South Africa 69-5 (Verreyne 4, Jansen 2) Marco Jansen in and nearly out, beaten on the outside edge after pushing two runs through cover. Starc gets a huge ovation as he heads back down to fine leg.

28th over: South Africa 65-4 (Zondo 3, Verreyne 4) No run from the Cumins over either, Verreyne defending the whole lot away, front foot decisively, trying to get well forward.

27th over: South Africa 65-4 (Zondo 3, Verreyne 4) Starc to Zondo, who has a habit of standing still and flinging his hands at a line outside off stump. Does it twice in this over, once missing, once dragging a ball towards mid off with a diagonal bat. It doesn’t suggest control.

26th over: South Africa 65-4 (Zondo 3, Verreyne 4) Zondo gets off the mark as well, no alarms so far against Cummins while nudging a couple of runs to the off side and a single to leg. Some top quality burble of the crowd going on here, it sounds like summer.

25th over: South Africa 62-4 (Zondo 0, Verreyne 4) Starc to Verreyne, who plays at every ball in the over. Hits a couple to the field, misses one, and then slices his drive behind point for four. Hit that spot on the boundary many times in Brisbane.

Here we go after lunch. Hopefully Verreyne has another counterattack in him.

I wouldn’t be entirely shocked, put it that way.

Here’s something for lunch. Scott Boland got things rolling today with the first wicket. Last year at the Boxing Day Test he won the Johnny Mullagh Medal for best on ground, named after the great Aboriginal cricketer of the 1800s. It was especially meaningful because Boland was the first Australian to win it, and was on debut as only the second Indigenous man to play a Test for Australia.

Johnny Mullagh’s real name was Unaaramin. Last month I was in the Victorian country town of Harrow, where he was from, at the museum that commemorates him and the 1868 Aboriginal team that toured England.

Why not spend lunch with the museum manager, Josie Sangster? She can tell you all about those stories, and starts with a very entertaining one about bringing the medal to the game last year.

24th over: South Africa 58-4 (Zondo 0, Verreyne 0) Cummins to Zondo, who defends his way through to lunch without further disaster. Verreyne and Zondo were the two South Africans who took it back up to the Australians for a little while in Brisbane, one in each innings. They have a power of work to do here.

23rd over: South Africa 58-4 (Zondo 0, Verreyne 0) Two newbies to the middle.

22nd over: South Africa 56-1 (Elgar 26, Bavuma 1) Snorter from Cummins! Leaps at Bavuma’s grille and makes him hop. Then goes past the edge. Bavuma hangs in there, and times a drive nicely to follow, but back to the bowler.

21st over: South Africa 56-1 (Elgar 26, Bavuma 1) Starc comes back to try to zip one through Bavuma. Doesn’t do it, Bavuma knocks it away for a single. Played well in Brisbane, needs to back it up here.

Incredible from Swamp.

20th over: South Africa 56-1 (Elgar 25) Wicket from the last ball of the Green over. Doubt that Elgar is impressed.

19th over: South Africa 56-1 (Elgar 25, de Bruyn 12) Elgar is settling into his work here. Had a milestone nearby before the match of 5000 Test runs, and he gets there in this over. Boland keeps his attacking length, bowling relatively full, and Elgar picks off one such delivery to drive straight for four. The crowd wave is already up and going. I’d say we’ve got more than 50,000 in so far.

18th over: South Africa 50-1 (Elgar 20, de Bruyn 11) Almost a catch! Cam Green into the attack, and the new millionaire gets a million-dollar effort from Lyon at point as Elgar slices in the air. Flying across, can’t cling on. Green needs himself fielding to his own bowling, he would have reached that. Elgar gets off strike, de Bruyn smokes Green down the ground and then nudges another boundary off his hip. The highs, the lows.

17th over: South Africa 41-1 (Elgar 19, de Bruyn 3) Boland carries on the lack of scoring, six dots to de Bruyn, but he’s too wide in this over and the batter can happily leave alone. Perhaps trying to tempt him into chasing one, given the previous over.

16th over: South Africa 41-1 (Elgar 19, de Bruyn 3) Elgar faces out a full over from Lyon, blocking away. Off-spinner to the left-hander, Boland to the right-hander, this is ideal for Australia.

15th over: South Africa 41-1 (Elgar 19, de Bruyn 3) Boland is in the game against de Bruyn, who keeps playing outside off stump. Chops a couple past gully, plays some dot balls along the ground into the cordon. The sun has come out in Melbourne and it’s warming up.

14th over: South Africa 39-1 (Elgar 19, de Bruyn 1) Positive from de Bruyn, who sees another short one from Lyon and gets back to muscle a pull shot into the deep. Only problem is that he picks out the one sweeper, Travis Head at deep backward. One run, after Elgar took one and Carey let through a bye.

13th over: South Africa 36-1 (Elgar 18, de Bruyn 0) Boland hits the stumps… and no wicket! Forward defensive from Elgar, the ball goes into the turf and rolls back against his off stick. Another stroke of luck for the visiting skipper, who doubles down by playing a straight drive for four.

12th over: South Africa 32-1 (Elgar 14, de Bruyn 0) Nathan Lyon on early, from the Shane Warne Stand end. Elgar has played him a lot. Gets a rare Lyon short ball to cut for two, then pushes a single.

11th over: South Africa 29-1 (Elgar 11, de Bruyn 0) Less than two overs and he’s into the action. Positive start from Erwee but another low score.

10th over: South Africa 23-0 (Elgar 10, Erwee 18) Not just blocking, is Erwee. Throws the bat at width from Cummins, steering the ball past gully along the carpet for four. Nice timing.

9th over: South Africa 23-0 (Elgar 9, Erwee 14) Here’s Scott Boland! Big ovation for the local bowler at the scene of last year’s great triumph. Erwee doesn’t respect the occasion, darting off for a single to cover. He hasn’t got the memo that nobody is supposed to score off Boland. Elgar compounds the rudeness with a similar shot.

8th over: South Africa 21-0 (Elgar 8, Erwee 13) Cummins tightens the screws in this over to Elgar, using a bit of width and angling the ball in at times, going outside off stump at others, not conceding a run.

7th over: South Africa 21-0 (Elgar 8, Erwee 13) Another nudge from Elgar, another series of leaves from Erwee. It’s not like they’ve raced away, but they’ve negotiated the first half hour with a bit of luck.

6th over: South Africa 20-0 (Elgar 7, Erwee 13) Leaving width, playing when straight: Erwee is doing the basics. Can’t help himself when Cummins drops short though, playing a hook shot and edging just fine of the keeper for four. Then Cummins hits the perfect line, drawing him into a forward push, so nearly edging it behind. In between those two mistakes, Erwee plays a good flick through midwicket for four.

5th over: South Africa 12-0 (Elgar 7, Erwee 5) Starc keeps bowling straight, but through Erwee a couple of times onto the pad. Angling down leg both times, says the umpire. Starc doesn’t argue. Eventually Erwee gets width and reaches for a drive square, netting a couple.

4th over: South Africa 9-0 (Elgar 7, Erwee 2) Trying to get a good stride forward to Cummins is Elgar, after Erwee drives another run. Then Elgar plonks on the front foot too early, and drives back a catch! Bursts through the fingers of the Australian captain. He has to reach high and to his left after Elgar reaches way out in front of his body too early. Not the kind of chance a bowler expects with a new ball, and it goes to waste.

3rd over: South Africa 8-0 (Elgar 7, Erwee 1) Same again for Elgar, nudging one off Starc, then Erwee plays the smallest off-drive down past the bwoler and rushes through for his first run. Starc gets some swing outside the off stump and has Elgar reaching, jamming the ball down into the ground.

2nd over: South Africa 6-0 (Elgar 6, Erwee 0) Elgar escapes strike from Cummins immediately, nudging another leg-side run to send Erwee down for an examination. Cummins hits a decent line to him, just outside the off stump mostly, and Erwee gets to dust off his leave.

1st over: South Africa 5-0 (Elgar 5, Erwee 0) Mitchell Starc with the ball from the Members’ End, loping in to pitch up and see if he can swing it. South Africa’s two left-handers at the crease. No worries for Elgar though, Starc bowling too straight a couple of times and being picked off for a two and a three through midwicket. Better start for SA’s captain than when he gloved one down the leg side in Brisbane.

The national anthems are out of the way, and we’re due to play.

The soundtrack to the Warne video is of course Coldplday: never forget that Chris Martin was in the Dream BBQ mural that Warne had commissioned.

A good crowd in this morning, and the two teams are on the field while the big screen and the PA plays a Shane Warne tribute video. This will be a big part of the next few days – the first Boxing Day Test without him for so long. As a Victorian while playing, Warne was always a huge part of these occasions, and saved some of his best performances for this ground.

“I would have batted first as well,” says Dean Elgar. “A little bit surprised [at Cummins’ decision]. Normally you’d want to bat first and get through the day. It’s going to be nice and hot, so everything is in favour of the batters. We’ve just got to apply ourselves and make the best of conditions that lie in front of us. We’re in a good space with regard to the ball, so hopefully those mental scars are there [for the Australians].”

“It looks like a good wicket, the most that’s going to be in it will be this morning,” was Cummins’ rationale. “Here at the MCG the wicket normally gets better and better. We had to have one Victorian in the side, so Scotty Boland was here. Josh Hazlewood had a couple of good bowls, but once we got closer he put his hand up and said I’m not quite right.”

And why not a potentially soon-to-be-redundant argument for David Warner at the top of the order? Another couple of low scores might throw this out the window, but I’m thinking that patience is the right way to go when a player’s record is this good.

How about my now-redundant argument that Boland Must Play ahead of Hazlewood, even if just this once? It could also be classed as Boxing Day leftovers.

If you want to know more about what’s going on in the South African team, with its wildly good bowling and wildly bad batting, here’s Daniel Gallan.