The umpires are out in the middle having a chat. Their brollies are down. The groundstaff have yet to be called into action but I’d expect an announcement shortly.

Play remains delayed for rain at the MCG, despite that rain being light and the radar suggesting it should drift away any second.

Hmmmm, this isn’t good. I guess it’s time to make a brew.

Still raining at the G. Still no sign of the big covers coming out. Still lots of people hanging around looking at radars on their phones. Still got love for the streets.

There’s not a lot of rain on the radar, just a few isolated showers as a consequence of all the heavy cloud that’s been lingering all day.

The groundstaff haven’t covered the entire square, so they’re clearly not expecting a long delay.

7th over: South Africa 15-1 (Erwee 7, de Bruyn 6) Another massive LBW call from Starc arcing the ball back into de Bruyn’s pads. Again it’s declined on-field, and again Cummins opts not to review. Ball tracking indicates this one was a Schrödinger’s out, with a couple of umpire’s calls indicating how close the decision was. Then the wide full sucker ball almost does for South Africa’s No 3. First he plays and misses, then thick edges a repeat delivery short of point. The crowd is well lubricated and in full voice. These are hostile conditions for the tourists.

6th over: South Africa 9-1 (Erwee 5, de Bruyn 3) Three overs, three maidens for captain Cummins. The ball’s doing just enough in the air and off the seam to keep the Proteas second guessing.

Back to Elgar and his not very enigmatic variations.

5th over: South Africa 9-1 (Erwee 5, de Bruyn 3) South Africa have yet to settle in these tough conditions and Starc’s ability to move the ball both ways (or the perception in the mind of the batter that he could) is playing havoc with shot selection. There’s a big shout for leg before against de Bruyne but Paul Reiffel makes a good decision to turn it down for swinging too much.

“I know that in the past lots of cruelty was allowed, and much of it was considered public entertainment,” emails Trevor Tutu, “but surely we live in better times than those? However cruel bear-baiting might have been, the friends family, relatives and compatriots of the bears were not forced to watch on TV and follow the proceedings on the OBO. I do not know how you aim to cheer me up from the gloom that has set in.”

Trevor, instead of cheering yourself up from the gloom, mine your discomfort for enlightenment with the magnificent Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared. It started life as a cult web series then recently transferred to a full TV series.

4th over: South Africa 4-1 (Erwee 1, de Bruyn 3) DROP! Warner shells a very tough chance at first slip low to his right. It looked a regulation edge from de Bruyn off the bat, but the seam stood proud and swung as it journeyed towards the cordon, in the manner we’re familiar with from watching visiting wicket-keepers struggle in England. Cummins is bowling with great rhythm.

3rd over: South Africa 4-1 (Erwee 1, de Bruyn 3) Erwee gets his team on the board with a neat push, then Starc gets one to straighten up to the right-handed de Bruyn, the ball catching the shoulder of the bat on its way down to third for three. The natural variation of Starc’s action is making both batters second guess their strokes, Erwee especially, first leaving tightly, then failing to commit to an uppercut. Very nervy.

2nd over: South Africa 0-1 (Erwee 0, de Bruyn 0) This is grim from South Africa. In the gloom Cummins pins de Bruyn on the crease with a ball that jags in sharply to a batter not offering a stroke. The LBW appeal is declined and Cummins opts not to review, probably on height. Australia are bullish. The next couple of hours do not bode well for the tourists.

Australia are adamant Pat Cummins has Dean Elgar caught down the legside. The umpires have sent the decision upstairs, the soft signal is out…

1st over: South Africa 0-0 (Erwee 0, Elgar 0) Starc shows no signs of discomfort as he bounds in over the wicket and hits a lovely line and length, shaping the first three deliveries away from the left-handed Erwee. The next couple leak down the legside before a sighter outside off completes the maiden.

There was a curio at the start of the innings as Australia were instructed to remove the sub fielder who took the field in place of Cameron Green. He was not one of the designated substitutes, so Marcus Harris had to come on in his place. Of course, JB immediately brings up Gary Pratt within earshot of Ricky Ponting.

Sarel Erwee is at the crease, Dean Elgar at the non-striker’s end. The floodlights are casting shadows across the pitch as the MCG is shrouded in dark clouds. This is not going to be a fun couple of hours for the Proteas.

And he moves briskly to the top of his mark as the players stride out for the final session of the day. His bowling hand is not taped. He is good to go, for now at least.

Mitchell Starc is out warming up between innings, putting his mallet finger through its paces.

It’s on the longlist, but nowhere close to England’s 702 run advantage over Australia at The Oval in 1938.

145th over: Australia 575-8 (Green 51, Starc 10) A hold up in play while Starc gets his helmet changed after being sconed by a Jansen bouncer that was too quick for the attempted hook. There’s a suggestion on Channel Seven that Australia wouldn’t mind Starc failing a concussion test so that they could legitimately substitute the paceman out of the game. We already know his broken finger will make it difficult for him to contribute in South Africa’s second innings.

Meanwhile…

144th over: Australia 573-8 (Green 50, Starc 9) Australia have now eased into the all-time top-ten innings hauls at the MCG, but they’re not finished yet. Starc brings the crowd to life by hooking a Nortje bouncer over the fine-leg fence for six!

142nd over: Australia 560-8 (Green 46, Starc 0) As the sky darkens over the MCG and the floodlights take full effect South Africa recall Anrich Nortje to the attack to pepper this pair’s damaged hands. Green handles him with aplomb and Starc isn’t forced to play.

“Sitting here writing my novel while the cricket is on,” emails Don Linke. “I was casting about for some outrageous character names. How about Cameron Green as a dashing hero, and Theunis de Bruyn as the wicked villain and Anrich Nortje as his nefarious sidekick. Playing SA is the gift that just keeps giving. Maybe you have some others for me?”

Colin de Grandhomme could be a puffed up nobleman who doesn’t realise he’s been cuckolded; Roston Chase the cad doing the dirty.

141st over: Australia 557-8 (Green 42, Starc 0) Australia now have two batters at the crease with dodgy digits. Starc’s gloves are immediately targeted, and after a back-foot defensive stroke he removes his protection and grimaces.

140th over: Australia 555-7 (Carey 110, Green 42) Five easily accumulated runs from Maharaj’s 42nd wicketless over.

139th over: Australia 550-7 (Carey 107, Green 40) Carey pulls Jansen for an early single. Green defends or leaves five further deliveries.

Here’s some niche AFL-cricket overlap content. For those who don’t know, Alex Carey used to play professional Australian Football for the GWS Giants.

138th over: Australia 549-7 (Carey 106, Green 40) Carey has reverse-swept Maharaj well all innings and he executes the stroke again for a couple of runs. We are now deep into #DeclarationSpeculation. The game has drifted somewhat since Carey’s ton.

137th over: Australia 546-7 (Carey 103, Green 40) A rare boundary for Green, nicking Jansen with soft hands through gully.

Some Carey stats for you:
- First century by an Australian WK since Brad Haddin in 2013.
- Carey just the seventh Australian WK to ever score a ton.
- Of the 32 Test centuries by Australian WKs, 17 were by Adam Gilchrist.

136th over: Australia 542-7 (Carey 103, Green 36) Green dabs away another Maharaj maiden. Australia must now only be playing for time, otherwise it’s hard to understand why Green is still out there.

135th over: Australia 541-7 (Carey 102, Green 36) A single apiece from Jansen’s latest over. Both batters have now faced at least 137 balls. Carey is striking at three-times Green’s rate.

It’s overcast, but the rain radar is clear for a significant distance around the MCG. There might be a light sprinkle at some point, but there’s no significant band of rain nearby.

134th over: Australia 539-7 (Carey 101, Green 35) I was expecting some tonk now that Carey has scaled his Everest, but Green has really laboured this innings and he again plays conservatively against Maharaj, dabbing away a maiden.

Johnny Gavigan “can’t understand why Australia are batting on. Green is just aggravating his finger injury. Utter madness!”. Perhaps, but with Green and Starc possibly out of the attack, they don’t want to heap too much work on the three fit bowlers, especially with so much time left in the match.

133rd over: Australia 539-7 (Carey 101, Green 35) Marco Jansen was brought on after drinks and Carey initially played and missed outside his off stump before driving a similar delivery through the covers for three. The centurion, and his batting partner, beamed all 66 yards as the crowd stood in applause. Lovely moment for Australian cricket.

Thanks GL. It’s great to be with you all this arvo, especially you fellas: JB, BJ, JL, June, Terry, Tubs, Sylvain Sylvain, and all the other ripper blokes at this mighty colosseum, the home of sport in the whole bloody world if you ask me. How good!? Leg speed, just quietly.

That’s actually harder to keep up than it looks. I don’t know how they all manage it for so long.

I may have had too much hot sauce during lunch. Keep me sane by sending me an email, or, if you haven’t yet abandoned the big bird app, tweet me @JPHowcroft.

That is the drinks break. A bit later than usual, I’m going to guess that’s because our session times were shifted about by the morning rain. But here we are, with Carey on the brink of a first Test ton, and Green pushing through. I’m out for the day, next in is Jonathan Philharmonic Howcroft.

132nd over: Australia 535-7 (Carey 98, Green 34) Another single to Carey, he’s doing it Wilfred Rhodes style. (Apocryphally.)

James Seddon is another who suggests Jack Russell. I’ll tell you what: I’ve compiled the full list by matches played. Philip Salom’s hunch was right, there have been very few overall, certainly very few long-termers. Here you go.

131st over: Australia 534-7 (Carey 97, Green 34) Only a single for Carey, not rushing. Green carves again through the cordon, on the bounce this time past slip. Ngidi bowling wide a lot today.

Andrew Harrison tweets in that Jack Russell was a left-handed wicketkeeper. I assume he means 1980s Jack Russell, not 1920s Jack Russell.

130th over: Australia 529-7 (Carey 96, Green 30) Reverse sweep for one, then gets the strike back. How does Carey play this on 95? Any chance he looks for a big one? Yes. Has a gallop at Maharaj, yorks himself, defends. Decides against that ploy and flicks a single square. Within a boundary.

129th over: Australia 526-7 (Carey 94, Green 29) Down to fine leg, and that’s Carey’s new top score in Tests. Now to make double figures into triple. Green throws the bat at Ngidi outside off stump, no contact.

128th over: Australia 525-7 (Carey 93, Green 29) The sore finger is bothering Green. He goes back to Maharaj and cuts hard for no run, then walks away shaking that hand. That must be why he doesn’t want to play any big shots.

127th over: Australia 524-7 (Carey 92, Green 29) Top shot from Carey. Gets across to Ngidi, inside the link, and plays a flicking pull shot behind square, splitting the boundary riders expertly for four. Hello, 90s. To party appropriately, he reaches for a very wide ball and carves it off the top edge over gully, for a moment scaring the crowd who see Bavuma lurking in the deep. But it doesn’t carry for a catch, just for a run. Zondo fields well to stop a well struck clip from Green at square leg, then Ngidi hits his pad but going down. They’re still trying, the South Africans. The last ball of the over jags again, cutting between inside edge and pad, but over the stumps.

126th over: Australia 519-7 (Carey 87, Green 29) Another stretch of Green blocking Maharaj. I wonder what his IPL team would have paid if they had seen a montage of his 29 from 106.

125th over: Australia 518-7 (Carey 86, Green 29) Rabada is spent. Ngidi comes on. Carey keeps collecting runs without fuss.

124th over: Australia 515-7 (Carey 83, Green 29) Three singles from Maharaj, whose bowling contribution is becoming increasingly token.

“Good to be reading you on cricket, as always,” Philip Salom writes. Thank you, good to hear from you. “Question: have there been a significant number of (Test) wicket-keepers who are left-handed?”

First it depends whether we mean those who batted left-handed, or are left-handed in broader life, because quite a lot of left-handed batters are right-handed for everything else (like Mike Hussey), just as right-hand bats can be lefties for the rest (like Michael Clarke or Travis Head).

If we mean left-handed bats, off the top of my head… Kumar Sangakkara and Adam Gilchrist would be pride of place. Quinton de Kock a recent South African one. Matthew Wade and Rishabh Pant, in this era. Andy Flower, Rod Marsh, in earlier ones. That’s all I can think of. Anyone else?

123rd over: Australia 512-7 (Carey 81, Green 28) Edged by Green! Fine of gully and away for four. More frustration for Rabada. A big plonky front-foot push at that ball. Wonder how that will play in England next year. Rabada bounces him, he ducks, and signals for fresh gloves.

122nd over: Australia 508-7 (Carey 81, Green 24) Carey went past 600 career runs with that last boundary, and has his average above 40. Good going in 19 innings. The wind is picking up out there, it’s very cloudy now with the lights coming on, and the temperature has dropped a lot. Down to 20 degrees now. One run from Maharaj.

121st over: Australia 507-7 (Carey 81, Green 23) The 500 comes up. Smooth from Carey, he swivels on a short ball and deflects it over fine leg. Takes his eyes off it at the last minute but had the bat in place. Then reaches for the next ball, also short, and flips it over first slip. Very rude to Rabada, who decks one in and hits the pad, but high and going down leg. Nobody else supports the appeal.

120th over: Australia 497-7 (Carey 72, Green 22) I’m seeing some more declaration chat flying around. Honestly – why would they declare? There is literally no advantage to Australia. It is day three of five. Let your players who have lacked time in the middle bat for as long as they want. Get so far ahead that South Africa have no hope of getting back in the game. Wear them out in the field and let your own team rest so that your undermanned bowling attack has its best chance of getting through them quickly when the time comes.

119th over: Australia 494-7 (Carey 71, Green 20) Rabada continues, Green happy to play a couple of pull shots. He only gets onto one, scores a couple more runs. Still, he’s growing into this innings. The lead is 305.

118th over: Australia 491-7 (Carey 70, Green 18) More singles from the spinner.

117th over: Australia 489-7 (Carey 69, Green 17) Down the ground goes Carey, a lofted off drive from Rabada for four. Nice shot, it takes him to his second highest score in Tests. His best so far is 93.

116th over: Australia 485-7 (Carey 65, Green 17) Carey keeps trying to work Maharaj to the leg side and eventually succeeds, driving off the back foot wide of mid on.

115th over: Australia 484-7 (Carey 64, Green 17) The injury has taken us back to Cam Green Mach 1, the batter who would just endure at the crease. Tucks a couple of runs away from Rabada and goes to 17 from 70 balls.

114th over: Australia 481-7 (Carey 63, Green 15) Maharaj to carry on his pre-lunch spell, not Nortje as it was at this time yesterday. The left-armer is bowling around the wicket to Green, who is using his long stride to get forward and smother the ball. Six times in a row, a rare scoreless over. How rare? The sixth in this innings. Ngidi has bowled two, everyone else one.

113th over: Australia 481-7 (Carey 63, Green 15) Rabada with the first volley, whipping through with decent pace and taking Carey’s inside edge into pad. A couple of singles from the over. Mitchell Starc is padded up in the dressing room, so he will bat despite that damaged finger on his left hand. He hurt it while trying to take a catch on day one.

Lunch is done, a big bowl of painkillers and milk for Cameron Green, presumably, and the players are returning to the field.

112th over: Australia 479-7 (Carey 62, Green 14) Last shot before lunch goes to Maharaj. Has not threatened at all in this match. He’s trying to give the ball a bit of air time, make the batters overthink, but it doesn’t work. Lunch.

111th over: Australia 478-7 (Carey 61, Green 14) Nortje battles on, but they’re finding ways to score singles from him now. Carey drives him to deep cover for three, although Green stumbles while turning for the second. Bowling speed in this over is more like 140 than 150. Green keeps handling the length bowled at his body.

110th over: Australia 473-7 (Carey 57, Green 13) Spin time. Or, all of our fast bowlers are tired time. Maharaj comes on with ten minutes until lunch. Green gets some running repairs from the medicos before the over. Carey tries a reverse sweep and misses it, dicey for a moment as the ball deflects off pad to slip. Tries the other kind of sweep and gets a run, then gets his reverse right once Green gives him back the strike.

109th over: Australia 470-7 (Carey 55, Green 12) Have to give credit to Green, he is handling Nortje well. Even drives a couple of runs through cover and happily returns for the second. Nortje tries coming around the wicket to bowl at Green’s body, but the batter stays in behind each ball and defends it away.

108th over: Australia 468-7 (Carey 55, Green 10) Jansen tries bouncing Green, who pulls, bottom edge into the ground near his feet and they rush a single. One slip and one gully for Carey, two out on the hook along with a very fine deep third and a deep backward point. Not an inspiring field, and Jansen’s short stuff keeps looping down the leg side anyway.

The aptly named Yum must be a gastronome. “Sending SA in and bowling them out cheaply was a nice entree, baking them all day and finishing with a double ton from Warner in his 100th was a delicious main course, these late order runs are a tasty dessert and the hat trick of 4s from Carey was an after-dinner mint.”

107th over: Australia 465-7 (Carey 53, Green 9) On cue, here is Nortje. Another switch of ends, back to the southern approach, and I’m not sure about Carey’s decision to take a single first ball. Block or bash might have been the better approach. Not that Green looks fazed. He anticipates the length at his gloves and keeps them high to play over the top of the ball. Then for some reach Nortje pitches fuller, not yorker length, and Green gets his first runs since retirement yesterday, driving three down the round.

Plenty of time left in the match, John! If Carey knows that the other end is solid, he can keep scoring quickly enough.

106th over: Australia 461-7 (Carey 52, Green 6) Weirdly formulaic captaincy from Elgar. Surely if the Australians send out Green, you ask Nortje to dig deep for another couple of overs. What is most likely to unsettle him? Jansen continues, hasn’t looked a threat as yet. Was very good in Brisbane. If he’s trying to make Green uncomfortable with a shorter length, bowling down the leg side doesn’t help.

104th over: Australia 447-7 (Carey 38, Green 6) Similar from Jansen, Green seeing it off after Carey turns over the strike.

103rd over: Australia 446-7 (Carey 37, Green 6) Alex Carey is like Victorian wine country: some lovely drives in all directions. Keeps finding the field though: straight, on side, off side. Eventually gets a run. Green just stands up and defends the one ball he has to face from Ngidi. The lead is 257.

102nd over: Australia 445-7 (Carey 36, Green 6) Jansen beanpoles up to Carey, places the ball on a length, and gets driven for four. Takes a single to follow. Green looks pretty tentative through the rest of the over, poking around at the line angled across him.

Cameron Green is back. Boland was the last fully fit batter left. The risk of exacerbating Green’s injury, index finger of his right hand, seems high. I wonder if he’s here to swing hard for a short time, or whether they want longer support for Carey playing well.

100th over: Australia 432-6 (Carey 30, Lyon 18) The ton of overs up for South Africa, a milestone they don’t want. Rabada and Maharaj have already raised their hundreds of runs conceded. Marco Jansen comes on to give Nortje a rest, left-arm over the wicket from the MCC end. A plastic bag drifts across the pitch, American Beauty style. Nobody appreciates its mundane majesty as they chase it around. Jansen is aiming in at the pads, Carey is knocking it leg side but not scoring. Finally does score from width, way too short, poor bowling and it’s uppercut for four.

99th over: Australia 428-6 (Carey 26, Lyon 18) Nathan Lyon’s highest Test score is against South Africa, that 47 that he slapped in Cape Town before being caught at cover going for the half-century. Well, perhaps he’s on for it today. Chips a couple of runs to leg from Rabada, misses a huge swing across the line, then picks up a pull shot from outside leg stump and lifts it for six! Same shot that he kept playing to Mark Wood last summer for the same result. I can’t remember ever seing him hit a pull in front of square, but he hits them behind square just fine.

98th over: Australia 420-6 (Carey 26, Lyon 10) Carey lights one up! On to 420 as he lays into Nortje. That ball wasn’t full but Carey swats it off a length, down the ground for four.

Andrew Benton is of a similar mind to me in his email. “Nortje’s got a brilliant 19th century moustache, don’t you think? Probably even better in black and white.” He also asks about Ben Stokes saying that there are too many internationals.

I don’t think it’s as straightforward as that. Most countries, remember, play very few. Emerging countries have sparse schedules because they can’t afford to host series, and certainly long-form cricket. So the big few countries play a lot and the rest don’t. If only there were some form of equalisation from a communal central body… no, that could never happen.

The English players have really banged on about that ODI series against Australia after the T20 Cup. But those were the only three ODIs in the whole Australian season from October to March. Is that too much cricket just because they didn’t want to play it? Not convinced. What would be better to shift, and what England have done lately, is having a bigger group of players to draw from rather than the same 15 or so all the time.

97th over: Australia 416-6 (Carey 22, Lyon 10) Pull shot for Carey, only one run, but that gives Lyon the chance to unfurl a quality flick off the pads for four. Follows up with two runs past the bowler. “I can’t bat,” is one of his go-to lines in press conferences. It’s not quite that straightforward.

96th over: Australia 409-6 (Carey 21, Lyon 4) Nortje with a shot at tailenders, if he can get Carey off strike. He nearly gets him out, Carey pushing at a line outside off stump. Good seam position and movement away from the lefty. He has bowled so well in trying conditions. Very upright run to the crease, knees high like a one-man cavalry, very 1800s moustache, then launches into his delivery stride with such power. Thrust and riposte, after five balls, as Carey leans back and thrashes four through the covers. Then takes a single off his toes to keep the strike. Quality batting.

95th over: Australia 404-6 (Carey 16, Lyon 4) Almost another for South Africa! Nathan Lyon pokes at Rabada and nicks him over the slips for four. It’s all happening at the MCG, says Bill Lawry somewhere.

94th over: Australia 399-5 (Carey 15, Cummins 4) What an over. Last ball of it, Cummins reaches for width and steers it for four. Australia from three down to five down, which may well be seven down effectively.

Cummins survives the hat-trick ball! Gets behind it and defends it away.

Pat Cummins to the middle. No Green or Starc as yet.

93rd over: Australia 393-3 (Head 49, Carey 15) Two slips, gully, deep backward point for Rabada, but none of them stop Carey playing a back cut that goes fine of the sweeper for four. Quality shot.

92nd over: Australia 389-3 (Head 49, Carey 11) Nortje to start, as was the case yesterday, and he picks up where he left off after Carey nudges a loosener for one run. Nasty bouncer over Head’s back shoulder, squaring him up and making him duck. Head gets off strike, Carey plays off the back foot, eventually picking up a run Warner style by dropping it down into the leg side.

The players are out and we’re about to get under way.

The rain looks to have stopped. Stay tuned.

“Green has a small fracture to his right index finger,” says CA. Will bat if needed, though. That seems foolish. Won’t bowl. Will miss the Sydney Test and try to get back for the India Test tour starting in February.

Speaking of Nortje, here was his own injury incident yesterday, after the broadcaster’s annoying cable camera smashed into him at high pace.

Ok, news just in: Green’s finger is broken. He won’t bowl again in the match. Doubt he’ll be flying around in the gully either. Hope it gets better in time for his IPL payday. It shows you how tough Nortje was to face yesterday.

The injuries are going to be a big factor today. Mitch Starc was originally ruled unlikely to bowl in the third innings with a sore finger, but that was when Cam Green was there as back-up. Green’s injury from batting looked more troublesome than Starc’s – his whole knuckle on his main bowling finger was swollen and cut open after being hit by Nortje. So if he’s out, does Starc come back into calculations? Or do they both sit out and it all falls to Cummins, Boland, Lyon, with some Labuschagne or Smith? That could still be enough to see off this South African side, but the visitors might have a chance to exert pressure the other way for once. I would guess that given those injuries, Australia will bat for as long as possible, no declarations.

As for yesterday: David Warner, 100th Test, under pressure, tough conditions, 200 not out. That’s the main bit. For the details, here’s my match report.