ALL 10 WICKETS! Aussies Collapse to 99 | 09:55
Courtney Walsh in South Africa from Fox SportsOctober 22nd, 2026 8:11 am
An old foe has branded Australia’s batting performance at St George’s Park on Wednesday “pretty gutless” while there were renewed calls for Marnus Labuschagne to pay the ultimate price after a Day 4 brainfade.
Former Protea bowler Vernon Philander loved to stick it to the Australians when playing and did not miss in the broadcast box after the tourists were bowled out for 99 in 42.3 overs.
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“It is almost like they have thrown in the towel,” he said on SEN.
“We know Steven Smith has been struggling with that neck injury but everyone else. It is a pretty gutless batting performance that, so far.”
After resuming at 1 for 3 in response to South Africa’s first innings total of 425, Australia succumbed to a combination of stunning bowling and wayward shotmaking.
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On a humiliating day for the tourists, South
On a humiliating day for the tourists, South African skipper Temba Bavuma had no hesitation in enforcing the follow-on with Australia needing to survive another five sessions.
It was the 40th time in Test history Australia had been all out for less than 100 runs and just the third follow-on they’ve faced since the 1980s; the others were at the SCG in 2019, when India desperately sought a result which became impossible due to rain, and at Trent Bridge in 2005.
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Remarkably it left South Africa in position to win a Test match where they’d been 5/97 after two days of very limited play.
A decade after the Proteas routed Australia
A decade after the Proteas routed Australia in Hobart, which caused a massive selection overhaul, former opener Simon Katich said several tourists are batting for their careers.
“The only one who can excuse themselves is Steve Smith. He made it as hard as possible, and he looked in severe discomfort with that neck injury,” said Katich, who has been broadcasting on Fox Sports through this series.
“There is a difference between trying and getting through that period with technique and application. There are a number of players in this line up that are playing for their careers in this innings.”
Katich said he believed the shock at reducing
Katich said he believed the shock at reducing the Proteas to 6-110 at the start of Day 3, only to start the innings 425 runs behind, had destabilised the Aussies.
“I saw pressure get to a number of them, obviously,” he said.
“With 425 on the board, it is not often the Australian team is in this situation, particularly when they have won the toss and put the opposition in.
“Maybe the shock of the situation and the unknown, not sure how to deal with it. It is a foreign situation to them.”
After being dismissed for a four-ball duck late
After being dismissed for a four-ball duck late on day three, Nic Maddison was gone for 8 (9) just 2.4 overs into Australia’s second innings, then was followed by Matt Renshaw (11), Beau Webster (8) and Labuschagne (39).
It was for Labuschagne and his dismissal the strongest reaction of the day was saved, with the Queenslander scolded for a rush of blood to the head that saw Australia four-down at stumps.
Having earned a repreieve for lbw moments earlier on 36, Labuschagne wasted his second life when he holed out while trying to take Simon Harmer over the ropes.
What the hell is that, Katich said
“What the hell is that,” Katich said in SEN commentary, while Gerard Whateley described it as a moment of “complete and utter madness”.
And the scolding didn’t end there.
“He really does get lost in this Bermuda Triangle,” Whateley added. “That is just daft cricket.
“I just think if Australia was to lose this Test match, he has to be dropped now. Just as a matter of principal.
“We cannot tolerate this from our senior players.”
Katich also questioned how much longer Labuschagne can cling onto his position.
How many players in the history of Australian
“How many players in the history of Australian cricket have been given this many opportunities without scoring a hundred?” he said.
“Back in the day, you were lucky if you didn’t get dropped after missing 10 times.”
He added: “He can hang his head backwards and think he’s unlucky, but you’re trying to hang on for a draw and you try and go downtown into the breeze after getting a repreieve, you have to wonder what’s going through his mind.
“And it’s not like it’s a one-off. This has been going on for three years.”
– with Max Laughton and Jacob Polychronis
Source: www.foxsports.com.au
