South Africa were bowled out for less than 200 for the fifth successive Test innings, before an unbeaten 78 from Travis Head helped put Australia in a strong position in the first Test at The Gabba.
Dean Elgar's team were torn apart by Australia's bowling attack on day one as the Proteas were dismissed inside 50 overs for just 152.
The hosts also wobbled initially on a fast pitch, but Head and Steve Smith (36) steadied the ship from 27-3, though a couple of late wickets gave South Africa some hope of getting back into the game.
A tentative start from the tourists saw them reduced to 27-4, and things could have been significantly worse had it not been for a partnership of 98 between Temba Bavuma and Kyle Verreyne, before the former was bowled by Mitchell Starc for 38.
That began another batting collapse, with Verreyne eventually falling to Nathan Lyon for 62 as the tail failed to wag.
South Africa struck immediately in reply though as David Warner struggled with a short delivery from Kagiso Rabada off the first ball of the Australian first innings and was caught well by Khaya Zondo for a golden duck.
Marnus Labuschagne (11) edged Marco Jansen's first ball into the hands of Elgar before Usman Khawaja (11) also nudged an Anrich Nortje delivery to sub Simon Harmer in the slips.
After a reprieve when a review showed an edge had dropped just short of Elgar, Head took full advantage as he brought up his half-century off just 48 balls.
A partnership of 117 with Smith was ended by Nortje before the close as he sent a terrific delivery into Smith's stumps, before Rabada dismissed nightwatchman Scott Boland (1) off the last ball of the day, though Head remained unbeaten on 78 from just 77 balls as Australia closed on 145-5.
Balanced Aussie bowling downs Proteas
The key to a potent bowling attack – especially in Test cricket – is teamwork and variation, and Australia have that in spades.
South Africa's was an innings of two halves, with Starc (3-41), Pat Cummins (2-35) and Boland (2-28) all picking up early wickets, before the consistent spin of Lyon mopped things up, with the 35-year-old ending with figures of 3-14.
Head leads the way
It has been a very interesting innings from Head, looking nervous after scoring just two from his first 16 deliveries, before deciding to just go for it and smashing 51 from his next 32.
He even brought up his 50 with a six down the leg side, making a mockery of the struggles experienced by almost every other batsman on day one, ending with 14 boundaries (13 fours) to his name by the close.
Barbados to welcome Oman early for preparation camp ahead of T20 World Cup
As the much-anticipated ICC Men’s T20 World Cup draws closer, Barbados will welcome West Asian team Oman to the island for their pre-tournament camp ahead of the global showpiece to be hosted jointly in the Caribbean and United States.
While in Barbados, Oman’s camp, scheduled for May 14-24, will also include three T20 matches – two against a Barbados Select XI, and one match against University of the West Indies –as they fine tune preparations for the June 1-29 World Cup.
The camp is being organised by former England batsman and West Indies Senior Men’s Selector Roland Butcher, who saw it fit to assist Oman in getting acclimatised to the Eastern Caribbean Island, which will host a number of games throughout the tournament, including the final.
“It is great that the Oman team will be coming out to Barbados early for their pre-tournament camp. They will use the period to get acclimatised to the conditions, as quick as possible. We are delighted to have them in Barbados – this country is the ideal place to start their preparations,” Butcher said.
“We believe the time spent here will be hugely beneficial towards them putting on a good showing in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024,” he added.
Duleep Mendis, the former Sri Lanka captain and Oman’s Head Coach expressed his team’s delight and anticipation ahead of their arrival in Barbados.
“It is one of the cricket locations which we all dream of visiting and we want to make the most of our time as we prepare. We have high ambitions in this tournament, and we want to focus on our plans from the moment we touch down in a country which is known for its cricket culture and heroes,” Mendis shared.
Oman recently named their World Cup squad, which will be led by all-rounder Aqib Ilyas, who takes the reins from Zeeshan Maqsood. This year’s World Cup will mark Oman’s third appearance in the last four editions of the tournament, which underlines their success and consistency in performing at the global level.
Oman enjoyed a dazzling 2023 campaign, as they copped the Gulf Cricket Cup, followed by an unbeaten run in the ICC T20 World Cup Asia qualifiers, which secured their spot in the upcoming tournament. They were also runners-up in this year’s ACC Premier Cup.
The West Asian team, drawn in Group B alongside Australia, England, Scotland, and Namibia, will open their T20 World Cup campaign against the latter, in Barbados, on June 2.
'We weren't efficient' - Marquinhos bemoans PSG profligacy after Champions League exit
Marquinhos believes Paris Saint-Germain paid for their profligacy after suffering Champions League semi-final heartbreak against Borussia Dortmund.
Mats Hummels' second-half header from a Julian Brandt corner - the only goal at Parc des Princes - wrapped up a 2-0 aggregate victory for the Bundesliga side, who advanced to their third final and first since 2013.
Meanwhile, PSG's wait to land the elusive European crown goes on, despite a whopping 44 shots across the two legs, while they also struck the woodwork on six occasions - their overall tally of 14 the most recorded by a team during a single campaign.
Indeed, Luis Enrique's side failed to find the net in a home match for the first time since their 0-0 draw with Lorient in their first Ligue 1 match of the season, as their hopes of completing the treble vanished for another year.
"We lacked efficiency," Marquinhos told Canal+. "They scored two goals from corners and a through ball that we had worked on. We had to defend better. These are small details.
"We created chances, a lot more than them. We weren't efficient. They were efficient, they scored two goals and won both matches."
But despite the disappointment, the PSG skipper urged his team-mates to focus on the positives from their run to the semi-finals.
They recovered from a disappointing 4-1 defeat against Newcastle United to finish second behind Dortmund in Group F, before overturning a 4-2 aggregate deficit to deny Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
"There are a lot of things to take away from this competition," Marquinhos added. "At the beginning of the season, no one believed that we would get this far. We've overcome a lot of obstacles, we shouldn't throw everything away now just because we're eliminated.
"You have to remember that it's a new team, with a new coach. There are some positives to bring back for next season. We wanted to go to Wembley for the fans and our families.
"You have to stay calm after the elimination. It's very hard. We've come very close. We had to win tonight and be more efficient."
IPL: Royals downed by big-hitting Capitals
Rajasthan Royals failed to chase down the Delhi Capitals, who claimed a 20-run victory in the Indian Premier League on Tuesday.
Sanju Samson struck 86 off 46 balls for the second-placed Royals, but the Capitals successfully defended their haul of 221.
Jake Fraser-McGurk's 20-ball 50 set the tone for the Capitals, who are well in the play-off hunt with two matches remaining.
Fellow opener Abishek Porel plundered 65, with Tristan Stubbs adding a useful 41 towards the end of the innings, with Ravichandran Ashwin (3-24) the only Royals bowler to do significant damage.
Kuldeep Yadav (2-25) and Mukesh Kumar (2-30) led the way with the ball for Delhi, with the latter taking the vital wicket of Samson in the 16th over, leaving the Royals with too much to do from 162-4.
Delhi have won three of their last four matches and are making a late run for the play-offs, as one of four teams tied on 12 points.
Data Debrief: Samson soars
It took Samson just 31 minutes to amass 86 runs before he was eventually dismissed, with the loss of his wicket all but ending the Royals' hopes.
In the process, he moved into third place in the IPL run-scorers chart, up from 11th, with 471 runs to his name this season. He trails only Ruturaj Gaikwad (541) and Virat Kohli (542).
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