South Africa vs Australia 2016: Peter Siddle ruled out of 2nd Test

At the same time, Australia in the last two outings at Hobart scored heavily against Sri Lanka and West Indies but South Africa are a quality side.

“While we expect bowlers to be sore after Test matches, this was slightly worse than we expected and given that he was returning from a significant back injury”, Australia team physiotherapist David Beakley said.

Asked if Australia have lost some of their previously famed aggression, he said: “Yes and no”. When we put the ball in Lyon’s hands, the ball softened and got a bit wet on one of the sides.

As a result, they are looking to move back up the ICC Test rankings after dropping from first to sixth at the start of this year. In fact, you might as well not even go to bed.

That might have been cause for concern were it not for the manner of their victory in Perth, where the performances of South Africa’s newer players proved critical. “We lost Dale, who is a key part of our team, but everyone played their part and we came out victorious”. “If you want to win Test matches, you’ll get small opportunities in games where it’s 50-50, where either you take that pressure and get through that moment to get on top again, or you don’t and you fall behind the game”, he said.

He has done a brilliant job as stand in captain, winning the home Test series against New Zealand, whitewashing Australia in the home ODI series and now starting strong on this tour.

Suffering a slight hamstring strain, struggling middle-order batsman Adam Voges passed a fitness test, but must still be given the all-clear to play by Australian selectors. Former vice-captain Brad Haddin also queried the tactic in a column for ESPNCricinfo on Friday, saying: “I wonder how much confidence the decision to hold him back showed in him”. But by the end of the Test, the Australians were falling apart like the WACA pitch. What won’t change is the overhanging cloud, at least not for the rest of this week. Australia, through Josh Hazlewood, have made clear their envy of South Africa’s ability to get the ball moving.

Rabada is shaping as a ideal long-term replacement for Steyn, having also claimed the wickets of Shaun Marsh (15), Smith (34) and Adam Voges (1) on the fourth day.

“If you get a wicket, reverse-swing will always be more hard for guys coming in”. I faced a brilliant spell from (Mitchell) Starc. “The guys are in a good place, we’re a tight-knit group and we’re ready to hopefully turn this around this week”.

But it is “not a deliberate tactic”, according to Elgar.

Those are things Smith, who retired more than two years ago, does not have to think about anymore and it’s allowed him to say some of the things he may have been thinking in his playing days. If he makes the grade in Hobart he will join Chris Rogers and Voges as players who have recently been given chances in their 30s.