Proteas win toss, bowl in Hobart

Australia were forced into two changes from the Perth Test line-up with opener Shaun Marsh breaking a finger and paceman Peter Siddle suffering a back strain. Also, this is the first time since making their debut in 2004 that neither Dale Steyn nor De Villiers will be involved in a Test match for South Africa.

“They are in the same boat as us”.

Marsh was steady with the ball in the first Test but his run of poor form with the bat continued with scores of 0 and 26, well short of the century that chairman of selectors Rod Marsh wanted to see from the young West Australian.

“We will have to see who replaces Steyn but Rabada will be the key, how we handle him”, he said. “Hopefully we can get off to a good start this morning”.

We will monitor his recovery and have a better idea of when he will return to play in the next week or so”, Beakley added, ” according to espncricinfo.com.

JP Duminy made 141 and Dean Elgar 127, putting on 250 for the third wicket in South Africa’s second-innings 540-8 declared.

He drew support from an unlikely ally on Friday when Faf du Plessis, the Proteas’ stand-in captain, appeared to dispute Graeme Smith’s assessment of the Australian cricket, saying: “From the outside the Australian team culture looks the same as always to me”. “It is 99 percent impossible to win with two seamers … somehow we managed to do it”.

“Mitch Marsh is not performing well, like a lot of people”, Warne said.

Du Plessis said spinner Keshav Maharaj could be a shock omission, paving the way for Morkel and Abbott to play. “I am incredibly proud of him”.

During Rabada’s absence, Temba Bavuma was called on to bowl his medium pace for the first time in his 12 Tests – and hit Khawaja’s pads bang in front of the stumps with his first delivery.

“It’s not nice losing the best bowler in the world”, Rabada said. “And I guess that’s a strength of the Shield competition, so it was a very enjoyable challenge. No one likes to lose”.

The partnership was worth 22 when Bavuma at short leg dropped a hard chance to dismiss Hazlewood off Duminy’s bowling. The lower order rallied around Peter Nevill (60 not out) to delay the inevitable until tea.

Both teams are nursing some exhausted bowlers, with Australia’s Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Siddle and Mitchell Marsh all “pretty sore”. He finished with seven wickets for the match.

Following an impressive 177-run win over hosts Australia, visitors South Africa get all set to take the hosts once again in the second of the three-Test series at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Saturday.

Smith also confirmed the availability of Adam Voges who suffered soreness in his left hamstring in the Perth Test, which meant that the addition of another batsman would have to come at the expense of a bowler.