Inglis Unbeaten on 85 as Australia Edge Ahead in Cape Town

Australia have taken a one-run lead in the decisive third Test against South Africa, reaching 330-4 at the close of day two in Cape Town. Josh Inglis is not out on 85, and the match is finely balanced.

South Africa had batted first and made 329, with Ackerman scoring 95. Mitchell Starc then bowled Australia back into the contest, taking 6-72. Starc's six wickets were the biggest single haul of the innings, and they gave Australia a real chance to dismiss the hosts cheaply.

Australia's reply began shakily. Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne were both out early, leaving the tourists under pressure. Labuschagne's innings was brief. He faced five deliveries without scoring, and was caught at slip by Aiden Markram off the bowling of spinner Simon Harmer for a duck.

The innings recovered through a run of fifties. Matt Renshaw, Cameron Green and Inglis each passed 50. Renshaw made 74 in Cape Town, a little over a week after scoring a career-best 190 in Durban in the first Test. Inglis has carried the innings since, and he is still at the crease.

Marco Jansen, the South Africa fast bowler, took 2-37 in the Cape Town Test. Jansen was the standout bowler of the previous match in Gqeberha, where he took 5-33 in Australia's first innings. That game went South Africa's way by an innings and 31 runs, levelling the series at one match each.

Steve Smith will not play in this match. He has been ruled out with a neck injury, according to BBC Sport. Smith's absence removes one of Australia's most experienced batters from the middle order.

Labuschagne's position is the most closely watched thread of the match. He has now gone 48 innings without a Test century, which the BBC describes as a record wait for an Australian top-order batter. His last hundred came at Old Trafford in 2023, and since then he averages 24.77 in Test cricket. Across the first two Tests in South Africa, he scored 37, 37, 14 and 39.

For casual fans, a Test is a five-day contest, and the first team to bowl out the other side twice wins outright. A lead of one run after two days means very little in itself. The third and fourth days will decide whether Australia's batters can turn a narrow advantage into a total that South Africa must chase. The fifth day, when a worn pitch can crack and spin, often decides the close finishes.

The match runs until October 31, with play starting at 10:30am local time in Cape Town. Australia's lead will stand at one run until Inglis and the tail add to it.