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Fired up ... Dale Steyn was at his intimidating best on Sunday afternoon. Source: Adam Head / News Limited
Australia and South Africa will be itching to get out onto the field after day two of the first Test at the Gabba was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
1st Test - Gabba
9 November 2012 - Day 3, Session 3
Australia 1st Innings
| E. Cowan | 47 | 67 | 8 | 0 | 70.15 |
| M. Clarke | 34 | 52 | 5 | 0 | 65.38 |
| M. Morkel | 6.2 | 1 | 23 | 2 | 3.63 |
Australia will need a stack of early wickets to try force the issue, while South Africa's batsman will look to pile on more runs to make the only possible results a draw or a Proteas victory.
Live
First ball: 11:00 AM November 9, 2012
Location: Gabba
Match Summary
Australia: 3/107
South Africa: 9/450
The good news is the rain in Brisbane has cleared, and it looks set to stay away for the remainder of the Test match.
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Latest comments (all times AEDT)
1818: Brad of Dover Heights says: Antony, your blogging has really been supurb. I have been stuck to the computer screen in anticipation of your next posting. Really good, well done.
Antony says: Pull the other one, Brad!
1816: FOUR! Another boundary from Clarke, this time on the leg side as Morkel strays onto the body and Clarke clips it down to the rope at fine leg. AUS 3-106
1814: FOUR! Ooh, that was streaky from Clarke. He drove at one away from his body, got a thick edge and watched the ball race away to the third man boundary. The Proteas won't mind that too much, although it brings up 100 for Australia. AUS 3-102
1812: Morkel comes back into the attack to replace the disappointing Kleinveldt.
1810: Mouse says: Geez guys, how about giving the South African attack a bit of credit. Steyn is clearly the best fast bowler in the world right now, and maybe South Africa's best ever. But I know, you're all experts. None of you wanted Cowan dropped before this game, right.
Antony says: Well said, Mouse.
1807: Scroll down for a nice pic of Warner trudging back to the pavillion after he got out. The man doesn't look too happy.
1806: FOUR! Another short ball from Kleinveldt, and it results in another boundary, with Clarke cutting it behiind square. Kleinveldt hasn't been too impressive thus far, but plenty of time to make up for it tomorrow. AUS 3-94
1804: Meanwhile, Mark from BrisVegas has an update on his Sunday yum cha experience: Antony - Yum cha tip; have it with Oolong tea. Ditch the beer or Coke and go the Oolong. BTW, the GF was so happy after shopping she said, "hey we need to go supermarket shopping. Wait, I will go, you stay and watch the cricket." Keeper.
Antony says: Hang onto that one, Mark.
1801: The lights are on at the Gabba, although the natural light doesn't look too bad. Hopefully we make it all the way to 6.30pm EDT (5.30pm local time).
1755: Ben of Hobart says: Looking around Aus at the moment my top order for the next test would be Watson (if fit), Cowan, Khawaja/Quiney (Quiney was looking good and was unlucky to get out on the boundary), Clark, ponting, Huss. If Watson doesn't get fit, then definitely Khawaja after his innings against Tas. Then when Ponting and Huss are ready to stand down, Burns and Doolan have come on well this season and I'd love to see Bailey in the test team. (Now that's spoken like a true tasmanian Antony, look how many tassie references I got in this time)
Antony says: Haha touche Ben, well played. Does Watson count as a Tasmanian?
1752: FOUR! That's yet another pull shot from Ed Cowan, and once again it races to the mid-wicket boundary! Kleinveldt was the bowler this time. FOUR! And the very next ball, Kleinveldt bowls short outside off and Cowan plays a beautiful late cut that goes for four. They're gifting Cowan runs here, and he's made his way to 43. AUS 3-87
1746: FOUR! FOUR! Another nice shot from Cowan, getting onto the back foot and cutting a short one from Kleinveldt behind point. He follows that up with a good pull shot in front of square that also runs away to the boundary. Cowan really looks in the zone here. AUS 3-74
1743: Kleinveldt comes into the attack to bowl his first over in Test cricket.
1741: Andrew of mount isa says: When does the play finish today? at work till 5 and would mind seeing a few wickets in the Australian collaspe?
Antony says: We're on track for a 6.30pm EDT finish (5.30pm local time), unless bad light intervenes.
1738: FOUR! Morkel bowls a loose one, short and wide, and Clarke cuts it in the air for four. Follows it up with a nice flick off his pads for three. AUS 3-62
1736: Dawso says: i picked it.. 3/40. Warner is NOT AN OPENER!!!! Watson needs to be in that opening spot. Quiney should not be batting at 3 in his debut test, ponting needs to bat at 5 so hes not as exposed to the new ball. Terrible batting line up.
Antony says: I take your points, Dawso, but with Watson injured now, and you had Ponting at five, Quiney not at three and Warner not opening, just who exactly would be in your batting lineup?
1732: FOUR! That's more like it from Clarke. Philander drops short and wide, and Clarke accepts it with glee, crunching a cut shot through cover for four. AUS 3-52
1729: RMB of Brisbane says: Pathetic. Our brittle top order crumbles again. All this talk about Cowan struggling to retain his spot, what about Warner? He has got past 50 only three times in 17 innings. Surely questions have to be asked about him as well. His technique, or lack thereof, like Hughes, gets found at Test level.
1726: Pete from QLD asks: Just wondering - if Kleinveldt's 2nd & 3rd scoring shots were 6s. Has anyone ever scored 6s earlier in their Test career?
Antony says: That's a very good question Pete. I can confirm Kleinveldt's second and third scoring shots were 6s. Anyone out there know if this has ever been done before?
1724: Clarke and Cowan just trying to settle things down now, playing a lot more cautiously and with good reason.
1720: DANIEL from Wollongong says: Why is Warner in this team anyway? He is just not a test player, he is all aggression no technique or skill. Quiney or Khawaja should take over and Warner should be forgotten as a failed experiment.
Antony says: To be fair to Warner, he was beaten by a good ball today, rather than getting out due to an aggressive shot.
1715: CLOSE! Philander comes back into the attack to replace Steyn, and induces a loose stroke from the new batsman, Michael Clarke, that just misses the outside edge.
1710: Cole says: Australia is in trouble now!!
Antony says: You can say that again!
1709: WICKET! (Ponting 0, c Kallis b Morkel, AUS 3-40). That's almost a carbon copy of the Warner wicket, but with a right hander instead of a leftie. Ponting reaches for one outside off, edges it to second slip and Kallis does the rest.
1707: FOUR! And Cowan's done it again! Another short ball from Steyn, another pull shot down to the boundary, even with the man back on the rope at square leg. Impressive stuff from Cowan. AUS 2-40
1705: FOUR! Another confident pull shot from Cowan, this time off Steyn, and the ball races to the square leg boundary. Well, the wickets falling around him don't seem to be deterring Cowan from playing his shots. And that brings about a field change, with short leg moving back to deep square. That'll stop Cowan from playing that stroke again, you'd think. AUS 2-34
1659: WICKET! (Quiney 9, c Steyn b Morkel, AUS 2-30). Quiney is caught by Steyn right on the fine leg boundary! The Aussie batsman really got hold of a pull shot that at one stage looked like it would clear the rope, but Steyn did well to stop the ball on his first attempt, and then throw it up in the air so he didn't overbalance, before catching it safely inside the field of play. Australia two down now, with Ponting joining Cowan in the middle.
1657: FOUR! Morne Morkel comes into the attack in place of Philander, but his first ball is flicked by Quiney down to the fine leg boundary for four. AUS 1-30
1655: Julian Butterworth sent this in just before Steyn dismissed Warner: With all the talk about Cowan we may just find out how good Warner is. I expect him to fail as hit and miss players tend to fail against quality like Steyn.
Antony says: How prophetic!
1654: CLOSE! Quiney has been looking pretty comfortable out there, but he's beaten by a beauty from Steyn outside off stump. Fascinating battle taking place out in the middle.
1650: FOUR! Confident shot there from Cowan. Philander drops short and Cowan pulls it very strongly to the square leg boundary. AUS 1-23
1646: Wow, that was confident from Quiney! His first ball was a bouncer from the world's No.1 bowler and Quiney pounced on it, pulling the ball down to deep square leg for two. Confident. FOUR! He follows that up with an edge that flies between slips and gully down to the boundary. AUS 1-19
1644: WICKET! (Warner 4, c Kallis b Steyn, AUS 1-13) Classic fast bowler's wicket there. Steyn lures Warner into hanging his bat at one that goes away just enough to clip the edge and fly to Kallis at second slip, who takes a comfortable catch. Very key wicket for South Africa there, and it brings debutant Rob Quiney to the middle.
1641: FOUR! That was a very streaky stroke from Cowan there, he just hung the bat out to one from Philander that moved away, and the edgy shot goes between third slip and gully. AUS 0-13
1638: DANIEL of Wollongong says: Now watch this "lifeless" GABBA pitch get turned into a minefield. I will lol hard. Sorry for misspelling your name Antony.
Antony says: No worries Daniel, even the biggest mistakes are able to be forgiven. Also, make sure you don't 'lol' too hard, you might hurt yourself!
1636: APPEAL! Steyn hits Cowan on the front pad, and goes up for a big appeal, but umpire Asad Raufcorrectly rules not out as it was going well over the top of the stumps.
1633: Philander was moving it both ways in his first over, but it was well negotiated by Warner, who got a single off the last ball.
1630: On the topic of fast bowlers, here's the verdict of Ben of Hobart: Glad to see Hilf got a couple in the end, Hilf was unlucky all weekend, couple of dropped catches, couple just short, LBW's going against him. He hasn't bowled as consistantly as last year, but he was better then his figures were reflecting.
Antony says: Spoken like a true Tasmanian!
1628: Six runs off the first over from Steyn, but he was getting some very good shape swinging into the left handers. Vernon Philander to open from the other end.
1626: FOUR! Australia get off the mark, but Cowan doesn't, as the ball clips his thigh pad from the opening delivery of the innings and races to the fine leg boundary. AUS 0-4
1624: It'll be Ed Cowan to face up to Dale Steyn for the first ball of Australia's innings.
1622: Wow, that was a quick turnaround - the players are already out on the field! While they take their positions, consider this from Chris of North QLD: We saw it far more obvious in last years series against India that practically EVERY time Australia took a wicket the umpire would check with the third umpire for a no ball, then they rarely checked when India bowled. Are our bowlers really pushing the line that much more? Or are the umpires targeting us? I've noticed it for a few dismissals in this innings. It will be interesting to see if they do it when South Africa are bowling.
Antony says: That's quite the conspiracy theory, Chris. I guess we'll find out now!
1616: WICKET! (Morkel 0, c Siddle b Hilfenhaus, SA 9-450). That's the end of South Africa's innings, as Morkel tries to smash it down the ground but is caught at mid off. Morkel and Kleinveldt race off the field as they'll be bowling shortly. Stick with us for the start of Australia's innings!
1614: FairPlay of South Africa says: Daniel @ 24. It will be great to see how SA bowl on this pitch. It is difficult to say until both teams have batted. I think most Ozzies are very hard on their team because they were fortunate to have a few brilliant (once in a lifetime)players in one team. Now they have average players but are expecting the same results. Other teams have now overtaken them but I'm sure they will develop into a good team soon. Rory Kleinveld belting the ball now... A big hitter of the ball...
1612: APPEAL! Lyon beats Morkel with one that goes straight on, and 'keeper and slip go up in unison in their appeal for caught behind. Billy Bowden is having none of it.
1611: DROPPED! Oh dear. Kleinveldt went for the big slog off Lyon and it went way, way, way in the air. Ed Cowan never really looked comfortable going for the catch at mid-wicket, and the ball hit the deck after he took a couple of grabs at it.
1608: WICKET! (Steyn 15, c Wade, b Hilfenhaus, SA 8-446) Steyn didn't want to stick around for much longer! He goes for the big drive off Hilfenhaus and gets an edge on the way through to Matthew Wade. One wicket to go now. Don't think we'll be seeing a declaration.
1606: OUCH! Hilfenhaus bowls a short one to Steyn and it strikes the big South African on the shoulder. He looks to be in a bit of pain and calls for the trainer. But now he's back and ready to face the bowling, and South African fans breathe a collective sigh of relief.
1603: CLOSE! The last ball of the over sees Kleinveldt chip the ball back down the pitch and it falls just short of Lyon. Well that was an eventful over!
1602: SIX! SIX! Wow, well I think Kleinveldt has answer the question over whether or not South Africa are going for quick runs. He's slogged one from Lyon over mid-wicket, and followed that up with an even bigger shot over long on. Both had the fielders on the boundary jumping in the hope of taking a miracle catch, but neither got close.
1559: Ok the players are back on the field, ready for the start of the third session. Will South Africa go for a quick 30 or 40 before declaring, or will they bat out their innings? It's Lyon to bowl to Kleinveldt.
1553: Mark Fletcherton says: Do you think that the change of bowling coach of McDermott really did a number on the bowlers? People can say what they want about the Indian's batting side, but the line and length of siddle, hilf and pattinson were spot on. But this time round the bowlers seem to be off except for a few balls.
Antony says: Judging by what people 'in the know' have said about Craig McDermott, he really did have a profound impact on Australia's pace bowlers, and he will be sorely missed. He was a big factor in the reemergence of Hilfenhaus and Siddle last summer.
1548: Mark from Brisvegas sends in one of the greatest emails in the history of the Fox Sports Blog: Antony, this has nothing to do with cricket, but I had awesome yum cha for lunch. Steamed pork rolls, prawn dumplings ... Very nice. Now I get to settle in for some cricket while the girlfriend goes shopping.
Antony says: Please continue to keep us abreast of your culinary adventures Mark!
1542: DANIEL of Wollongong says: @anthony. Those wickets mean little. De villiers and Rudolph threw their wickets away and Vernon is a bowler. South Africa are down a batsmen but have amassed a higher total than aus will in 1 innings. The Aussie attack STILL has zero bite and because of it they have no chance in this test. Hopefully It wont rain in the next 2.
Antony says: All fair points Daniel. I'll even forgive the misspelling of my name! I suppose we'll find out soon how much of an advantage the slower-than-expected Gabba pitch is.
1540: TEA (SA 7-434, Steyn 15*, Kleinveldt 1*). That's tea on day three at the Gabba. Australia will be buoyed by their performance in that session, where they were finally rewarded for some disciplined bowling. How much longer will South Africa bat for before a declaration comes into play? Stick with us as we move towards the final third of today's play.
1537: FOUR! Shot! Hilfenhaus pitches up to Steyn and the big South African sends it straight back to where it came from, all the way along the ground to the straight boundary. SA 7-434
1534: FairPlay of South Africa chips in to the all-rounder debate: It is funny how we try and compare players. Both Kallis and Sobers are world class. You don't get too many players in a lifetime that can be selected in a test team as a batsman and a bowler. Man I'm glad we have Kallis no matter what the 'experts' think... We tend to criticize players who are threats to our teams... that is a given... remember the 'fat boy'? Man he was good and got a lot of flak...
Antony says: 'The fat boy' ... Which one?
1529: Not This Time of Toowoomba says: All too much too late. Wish the Safas would declare so we might have some interest in the result.
Antony says: Whether or not there is a result depends entirely upon how well Australia bat.
1526: Test debutant Rory Kleinveldt is the new batsman for South Africa.
1524: WICKET! (Rudolph 31, c Quiney b Lyon, SA 7-426) Rudolph is on his way after going for one big shot too many off Lyon, not getting hold of it well enough and holing out to Rob Quiney at cover. That's Quiney's second catch of the innings. The Proteas are definitely going for quick runs here, so expect a declaration soon or perhaps they'll just hit out for the remaining two wickets (they've only got 10 batsmen as Duminy is out for the match).
1522: FOUR! Rudolph steps down the pitch and whacks a full ball from Lyon down to the boundary at long on. Very powerful stroke, that one. SA 6-426
1520: WICKET! Hilfenhaus strikes, hitting Steyn on the pad, and after a long pause Asad Rauf raises the finger. Steyn doesn't like it and immediately calls for the REVIEW, and the replays show the ball was going well over the top of the stumps. So the decision is NOT OUT. Good choice by Steyn to go for the review. He follows it up by trying to charge down the pitch and smash Hilfenhaus for six, and misses the ball completely.
1517: Ben Hilfenhaus comes back into the attack in place of Siddle. I can't even remember when we last saw The Hilf bowl - he's been having a breather for quite some time.
1515: FOUR! Steyn goes hard at another one from Lyon, and this time he gets enough on it to get a boundary as it trickles into the rope at long off. SA 6-421
1513: Paul of Brisbane returns to the debate around the greatest ever all-rounder: Personally I don't think Kallis was best ... lean towards Imran that I have seen live ... can't honestly judge Sobers or Miller off the tape ... but seems performance is no longer key to rating a player ... it's the way they look when they do it ... so does that mean Watson is better than Kallis ... & that's before you look outside allrounder box & mention Gilly or Sangakara ...
1511: FOUR: A glorious cover drive off the bowling of Siddle adds four runs to Jacques Rudolph's total. He's on 26 now.
1508: CLOSE! oh that was very nearly out! Siddle bowls a wicked bouncer to Steyn, it catches the glove and is just to high for the jumping Matthew Wade, although he does get a fingertip to it. Steyn didn't know a whole lot about that one. SA 6-412
1506: CLOSE! Steyn couldn't help having a crack at Lyon, he's charged down the wicket and tried to hit it over the boundary, but he gets an inside edge and it squirts out to square leg for a single. Lucky. SA 6-409
1503: FOUR! Very nice shot from Rudolph there, he stays nice and upright to a short one from Siddle and just guides it between point and gully for four. SA 6-408
1501: Mike says: is watto going to bowl? If not then donit play him, pick a batsman.
Antony says: Wow, that's strong stuff Mike. I think if Watto does stop bowling, he'd still easily make the Test side as a batsman. But from all reports he wants to keep bowling despite his run of injuries.
1459: APPEAL! Lyon hits the new batsman, Dale Steyn, on the thigh pad and it balloons up to Ponting at leg slip. The fielders go up for an appeal but Lyon clearly doesn't think it's out ... and neither does the umpire.
1456: WICKET! (Philander 11, c Clarke b Siddle, SA 6-403). Philander is caught at first slip after failing to deal with a good ball from Peter Siddle. Siddle just shaped it away ever so slightly and it caught the edge and flew to Clarke at first slip, who took a good catch. Aussies are on a roll here.
1454: CLOSE! The batsmen try to sneak a single, and Ed Cowan races in from mid-wicket and nearly runs Philander out.
1452: Mike says: is watto going to bowl? If not then donit play him, pick a batsman.
Antony says: Wow, that's strong stuff Mike. I think if Watto does stop bowling, he'd still easily make the Test side as a batsman. But from all reports he wants to keep bowling despite his run of injuries.
1448: For those of you that are fans of good photography, scroll down a bit and check out the pic of Nathan Lyon taken by News Limited photographer Adam Head.
1444: CLOSE! Siddle gets Rudolph to go for the drive, it catches a thick edge and falls agonisingly short of Quiney at gully. Very nearly another wicket for Australia there.
1440: SIX! Speaking of Philander not being a bunny, he has just shown why by smashing Lyon for a big six that brings up the 400 for South Africa. He came down the pitch again, and this time he really got hold of it and sent it sailing over the rope at wid-wicket. SA 5-400
1437: CLOSE! A nice ball from Siddle moves away slightly from the left-handed Rudolph and goes past the outside edge.
1436: Kev of South Aust: Unfortunately the only results available now are SA win or a draw. For Aust to win outright they will need to be 250 (at least) ahead of SA, then bowl them out again. Not too promising with only 2.5 days left and not even started the run chase. More than likely SA will declare around 420 and try to bowl us out twice in 2 and a bit days.
Antony says: What does everyone else think? If you were Graeme Smith, would you be thinking of setting a massive total and then try make Australia follow on, or declaring early so you'll have enough time to bat again and bowl Australia out twice?
1433: Bowling man asks: can Philander bat or is a he a bunny?
Antony says: He's certainly not a bunny - in fact none of South Africa's bowlers are. Philander averages a touch under 20 in Tests, and his top score is 61. He has looked a bit shaky today though.
1429: Siddle replaces Pattinson in the bowling attack.
1427: CLOSE! Philander goes after Lyon, dancing down the pitch and trying to hit him back over the sightscreen. He doesn't quite get hold of it, but it drops a few metres away from James Pattinson who was chasing from mid-off. A let off for Philander there.
1424: Ryan Groube says: Ben Cutting has figures of 2-10 off eight overs in the second innings against the Tigers. He took 4-25 in the first innings. Six wickets for just 35 runs so far in the game is impressive. Surely he comes into consideration for the next test. He is also pretty handy with the bat given that he smashed 40 off 30 balls and already has a shield century this season.
Antony says: Cutting has really impressed me with his batting form this season - he's approaching all-rounder status at this rate. I still think Starc is next in line for a call-up though, given he's already with the squad.
1420: Pattinson steaming in from one end, Lyon getting a bit of turn from the other. Looks to be working well at the moment.
1418: wardad of brissie joins the greatest all-rounder debate: hadlee ,imran and botham all had to face the mighty Windies and some very strong aussie teams etc ,kallis may well have struggled against some of those sides from the late 70s thru 80s and is over rated I reckon ,besides Imran and Hadlee are way better bowlers! Crikey ! how could I leave out the mighty sir Garfield Sobers ! way better than kallis and as others have said who would you prefer to watch?
1415: Pattinson seems to have an extra spring in his step after those two wickets.
1413: A few minutes ago we saw some pictures of Shane Watson packing up his gear after having a net session at the Gabba with Australia's batting coach (and the future Western Australia coach) Justin Langer. Good signs for Aussie fans.
1409: DANIEL of Wollongong says: As a Saffa fan this Australian performance is hilarious to me. Say what you want about the pitch, the bowlers have no bite what so ever. I am looking forward to a walkover series.
Antony says: I can only assume that comment was written before Australia took two wickets in five minutes.
1405: WICKET! (de Villiers 40, c Warner b Pattinson, SA 4-376) Pattinson has got another one! De Villiers is on his way back to the pavillion courtesy of a superb catch from David Warner. The South African smashed a cut shot that looked destined for the boundary, until Warner launched himself into the air and took a great diving catch. Australia have two fresh men at the crease now, with Vernon Philander joining Rudolph.
1401: Jacques Rudolph joins de Villiers at the crease.
1357: WICKET! (Kallis 147, c Quiney b Pattinson, SA 4-374). Australia have dismissed Kallis! He tried to guide a short one from Pattinson through the gully, but Quiney took a good catch there - his first in Test cricket. Still a marvellous innings from Kallis, one that's put South Africa in a very strong position.
1355: Kev of South Aust says: Antony, how can all our bowlers be out of form? Maybe we have changed something at coaching level or (as I suspect) maybe the amount of 20/20 played has removed the ability for bowlers to actually think out batsmen. In form, out of form, indifferent form it doesnt matter when you only bowl 4 overs.
Antony says: That's a reasonable point Kev, although two of our pacemen in this Test, Pattinson and Siddle, haven't played a whole lot of T20 cricket over the past year.
1351: FOUR! Powerful shot there from Kallis as he blasts Nathan Lyon down to the mid-off fence. It was all along the ground the whole way, but it looked to be a show of intent. Could they be going for some quick runs?
1350: FOUR! Good shot from A.B. de Villiers. Pattinson strays onto the pads and de Villiers whips it nicely off his pads to the mid-wicket boundary. SA 3-365
1347: Glen O'Halloran says: Totally agree with Bobby (re: Australia's pace bowlers). This attack is mediocre at this level. Last year they were playing a pitifully out of form, and uninterested Indian side. Why isn't Cutting getting a mention. He has dominated Shield cricket and can hit a ball. Pattinson needs to stop worrying about the stare he gives batsmen and worry about bowling in the right spots.
Antony says: Jackson Bird would also have to be in consideration I'd think.
1345: James Pattinson to bowl from the other end.
1341: We're back for the start of the second session, and it's Nathan Lyon bowling to Jacques Kallis.
1339: Chandler of Brisbane says: South Africa will turn it into a minefield once they bowl on it.
Antony says: G'day Chandler - good to have you back mate! The pitch does look a bit more docile than usual for a Gabba wicket, but I guess the real test will come when Steyn and co are bowling on it. Although by then it will be late on day three or maybe even day four, so it might be a bit hard to judge.
1336: Terry has emailed in: Kallis is a great cricketer, but a Sobers or a Botham wouldn't bat so slowly.
1330: Bobby says: the big issue the aussie bowling isnt up to this class of cricket. Australia need an out and out quick bowler all i know this attack wont stay the same in test to come.
Antony says: I don't know Bobby, they looked up to it last summer. Perhaps just a case of being out of form rather than not up to it in general? What does everyone else think?
1319: Masterblaster of VIC says: Why hasn't anyone mentioned Freddie Flintoff in the great all-rounders debate? He almost single-handedly won the 2005 Ashes series for England.
Antony says: Flintoff was truly brilliant in that series, but don't know if he had enough sustained brilliance to be mentioned as an all-time great. However, at his best, he was scary.
1312: Click here to read what advice former cricket legend Chappell had for Australia today.
1308: Stay with us throughout the lunch break as we discuss all the big issues of the first Test and continue our debate around who the greatest all-rounder of all time is. Leave a comment below to join the debate!
1303: LUNCH (SA 3-357, Kallis 137*, de Villiers 32*). That's the end of the first session, and again it was dominated by South Africa. Australia got some brief hope with the wicket of Amla, but Kallis and de Villiers just continued to add to the Proteas total. Australia desperately need some wickets early in the second session.
1300: Rob Quiney comes into the attack to bowl a sneaky over before lunch.
1257: FOUR! Kallis flicks Clarke through mid-wicket in the air, and it's not too far from the fielder, but it runs to the boundary all the same.
1255: Glenn of batemans Bay is back for more: If we picked all right handed batsman, we would be foolish. . Right! And yet we pick 4 right handed bowlers. And think nothing of it. So Michael.. Bowl!. You are our variety.
Antony says: Your wish has come true, because Michael Clarke has brought himself on to bowl!
1253: APPEAL! Lyon puts in an appeal for lbw against de Villiers, but he never had a chance bowling from around the wicket. Although on second inspection, it actually wasn't that far away. GOOD FIELDING! Excellent effort from David Warner, stopping a certain boundary for de Villiers with a full-stretch dive just in front of the rope. SA 3-349
1250: The runs have dried up here - just three runs in the last four overs.
1246: Strictly speaking of Maclean gives his two cents on the greatest all-rounder of all time debate: I feel that media compare the legends on the basis of their longevity. Otherwise, how in the world Gary Sobers be inferior to Kallis. Actually, cricketers these days play too many games So its no wonder why their statistics are too high. On that basis, one has to agree that gems are gems and no gems are superior or inferior. But, who is the guy you gonna pay and watch playing. Gary Sobers or Jacques Kallis?
Antony says: I suppose the other side of the coin of playing so many games is that players now have more opportunity for their averages to go down. Just ask Mike Hussey and even Adam Gilchrist. Meanwhile, Nathan Lyon has taken to bowling around the wicket.
1241: Any momentum Australia might have had after the wicket of Amla has well and truly dissipated. The Proteas are cruising towards the lunch break now.
1237: Glenn of batemans bay says: Should of picked the Sydney Sixers!
Antony says: That's a bit cryptic Glenn. Who are you referring to exactly? Or are you saying you should have picked them as a team to support in the Big Bash League? I'm intrigued!
1234: FOUR! Superb shot from de Villiers there, lofting Lyon over the in-field to the mid-wicket boundary. He looked like he hardly hit that, and yet it raced to the rope. SA 3-342
1230: APPEAL! Siddle puts in a big shout after de Villiers is struck on the pad. Looked to be going slightly down leg, and the replay confirms that it would have missed the stumps. It was going to high as well. FOUR! de Villiers rubs salt into the wind by smashing the next ball through point for four. SA 3-337
1228: Here's a pic of the minute's silence we had earlier for Rememberance Day. A nice touch from the organisers.
1225: Dragon of NSW: Why on earth wouldn't you have a third slip for Pattinson...?
Antony says: You make a fair point, Dragon. To be fair to Clarke, he has been mixing up his field placements a lot to try make things happen, but he probably regrets not having a third slip in there for his most threatening bowler.
1220: Rippersportspro of NSW says: @Adam of Qld: Hilfy may not look like taking a wicket but at least he has been economical thus far. However, Siddle has lost a fair bit of pace since last summer.
Antony says: All three pacemen appear to be bowling a bit slower than they were last summer. Not sure if that is a deliberate tactic to try get their accuracy up, or perhaps the Gabba pitch is making it seem slower.
1217: CLOSE! FOUR! They're getting closer to the wicket of Kallis. The veteran plays a big cover drive and it catches a thick edge and flies past Ricky Ponting at second slip and ends up going for four. Would have been a straight-forward catch for third slip. SA 3-328
1211: SHOT! Kallis uses the crease well and whacks a ball from Lyon through the covers. It doesn't quite reach the boundary, but he gets three for it. SA 3-321.
1207: Australia have been bowling a much better line and length today, but can they get another wicket to build some momentum?
1203: With drinks on the field, Paul of Brisbane puts forward an interesting question: Best Ever Allrounder ... Kallis (on stats) v Sobers v Botham v Hadlee v Imran ... What do you guys & gals think?
Antony says: That is indeed an intriguing debate! Send in your thoughts now by leaving a comment at the bottom of the page or sending an email to blogs@foxsports.com.au. Here's a contribution from Brian of Brisbane.
Brian of Brisbane says: Kallis is the best no. 4 ever Paul, not only the greatest all rounder. Sobers and Kallis would both be in my best ever batting line up.
1159: Play pauses for a minute's silence to commemorate Rememberance Day at 11am (local time) on November 11. Lest we forget.
1156: APPEAL! Nathan Lyon comes into the attack and immediately has an impact, beating the outside edge of de Villiers's bat. Matthew Wade appeals for a stumping but de Villiers was always safe.
1154: adam of qld says: omg!!! Get hilfenhaus out of the attack, not looking even close to taking a wicket
Antony says: He definitely has looked the least threatening of Australia's three pacemen.
1151: FOUR! Edgy again from Kallis. He hangs the bat out to a short-ish ball from Pattinson and it catches the edge and runs through about fourth slip to the boundary. SA 3-314
1145: Paul of Brisbane says: Swings & Roundabouts people ... DRS showed Amla Not Out 4 inches over the top ...
Antony says: As cricketers often like to say, these things tend to even themsleves out ...
1143: CLOSE! Wow, that was a weird stroke from Kallis. He ducked a bouncer from Pattinson, but at the last minute decided he'd try to pull the ball even though he was down on one knee already. Needless to say, he missed it.
1141: CLOSE! Hilfenhaus beats the outside edge of de Villiers with a beauty. Pattinson comes back into the attack now.
For those that are just tuning in, Hashim Amla brought up his hundred this morning before being dismissed.
1137: Siddle is bowling quite well here, just getting the ball to move both ways every so slightly. FOUR! As I write that, he bowls short and very wide, and Kallis punishes him with a cut shot that goes over point for four. SA 3-303
1133: More on the Amla v Kallis debate from Go Amla Go of Maclean: Amla is the best batsman to watch these days. Beautiful strokemaking and also he is very prolific. Not much weaknesses. Just wondering why was too late to get into the international cricket. To be honest, its hard to admire Kallis, unless you are a South African. May be he is not that flowing as Amla is.
Antony says: Amla is more free-flowing than Kallis in general, although Kallis has shown in this Test that he can pick up the tempo when he wants to.
1130: CLOSE! FOUR! That's a great ball from Siddle. He get de Villiers to reach for one outside off and it catches the inside edge, just goes past the diving wicketkeeper and ends up running to the boundary for four. Promising signs for Australia.
1126: Aussie Dave of Darwin has an answer to our Kallis v Amla question: Kallis is definitely the better batsman. Amla is having a sensational year, but Kallis has been sensational for a decade.
Antony says: Hard to argue with that, Dave.
1123: HUNDRED! Now Kallis brings up his hundred, pushing a full ball from Hilfenhaus off his pads for two. His century came off just 168 balls and featured four fours and one six. That is his 44th Test match ton - unbelievable. SA 3-290
1122: Incidentally, replays show the ball was actually going slightly over the stumps for Amla's wicket, but the batsman chose not to review the decision.
1121: FOUR! Beautiful shot from de Villiers to get off the mark, pushing a full ball back down the pitch and it goes all the way to the mid-off boundary for four. SA 3-288
1117: WICKET! (Amla 104, lbw Siddle, SA 3-284). Wow, from nowhere Peter Siddle has dismissed Hashim Amla! Siddle swings it in a fraction and it hits Amla high on his front leg, and umpire Asad Rauf raises the finger. That's the end of a splendid innings from Amla, and brings AB de Villiers to the crease.
1116: Kallis clips a ball from Siddle off his pads, and moves along to 99.
1114: Who do you think the better batsman is - Amla or Kallis?
1109: CLOSE! Pattinson extracts a bit of extra bounce and it flies past the outstretched bat of Kallis. That was a poor shot and nearly brought him undone.
1105: FOUR! Wow, that was nonchelant from Kallis. Siddle bowled it short and wide and Kallis gave it the full treatment, lifting it over point and almost to the boundary on the full. Kallis moves on to 95. CLOSE! Siddle follows it up with a very good ball that goes past the edge of Kallis's bat. SA 2-280
1058: What a year it has been for Amla. And Kallis is not far behind him either, as he looks set for a hundred as well. Peter Siddle comes into the attack in place of Hilfenhaus.
1054: FOUR! HUNDRED! Hashim Amla brings up his 100 with a bit of a loose cut shot that hits high on the bat and flies over gully. A very well compiled innings from Amla there, and that's his 17th Test hundred. It came off 227 balls. SA 2-274.
1051: CLOSE! Amla tries to clip the ball off his pads, there's a slight noise and there's a half shout from the slips cordon. Replays show Amla didn't get any bat on it, but a brief scare for him there. Incidentally, Matt Wade actually dropped the ball anyway.
1049: Amla plays a nice pull shot off the bowling of Hilfenhaus that pulls up just short of the boundary, the batsmen run three, moving Amla on to 99! He's now the highest run-scorer in Test cricket this calendar year. When will he get his hundred?
1046: fred of QLd: why do the pitches all resemble roads? Are the curators scared to leave some moisture in the pitch spice it up and make a challenge for the bastsman that's why we get all these draws.
Antony says: Perhaps a tad harsh there Fred, the Gabba pitch isn't quite a road, although it doesn't quite have the spice that some were expecting. There's still life in this pitch if the bowlers can get it in the right areas.
1042: CLOSE! A little edgy from Amla there, Hilfenhaus gets the ball to move away slightly and Amla ends up edging it on the bounce to third slip. The South African follows it up with a nice cover drive that's well fielded by Nathan Lyon. Amla up to 95 now - nervous 90s perhaps?
1039: A good first up effort from Pattinson as well. There were seven runs from it, but he did induce a couple of leading edges from the batsmen. Perhaps a fraction of movement off the pitch.
1034: Solid first over from Hilfenhaus there, just the single off the first ball to Amla. He moves on to 91, with Kallis on 84. Now we've got James Pattinson to bowl from the other end.
1030: OK we're ready for the start of play here, and it's Ben Hilfenhaus to bowl the first over of the day, and he'll do so with a brand new ball.
1025: Stooge of CQ says: Morning Antony, at work doing some overtime which is really quiet, please keep the updates coming to keep me entertained. Looking forward to what should be an awesome day of test cricket. My prediction is Hilfy to do some damage early with a swinging ball.
Antony says: Morning Stooge. Glad that I'm able to keep you entertained at work! The Hilf got a bit of swing on day one but will be looking for a bit more consistency this morning. We shall find out how he goes very soon!
1021: Bowling man says: good morning, has the bowling attack been in form and taking wickets in the lead up or being rested in the lead up to the test so taking time to get their mojo?
Antony says: Good morning, Mr Man! None of Australia's four bowlers have been rested recently, but their form has been a bit of a mixed bag. James Pattinson has taken a stack of wickets for Victoria in Sheffield Shield cricket, and Peter Siddle has been in decent nick as well. Ben Hilfenhaus has predominantly been playing T20 cricket in recent months and looks like he may not have had enough time to adjust back to Test cricket, and Nathan Lyon struggled at times for South Australia.
1015: Australia definitely need some early wickets this morning. If Amla and Kallis get going, the result could be out of Australia's hands very quickly. Which bowler will stand up for the home side?
1009: Here's a weather report from one of our loyal users, adam of qld: weather is good actually. Is clearing up now. couple of light small showers around and give it an hour and there will be nothing for the next few days.
1005: Antony Pinshaw in the chair at Fox Sports Blog HQ again, and I can bring all cricket fans some good news. The covers are off at the Gabba, the players are warming up, and it looks like we might get things started at the scheduled time of 10.30am EDT (9.30am local time). Hopefully the rain stays away all day!
1000: Wherever you are in the world, welcome to day three of foxsports.com.au's LIVE and INTERACTIVE coverage of the first Test between Australia and South Africa. After Saturday's washout, both teams will be itching to get out on the pitch and assert themselves in the series. The weather reports for this morning in Brisbane aren't great, but we're hoping for the best. We will keep you posted with all the latest updates.
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