Bowling blitz leaves World Test title up for grabs

Two stunning batting collapses have the World Test Championship hanging in the balance at stumps on day two after another bowler-dominated day at Lord's.

After taking a 74-run lead into the second innings, Australia nudged their lead beyond 200 by the close of play on Friday, but it's a far from comfortable advantage after surrendering eight wickets in the process.

A sensational four-over burst from Pat Cummins that took his career tally to 300 had given Australia the upper hand midway through day two of the WTC decider, but the Proteas' quicks flipped the script as they ripped through the No.1-ranked Test team in the evening session.

Lungi Ngidi (3-35) was the chief destroyer after a quiet first innings, claiming the prized scalp of Steve Smith (13), Beau Webster (9) and Aussie skipper Cummins (6) amid a potentially match-defining nine-over spell post-tea.

Australia will still fancy their chances of winning back-to-back WTC titles with a lead of 218 at stumps on day two after Alex Carey (43) and Mitchell Starc (16 not out) steadied the ship in the final hour as their side fought to 8-144 at stumps.

South Africa missed two late chances to remove Starc as wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne grassed a touch low chance before tall left-armer Marco Jansen dropped a sharp chance at a close third slip position in the day's final over.

After Kagiso Rabada (3-44) and Jansen (1-31) made light work of Australia's new-look top three for the second time in the match, Ngidi stamped his mark on the biennial Test showpiece after going wicketless in the first innings.

Following a forgettable opening day with the DRS, Temba Bavuma made amends when he sent a leg-before shout off Smith upstairs that the Australian batter initially tried to brush away by flicking his glove towards the off-side.

But the South African skipper's luck turned as the technology came up with three red lights, Smith on his way after shuffling across to a ball from Ngidi that skidded on and thudded into his back pad just above the knee roll.

The right-armer sent Webster packing in similar fashion a few overs later, also struck on the back pad to a delivery that nipped back, with the review system unable to save the Australian allrounder after Chris Gaffaney this time raised the finger.

Wiaan Mulder (1-14) collected his first wicket of the match in the very next over when he snuck one through the defence of the dangerous Travis Head before Cummins' brief attempt of a counterattack lasted all of five balls, castled by a full delivery from Ngidi that deflected off his pad.

Rabada added another in the second last over of the day as Carey also perished lbw, taking the tally to 13 wickets for a grand total of 161 runs in the 48.1 overs after lunch.

Barring a stunning lower-order rearguard from Australia's bowlers on Friday morning, the 2023-25 World Test title looks set to be decided before the final reaches the weekend.

Cummins earlier claimed all five South African wickets to fall to a bowler on day two with the sixth a run out as the cycle's top-ranked team were dismissed for 138 in reply to Australia's first-innings 212.

Cummins did the damage in 4.1 overs after lunch as South Africa's last five wickets all perished in the space of 12 runs to undo the work of Bavuma (36) and David Bedingham (45) from a positive first session.

Having dismissed his Proteas counterpart in the only wicket of the morning, Cummins seized the momentum with a double strike in his second over back after the break.

The first came thanks to an excellent review, Cummins maintaining his composure after colliding with South Africa wicketkeeper Verreynne (13) mid-appeal while his back was turned.

The Australian right-armer dusted himself off to send the lbw shout upstairs for another look, with the technology confirming Verreynne had shuffled too far across when struck on the pad before sheepishly setting off for run straight into the path of the appealing bowler.

Cummins was on his back again three balls later, this time in celebration as Jansen departed for a duck after offering the simplest of return catches off the leading edge of his blade.

Cummins completed his five-for to bring Bedingham's resistance to an end a few overs later as he feathered an edge into the waiting gloves of Carey moving to his right. The wicketkeeper was involved again next over to catch Keshav Maharaj short of his ground taking on Head at square leg coming back for a second.

After roughing up Rabada with a well-aimed short ball, Cummins became the eighth Australian to notch 300 Test wickets as the Proteas paceman decided to go down swinging.

Despite making solid contact with another short delivery, Rabada picked out Beau Webster at deep backward square leg who used ever inch of his 200cm frame to complete the catch lunging forward.

Cummins finished with 6-28 from 18.1 overs, the Aussie skipper now holds the best bowling figures by a captain at Lord's.

"(300 wickets) is way more than I could have asked for," he said on broadcast at the innings break.

"For any fast bowler, 300 is a big number, it means you had to battle a few injuries and niggles, got through it and played well in different conditions, so pretty happy."

Proteas skipper Bavuma had landed the first punch of the second morning, taking down first-day destroyer Mitchell Starc (2-41) with a series of extravagant lofted drives in a clear sign of early intent.

It proved a drastic gear shift for the diminutive right-hander, who had taken 31 balls to get off the mark the previous evening, lifting Starc's seventh ball of the morning over cover as it crashed into the fence after a couple of bounces.

He followed up with a flashing square drive to the point boundary four balls later, taking 10 runs from the Australian left-armer's second over – the same number he conceded from his opening seven-over spell on day one.

Bavuma survived being adjudged leg before to Josh Hazlewood (1-27) on 17, with umpire Chris Gaffaney forced to overturn his decision when UltraEdge technology showed a faint inside edge.

South Africa's No.4 cashed in as Starc returned for a second spell, drilling him through cover with another glorious drive before Cummins too was on the receiving end of the first six of the match.

But the DRS reprieve was mostly short-lived, Bavuma's Aussie counterpart finding the vital breakthrough courtesy of Labuschagne's cracking catch at cover, diving to his right after the South African aimed another forceful drive through the off-side.

Labuschagne's stunning grab provided Australia's only highlight of the first session as No.6 Bedingham dropped anchor with a 111-ball 46 after resuming the day on a better than a run-a-ball nine not out.

The right-hander also escaped a lapse of judgement in the over before lunch when in a moment of madness he used his hand to drop the ball on the turf as it bobbled around the flap of his pad.

Allrounder Webster nipped one back into Bedingham, whose inside edge hit his thigh before dropping down into his pad where Carey, keeping up to the stumps, was quick to pounce on a potential catching opportunity off the rebound.

However, before he could, Bedingham sheepishly grabbed it and put the ball onto the pitch, but umpires Richard Illingworth and Gaffaney conferred mid-pitch and decided he had no case to answer for obstructing the field.

Cummins confirmed post-play the umpires said it "was a dead ball first of all" and he probably would have withdraw the appeal regardless.

Bowlers again dominated as the day wore on, with Bavuma's morning dismissal and the 13 post-lunch making it 14 batters to lose their wicket on each of the opening two days.

World Test Championship Final

June 11-15: South Africa v Australia, Lord's

Broadcast exclusively on Prime Video in Australia. Sign up here for a 30-day free trial

Australia XI: Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

South Africa XI: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi