'One wicket': Aussies eye small steps as WTC final slips away

Daniel Vettori says Australia are eyeing one wicket at time rather than all eight they need to claim an unlikely World Test Championship after South Africa mounted an almighty comeback on day three at Lord's.

Australia face a monumental task to win back-to-back WTC titles when play resumes on Saturday with the Proteas requiring just 69 runs with eight wickets still in the sheds to reverse their painful history at ICC events.

South Africa surged back into the contest during the final two sessions on Friday as Aiden Markram (102 not out) and captain Temba Bavuma (65no) took the game away from Australia.

The reigning WTC champions didn't claim a wicket in the final session of day three as the Proteas' senior batters racked up an unbeaten 143 runs for the third wicket as the pitch flattened out considerably after 28 wickets fell on the first two days.

Australia's last wicket pair of Mitchell Starc (58no) and Josh Hazlewood (17) foreshadowed what was to come as they too batted through almost the entire first session to take their side to 207 all out and set SA 282 for victory.

Should the Proteas reach their target, as appears likely having reached 2-213 at stumps on day three, they would equal the second-highest successful fourth-innings run chase in Tests at Lord's.

Australia assistant coach Vettori said his side understood the "magnitude" of the task in front of them and were focused first and foremost on breaking Markram and Bavuma's exceptional stand.

"It's one wicket, that's the starting point," Vettori said at stumps.

"Because these two are in such control, if we can get a new batter to the crease, then that's the start of it.

"I don't think there will be any thinking around how to get eight dismissals, it'll be simply about getting one and seeing what can happen from there.

"We understand the magnitude of the task. It's 8-(67), which is incredibly tricky, and conditions would have to go our way.

"But with the nature of where the ball is at and the surface, it's a difficult task."

Australia could perhaps look to their last visit to Lord's in 2023 for inspiration to turn this match around, when they captured the last four England wickets for 26 runs, including a rampant Ben Stokes, to win the second Ashes Test by 43 runs.

But in that instance, they required half of the wickets they need to beat South Africa, with Stokes then also the last recognised batter compared to the entire middle-order they'll need to dismiss on Saturday.

"It is a task that the group have probably done at times throughout the … years but there's an appreciation of how well Bavuma and Markram batted to put all that pressure back on us," Vettori said.

"To get one of them (on Friday night) may have given us that optimism, it's going to be a real challenge tomorrow."

Vettori said the Lord's pitch was "pretty benign" on day three as just four wickets fell, with South Africa's experienced pair batting the Proteas to within touching distance of their first major ICC title less than 12 months after an agonising loss to India in the T20 World Cup final.

"The wicket is slow and throughout the course of the game boundaries are lower than what we expected from previous Test matches here," Vettori added.

"So it has been difficult scoring, but South Africa today made the most of those conditions … an exceptional partnership, navigated any tricky times and then were able to put pressure back on us through their running and ability to dissect the field.

"It was a real clinic from those two."

Proteas batting coach Ashwell Prince said their senior players had stood up when it mattered, with spearhead Kagiso Rabada claiming nine wickets for the match and Bavuma batting through discomfort after injuring his hamstring while running between the wickets.

"It's massive that they lead from the front – the young players, they get dragged along," Prince said.

"Lungi (Ngidi) indeed is not a young player, but he came to the party as well.

"You have to recognise certain performances and sometimes it's not measured only in the wickets column.

"(Wiaan) Mulder bowled a spell in the first innings where he conceded 1.5 runs an over; there are certain passages of play that you have to recognise and they all contribute in the end to where the team is at.

"But certainly, you need your senior players to lead from the front and Rabada is phenomenal."

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