Genius Smith grabs stunners, record as Aussies press Proteas

A masterclass of catching from Steve Smith has given Australia the upper hand in the opening Test of the series against South Africa in Durban.

Smith's four catches were top of the tourists' highlights as the Proteas were bowled out for 284, handing Australia a first-innings lead of 106. Openers Nic Maddinson (17no) and Travis Head (10no) then survived until stumps on 0-33 in the fading light before the gloom forced an early finish for the third day running. 

It was a shambolic day for the reigning Test champions' top order, who folded in their first Test on home soil since claiming the title 16 months ago. But their blushes were spared after some late resistance from the tail held the tourists at bay and improved the Proteas' chances of holding out for a draw.

Smith's first three catches were outstanding and got progressively better with his one-handed catch to dismiss Kyle Verreynne the pick of the bunch.

With Smith at first slip to Nathan Lyon, the SA batters were intent to play the reverse sweep, and it brought the downfall of both Temba Bavuma and Verreynne. Anticipating the shot, Smith shuffled to his right and caught the opposition captain in front of his chest, and then the Proteas' keeper in his out-stretched right hand.

Sandwiched in between was a stunning catch off Pat Cummins where Smith dove in front of first slip Matt Renshaw to hold the catch off David Bedingham with both hands above his head.

The final three batters Keshav Maharaj (34), Simon Harmer (35no) and Anrich Nortje (16) kept the Aussies in the field for an extra 23-and-a-half overs, crucial time given how much has been lost in the game already due to poor light.  

Fittingly it was Smith who held the final catch of the innings, his fourth, as Beau Webster snicked off Nortje.

"He's an absolute freak," Lyon said of Smith at stumps. "The way he moves, premeditates for those type of catches ... there's not many people within that changeroom that will be able to pull off what he does."

Smith's second catch of the day was his 221st in Tests, which saw him overtake England's Joe Root for most catches by a non-wicketkeeper in the format. 

After 33 balls for no runs in the first innings, Maddison wasted no time in getting off the mark in the second with a pull shot for four off his first ball second time around. The recalled 34-year-old played with more freedom and was not out at stumps on 17 alongside opening partner Head (10no).

His flicked six off Wiaan Mulder briefly had the South Africans hopeful of a catching chance, but Ryan Rickelton at square leg never picked up the ball. It was that moment that prompted the umpires to suspend play at 4:30pm, an hour shy of the scheduled close.

The opening hour of the morning belonged to South Africa with a series of classy shots from Markram and Bedingham building their partnership at more than four runs an over.

Bedingham punished Starc for three consecutive boundaries; a cover drive, a midwicket flick and a back cut.

But the catalyst for Australia's fightback was the wicket of Markram, which triggered a collapse of 3-15 as the Proteas rued some ill-chosen shots.

After scoring 1-79 from the first 19 overs of the innings, Australia restricted the hosts to 3-36 from the next 19.

A touch of extra bounce accounted for the wickets Markram and Bedingham, but they were two deliveries the top-order batters didn't have to play. The pair had a blueprint to follow too, after watching Renshaw leave 45 of his first 136 deliveries on his way to scoring 190.

Marco Jansen came out with aggression, hitting six boundaries and taking on the short bowling from Cummins. But his dismissal was emblematic of South Africa's day. He was cramped up by a Hazlewood length ball and limply spooned a catch to Head at mid-off.

"Every time we looked like getting something going, we lost a wicket," SA's batting coach Ashwell Prince told reporters. "That kept setting us back a bit."

Thanks to their tail wagging, South Africa finished with a total just short of 300, despite no batters reaching their half-century. 

Qantas tour of South Africa 2026

All matches to be broadcast exclusively in Australia on Kayo and Fox Cricket

First Test: October 9-13, Kingsmead Stadium, Durban, 6:30pm AEDT (9:30am local)

Second Test: October 18-22, St George's Park, Gqeberha, 7pm AEDT (10am local)

Third Test: October 27-31, Newlands, Cape Town, 7:30pm AEDT (10:30am local)

South Africa's first Test squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Sam Harper, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (second Test onwards), Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nic Maddinson, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster