LIVE: ‘Huge error’ sparks SA Test disaster as Starc nears No.300 after ‘moneyball’

South Africa has crumbled in the first innings of the first Test against Australia at the Gabba with Nathan Lyon running riot and Mitchell Starc reaching 299 Test wickets.

Pat Cummins won the toss, opting to take the gamble on bowling first on a very green wicket — and the decision paid dividends.

Australia bowled South Africa out before tea for just 152, with Starc (3-41) and Lyon (3-14) taking three wickets each, while Scott Boland (2-28) and Cummins (2-35) took two wickets each.

It’s the fifth-consecutive innings in which South Africa has been bowled out for less than 180.

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After lunch, following a 98-run partnership between Verreynne and Temba Bavuma (38), the latter was bowled through the gate by Mitchell Starc inside the first hour of the second session.

“He so often bowls the money ball,” Kerry O’Keeffe said. “Beautifully bowled, this was a quality bit of bowling. He so often supplies that delivery Mitch Starc.”  

Marco Jansen then threw his wicket away with a reckless shot to Nathan Lyon that was skied and caught by Cameron Green.

Ian Smith didn’t hold back in commentary, saying: “That is a poor shot in a number of ways.

“Because they were just starting to develop a bit of time together … he knew he made a huge error here.

“He’s a better player than this and he’s given Australia a real opportunity to get stuck into the tail.”

He added: “Nathan Lyon has done it again, out of nothing really.”

The free fall continued with Keshav Maharaj (2) caught in the slips off Starc, becoming the Aussie paceman’s 299th Test wicket.

Any hopes of the Proteas digging in vanished when best batter, Kyle Verreynne, was caught at first slip off Lyon, ending his 96-ball innings on 64, while making it a loss of 4-14.

No.300 nearly arrived for Starc soon after but Travis Head juggled and dropped a sharp chance at short leg off Rabada.

Lyon took his third with a wild off-break jumping up on Anrich Nortje and hitting his glove for Head to take a catch at silly point.

The last wicket belonged to Cummins with Lungi Ngidi fending a delivery straight to Green at gully.

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Australia XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland

South Africa XI: Dean Elgar (c), Sarel Erwee, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Khaya Zondo, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi

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Earlier in the first session, new ball bowlers Starc and Cummins had started poorly in the first three overs with few questions being asked of the openers, while the captain leaked eight byes from his first two balls.

“They’ve bowled about 18 balls and I think they’ve got about one in the right area,” Mark Waugh said. “They’d be disappointed the Australians so far with what they’ve dished up.”

It mattered little, however, with Dean Elgar out for three, strangling a Starc delivery down leg side in the third over.

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“That’s a bonus,” Allan Border said. “You wouldn’t call that really good bowling … you always feel a bit unlucky as a batsman. A bit of a bonus for the Aussies there but they’ll take it.”

The Australians’ radars, however, got in tune shortly after with Starc, Cummins and Boland making early inroads into the middle order.

Cummins found the outside edge of Rassie van der Dussen for five in the 10th over with a ball that just squared-up off a length.

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“That was McGrath-like,” Kerry O’Keeffe said on Fox Cricket. “The ball didn’t do too much, but it was the trajectory.”

After a menacing first over, Boland then struck too with his second over with Sarel Erwee’s (10) outside edge flying to Cameron Green at gully.

Just two balls later, it was all happening again with Boland trapping Khaya Zondo in front for a duck. Zondo reviewed but ball-tracking showed the ball narrowly clipping the top off the bails.

The Gabba groundskeepers have produced a green demon of a wicket with plenty of colour and long, live grass on the deck for day one.

The pitch is so green that Mark Waugh described it as a “lawn bowling green”.

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