After a day and a half of waiting through rain and darkness, play finally resumed at the Sydney Cricket Ground. And after three matches waiting due to injury, Josh Hazlewood resumed his Test career. On a damp surface, he came out breathing fire, starting a slide that had South Africa’s first innings 149 for six by stumps, still 326 behind Australia’s declaration score of 475 for four.
With play not starting until 1.45pm on the fourth day, Australia decided not to bat on, having last faced a ball on day two. That left Usman Khawaja unbeaten on 195, agonisingly short of a first Test double century. With 157 overs left in the match, the Australians decided that chasing a win was the priority. Before play all was convivial, with the visitors presented with the pink caps they had signed to raise funds for the McGrath Foundation. Once the action resumed, it was anything but.
