South Africa worked, then wilted, feeling that perhaps rain interruptions were not such a bad idea as the second day of the third Test in Sydney became more a matter of Australians chasing milestones than one of competitive cricket. Usman Khawaja’s golden career codicil continued with 195 not out, Steve Smith scored 104 to draw clear of Donald Bradman’s tally of 29 Test centuries, and Travis Head brought party time with him in a pyrotechnic 70 from 59 balls as Australia finished another rain-affected day on 475-4.
For Khawaja, that made it three centuries in his last three innings at the Sydney Cricket Ground that was his original home turf. During last year’s Ashes, what he thought would be a one-off farewell match as a Covid replacement instead resulted in twin hundreds and a permanent recall. He went on to make over a thousand Test runs in 2022, including two centuries in a poignant tour of Pakistan, the country where he was born. This trip back to Sydney took the ride full circle, leaving him eyeing off the first double-century of his long but stop-start career.
