Marco Jansen stands firm as South Africa fight on day five
Key takeaways
- Marco Jansen was unbeaten on 7 at lunch on day five.
- Jansen took wickets, broke a stand, and held a key catch.
- South Africa need 255 more runs with four wickets left.
Marco Jansen walked in with South Africa in deep trouble. Australia needed four more wickets at lunch on day five. Jansen was still there, unbeaten on 7. His job was simple.
Stay in. Help Aiden Markram. Keep hope alive.
Scores in this article are from lunch on day five. They come from Reuters and Fox Sports. The match can still change fast.
But this is where things stood at the break.
What happened
A Test match can last five days. Each team bats twice. The team with more runs wins.
This Test is at Kingsmead in Durban. It is the first Test of the series.
Australia set South Africa a target of 421 runs. Fox Sports called it a record target at Kingsmead. South Africa started day five at 102 for 4. They still needed 319 more runs.
They had six wickets left.
Aiden Markram led the fight. He started the day on 45. Wiaan Mulder started on 5. The pair added 69 runs off 205 balls. They held out for 110 minutes.
Then Australia struck.
Josh Hazlewood got Mulder out. Mulder made 29 off 110 balls. The ball went down the leg side.
Alex Carey took a diving catch. It was Hazlewood's third wicket of the innings.
Matt Renshaw then struck. He got Kyle Verreynne out for 1. Verreynne faced only three balls. Steve Smith took the catch at slip.
South Africa were six down. Marco Jansen walked in.
Jansen stayed calm. He was on 7 at lunch. Markram was on 69. South Africa were 166 for 6. Markram had faced 200 balls.
His fifty came from 129 balls. Fox Sports said it was his second slowest fifty in Tests.
Markram has a big record in fourth innings. That means the last innings of a match. He has three fourth-innings hundreds.
Two of them came against Australia. One was at Lord's last year. The other was at Durban in 2018.
Jansen's job was clear. He had to hold one end. Markram could then play his own game.
Every ball they survived mattered. Every run they added mattered too.
Jansen on day one
Jansen made his mark with the ball first. He took two wickets for 35 runs. That is what 2 for 35 means.
He got two batters out. He gave away 35 runs. Wiaan Mulder and Anrich Nortje also took two each.
Australia ended day one at 187 for 6. Matt Renshaw led their fight with 46 not out.
Jansen on day two
Day two brought a big moment. Renshaw and Nathan Lyon added 134 runs. They were taking the game away.
Jansen broke the stand. He got the key wicket. Australia still reached 390 all out.
Renshaw made 190. It was a huge innings.
Jansen on day three
South Africa then batted. They made 284 all out. Australia led by 106 runs.
Australia batted again. Nic Maddinson hit two fours off Jansen. He attacked from the start.
Australia ended day three on 33 for 0. Their lead was 139.
Jansen on day four
Day four gave Jansen his best moment. Steve Smith was batting well. He made 27 off 41 balls.
He tried to hit Simon Harmer over long-on. Jansen waited near the line. The ball slipped from his hands.
He grabbed it on his second try. Smith was out. The catch broke a stand of more than 50 runs.
Australia kept going. They declared at 314 for 6. That means they chose to stop batting. They set South Africa 421 to win.
South Africa ended day four at 102 for 4. Markram was on 45. The chase was on.
Our full match explainer covers the Durban Test in detail.
Why it matters
Jansen is an all-rounder. That means he does more than one job. He bowls fast.
He bats. He fields well. His catch showed his fielding.
His day-one wickets showed his bowling. His day-five stay showed his batting.
South Africa need him now. They need 255 more runs. They have only four wickets left.
That is a steep climb. But Jansen can bat long. He can shield Markram.
He can face the hard new ball.
The new ball is hard to face. It moves in the air. It moves off the pitch.
It can get a batter out. Jansen must watch it close. He must leave the wide ones.
He must play late and soft.
Draws have been rare in South Africa. Fox Sports said no Test in South Africa has ended in a draw since 2016. That shows how hard it is to survive. South Africa must bat for hours.
They must not lose wickets. Jansen is key to that plan.
His calm matters too. South Africa lost wickets in clusters. Markram stood firm.
Jansen stood with him. Their stand can lift the whole dressing room. A dressing room is where the team waits.
It is where hope grows or dies.
One good session can change a Test. That is why every wicket counts. See how one Test turned on a hat-trick in another match this week.
What happens next
Australia need four wickets. South Africa need 255 runs. Both teams have a path.
The next session will shape the game.
Australia will attack with the new ball. Mark Waugh said on Kayo Sports that the new ball could change the game fast. Hazlewood will lead the attack.
He already has three wickets in the innings. Cummins will rotate his bowlers. He will hunt for one more break.
South Africa will try to survive. Markram must bat long. Jansen must stay with him.
They must play each ball on its own. They must not chase wide balls. They must not gift wickets.
If South Africa lose four more wickets, Australia win. They will take a 1-0 lead in the series. If South Africa survive the day, they save the Test.
That would feel like a win. It would keep the series level.
Bad light has cut play in this match. It cut 49 overs from the first three days. Light could matter again.
South Africa may hope for that. Australia will want to finish fast.
Jansen has already shaped this Test. He took wickets. He took a fine catch.
Now he must shape it with his bat. The next hours will tell us if he can.
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