Starc's 6-72 Turns the Decider as South Africa Slide From 203-1 to 329 All Out

South Africa were bowled out for 329 on the first day of the deciding third Test against Australia at Newlands, Cape Town, on Tuesday, 27 October 2026, after a day that swung from dominance to collapse and back again. Australia, who won the toss and chose to bowl, had not yet batted at stumps, with the series level at 1-1 and the winner set to take the series.

South Africa began superbly. Marques Ackerman, in only his second Test, scored a career-best 95 off 94 balls, with 12 fours and two sixes, and Aiden Markram made 78 as the pair put on 158 for the first wicket in 31.4 overs. At lunch South Africa were firmly in control, and when Markram added 45 with David Bedingham, the hosts reached 203 for one. Then the match turned.

The collapse, and the rescue

Ackerman, chasing a maiden Test century, charged down the pitch to Nathan Lyon and was stumped for 95. That dismissal started a collapse: South Africa lost five wickets for 29 runs, falling from 203 for one to 232 for six. Markram was caught at square leg by Mitchell Starc off Josh Hazlewood, captain Temba Bavuma was bowled by Lyon for a three-ball duck, Matthew Breetzke fell lbw to Cooper Connolly for his maiden Test wicket, and Starc removed Bedingham, who had made 50, before having Wiaan Mulder caught behind two balls later for a duck.

Marco Jansen and Ryan Rickelton then rescued the innings, adding 95 for the seventh wicket. Jansen made a second successive half-century, scoring 52, and Rickelton made 42. Just when South Africa looked set for a total well beyond 350, Starc returned with the second new ball and finished the innings in a rush: Rickelton lbw in the 81st over, Jansen bowled two balls later, Gerald Coetzee bowled for a golden duck, and Kagiso Rabada out for nought — four wickets in six balls, taking South Africa from 327 for six to 329 all out in 82.3 overs.

Starc's day

Starc finished with six wickets for 72 runs, his 20th five-wicket haul in Tests and his best figures against South Africa. Lyon took two for 71. Before play, Australia had been dealt a blow with Steve Smith ruled out through a neck injury, and captain Pat Cummins' decision to bowl first — only the 12th time a team has chosen to do so in a Test at Newlands since 1889 — looked questionable at lunch. By stumps, it looked justified.

What happens next is straightforward: Australia bat on the second morning, on a pitch Starc described as slow with tennis-ball bounce, after a first day in which both sides had the match in their hands and let it go. A first-innings lead of any size will matter in a decider, and South Africa's 329 — a total that felt like 400 at lunch and 250 at 232 for six — leaves the Test finely balanced. Match figures as reported on 27 October 2026.