Inglis unbeaten on 85 as Australia edge ahead in Cape Town Test

Australia closed the second day of the deciding Test against South Africa on 330-4, a lead of one run, after Josh Inglis finished unbeaten on 85 in Cape Town. According to BBC Sport’s report, Inglis and Alex Carey added an unbroken 145 for the fifth wicket, taking the tourists past South Africa’s first-innings total of 329 with six wickets still available.

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The partnership followed an earlier recovery led by Matt Renshaw and Cameron Green. Australia had slipped to 58-2 after losing Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne, but Renshaw made 74 and Green contributed 65. Renshaw’s innings followed his career-best 190 in Durban earlier in the series, while Green was playing after 39 previous Test appearances.

South Africa regained ground before tea when Marco Jansen removed Renshaw and Green in successive overs. Those wickets brought Inglis into a situation in which the home side had broken up Australia’s recovery. Jansen finished the day with figures of 2-37, but the hosts were unable to separate Inglis and Carey before the close.

Inglis’s contribution came despite limited preparation. The BBC reported that he had not faced the red ball since March and that a broken finger had disrupted his build-up. The 31-year-old nevertheless reached stumps without being dismissed, with the fifth-wicket stand accounting for 145 of Australia’s 330 runs. His half-century was one of three in the visitors’ innings.

Labuschagne’s difficulties continued earlier in the day when he was dismissed for a five-ball duck. He edged spinner Simon Harmer to slip, extending his run without a Test century to 48 innings. The BBC described that as a record sequence for a batter in Australia’s top four. Since his most recent Test hundred, at Old Trafford in 2023, he has averaged 24.77.

Australia were without Steve Smith, who had been ruled out of the match with a neck injury. South Africa’s total had been built around Ackerman’s 95, while Mitchell Starc took 6-72. By the end of day two, Australia had erased that first-innings deficit, with Inglis and Carey still together and three scheduled days remaining in the contest.