Opener Dean Elgar falls, Proteas stretch lead against Aussies in third Test

Aiden Markram led the way as South Africa enjoyed one of their most consistent days to stay well in front of Australia by the close of day three of the third Test on Saturday.

The collapse continued when Mitchell Marsh and Pat Cummins fell to successive short-pitched balls from Morkel. “That’s not good enough from an Australian crowd point of view either”, he said. In Durban he was captured on CCTV cameras exchanging words with Quinton de Kock, then responding angrily to the response from the South African wicketkeeper and needing to be physically restrained by team-mates as he climbed the stairwell at Kingsmead.

“The way it was going at tea, I though we should push past 380, 400 (runs) here”, Elgar said. “It’s not on at a cricket ground anywhere around the world, not just here”, Lehmann was quoted as saying by a South African sports website.

The four match series is locked at 1-1 and the victor of the this match will take an unassailable lead in the series. By lunch, Markram was on 36 not out, with Amla on 17.

Cummins didn’t let that happen with his brilliant burst.

South Africa had earlier wrapped up Australia’s first innings when Kagiso Rabada (4-91) had final man Josh Hazlewood (10) caught by Hashim Amla at first slip. With the wicket of the elder Marsh, Morkel completed 300 wickets in Test cricket.

David Warner also resigned as vice-captain on Sunday amid shock and disappointment at the conduct of the team back home.

De Kock almost saw out the session until becoming the third vitim of Pat Cummins, advancing down the track and only managing a nick behind the stumps to Tim Paine, the stand-in captain.

“We spoke the whole day if we got one … we’d be able to get two or three pretty quickly”, Cummins said.

By that point Lyon had made a decision to take the attack to the South Africans.

“I have to say that the whole nation which holds those who wear the “baggy green” up on a pedestal about as high as you can get in Australia, certainly higher than any politician that’s for sure, this is a shocking disappointment”, Turnbull said.

Lehmann admitted that the Warner incident did take place on Friday and while he did not repeat what the spectator had said, he made his feelings clear.

“We’re still the Australian cricket team and we’re expected to put up a better effort than we did today”. He was 6 not out alongside Elgar at stumps.

Follow live updates as South Africa look to increase Australia’s misery on day four.

Rabada took South Africa’s lead to 400, smashing two successive fours off Mitchell Starc.

Morne Morkel saw up and downs throughout his career due to injuries and the pacers that South Africa have in their ranks.