Can Australia chase down 288 runs to win in Cape Town, did Australia blunder by leaving out Scott Boland, Ryan Rickelton on where deciding Test sits, news, analysis

After guiding the Proteas to a strong position to win a riveting series with a stunning century on Friday in Cape Town, Ryan Rickelton believes only two results are on the table, with Australia facing a massive task to win the finale.

Rickelton and long-term mate Wiaan Mulder threatened to bat Australia out of the Test before a late rally from the tourists kept alive their hopes as a superb series between the world’s two top ranked Test teams reaches a thrilling conclusion.

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But with bowling coach James Franklin conceding the Newlands pitch offered far less than expected to bowlers when captain Pat Cummins opted against batting, Australia’s hopes rest on the deck holding together on the last day.

Even then, Rickelton believes they face a massive task to successfully chase down a 288-run target to win the hard fought series that ends with a Saturday spectacular at the most picturesque ground in the world.

It would be the second highest run chase if Australia reels in the target on Saturday and only 46 runs shy of the target the Aussies chased with distinction at the ground back in 2002.

“If you had to say that it’s going down to the third Test, day five, with all three results on the cards or two results on the cards, yeah, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Rickelton said.

“But it’s been a special series. It’s ebbed and flowed properly in all three games. Both teams have edged ahead and the other one has clawed back. And there’s been some mistakes and some really good things done as well.

“But it’s been a cracking series, and yeah, hopefully it comes down to a really good day for South Africa tomorrow.”

When Australia arrived on Friday morning with South Africa at 4-140 and leading by just 40 runs, they would have been hoping to bowl the Proteas out by lunch.

Instead they were still bowling in the final over beyond 6pm with the ground partially shadowed when Mulder finally holed out for 115, with South Africa making 387 in their second innings.

Australia has 90 overs to win the Test and keep alive its dreams of a year long conquest where they defeat South Africa, New Zealand, India and England, a task made far harder by the 154-run partnership between Mulder and Rickelton ended only by a magnificent piece of fielding by Josh Inglis, who sparked one of two run-outs in the last session.

Standing in the way of what is a reshuffled batting order missing Steve Smith, who will be watching from the pavilion, is a superb attack featuring Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Simon Harmer, along with enforcer Gerald Coetzee.

It is a daunting task according to Rickelton, who shelved the pull and hook shots that got other Proteas into trouble against Australia’s short-ball tactic that it deployed in tandem with a marathon effort from veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

While the champion off-spinner could only manage to add one more wicket to the scalp of Temba Bavuma that gave Australia such hope on Thursday night when finishing with 2-101 from 44 overs, Mulder expects Simon Harmer to pose a big threat.

“We know we got our work cut out for us tomorrow, but when the right handers are in, obviously there’s a lot of action for them,” he said.

“Obviously it was a bit frustrating (to lose late wickets). I think we were in such a good position to drive home 300, 350, and obviously that run out kind of dropped that for us, so that was a bit frustrating.

“But still, to be able to get effectively 290 and ask them to do that on a day five wicket is big. Psychologically, it takes a lot out of you as well. So those last 20, 30 runs they (Mulder and Kagiso Rabada) managed to compile, hopefully, will be enough to take us over the edge. But you can never have too many runs in a day five chase.”

It is often a sign of a difficult day for a team when an assistant coach instead of a player speaks after stumps and that proved the case for Australia with Franklin fielding questions from what is a significant press pack.

What should give the Australians, who made 429 in the first innings, hope that they can pull off the second-highest run chase is the fact that while it is clearly offering spin outside off stump, the pitch is yet to erode significantly.

“I don’t think it’s deteriorated a lot from a pace bowling point of view,’ Franklin said.

“I think if anything, it’s probably played a little bit similar to day one in terms of just maybe fractionally slowing down a bit.

“I think through day two and day three, there’s a little bit more pace in the pitch, and I think we’re seeing from a spin point of view, obviously with the foot marks particularly outside to the right-handers’ point of view, there’s a little bit of bite there when you get it in there. But apart from that, there hasn’t been a heck of a lot (in it).”

How Australia fares with the bat on the final day and whether they can pull off an epic series win will frame the narrative surrounding a couple of key decisions at the start of the Test, including Cummins call at the toss to bowl instead of bat.

“I think we thought that there might have been a little bit more in it on day one. (When they were) none for 140 at lunch, it was a little bit of a ‘take your breath’ moment,” he said.

“But we reassessed and through the second and third sessions on day one, we shifted our tactics a bit and we obviously picked up 10 wickets through the rest of that day.

“So I think the rest of this game has is probably played out a little bit more traditionally in how wickets move through days. Days two and three have been pretty good to bat.

“Today’s been pretty good to bat, albeit there’s been a little bit of rough outside the right-hander’s eye line. So day five, let’s see what we get.”

The other key decision was dropping Scott Boland from the squad, with former Protea seamer Vernon Philander adamant the Victorian star should have played given his skills and also the fact he secured five wickets last week.

In defence of the Australians, Rickelton felt the attack bowled decently in the circumstances regarding the pitch, while Franklin said it was never an easy decision to make.

“All those four quick bowlers are world class,” he said.

“So I think you started your question with the fact that it’s not really my decision, you know, but it’s a great position to be in as a collective when you know Scott comes in for one Test match, gets a five wicket bag, and then obviously for various reasons he’s missed this game.

“And I think it’s about the collective. It’s not about one individual. And I think it’s a pretty good place for us to be as a group if Scott Boland’s not playing, because we know how good a performer he is when he comes and plays.”