The Australian innings ended at 207 after a strong showing by the Proteas bowlers at Lord’s. Australia’s first innings concluded at 212, but their bowlers, especially the pacers, restricted South Africa to 138 runs. During the second innings, the South African bowlers took wickets, targeting the top and middle order of the Australian side. Mitchell Starc, however, was a surprise innings builder, scoring a stunning half-century, helping to bring the score to a more favorable 207, which gave Australia a lead of 281 runs. South Africa now needs 282 runs to defeat the current world champions.
Starc has previously proven his ability to establish a strong innings while batting at number 9. He has accomplished this feat seven times in Test cricket, with Stuart Broad managing this six times. Only two players have recorded five or more 50-plus scores from the number 9 position or lower in Tests in a single country – Stuart Broad and Mitchell Starc, both in England.
Fast bowlers have been dominant at Lord’s. Of the 30 wickets taken (including both Australian innings and one South African innings), only one was by a spinner, Keshav Maharaj of South Africa. The remaining wickets were taken by fast bowlers from both teams, with Australia’s captain Pat Cummins taking the most wickets in an innings (6).