![\"Daniel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792140614_454_bf4c86786d7aea7377942b26f6887332223e1e92.png\")
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October 16, 2026 \u2014 4:27pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n No gift articles left<\/p>\n You’ve used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.<\/p>\n Close<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Gqeberha: Eight years after Sandpapergate, reverse swing is again playing a \u201ccrucial\u201d role in Australia\u2019s Test series in South Africa, with old-ball movement a key to both Josh Hazlewood\u2019s outstanding first Test<\/a> and the looming recall of Kagiso Rabada.<\/p>\n After what has felt like years of green, seaming surfaces, Hazlewood spoke openly on Friday of the importance of generating reverse swing this series, with all matches being played on traditional cricket grounds with wicket squares that can scuff the ball.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no question about the legality of the methods being used this time to achieve it.<\/p>\n Hazlewood\u2019s 6-49 was punctuated by several moments of sharp movement once the ball had lost its shine, including David Bedingham\u2019s lbw dismissal and Wiaan Mulder\u2019s leg glance into Alex Carey\u2019s gloves. According to CricViz, it was the most old-ball movement Hazlewood had achieved in a Test match since the corresponding Durban Test in 2018.<\/p>\n \u201cWith [wickets in] Australia being the green seamers, it just doesn\u2019t get talked about at all,\u201d Hazlewood said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ball still looks new late in the innings if it gets that far.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it\u2019s more, you know, if you go back to SCG years ago, we definitely got reverse there every year, and then here in South Africa, [they\u2019re] just abrasive wickets.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was very hard under foot [in Durban]. We probably got a hint of it in the first innings, and then as the game goes, it just sort of deteriorates more, and you get a bit more. So we knew it was crucial.<\/p>\n \u201cYou probably want the ball a little bit harder and a little bit of reverse swing, rather than a lot of reverse swing and the ball soft. It\u2019s much easier to navigate as a batsman. So, you still want that carry with a harder ball, with just a hint of reverse swing, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n Hazlewood predicted similar conditions at St George\u2019s Park in what used to be known as Port Elizabeth, although forecast heavy rain on the first two days of the Test may affect matters.<\/p>\n \u201cThe conditions sort of dictate it,\u201d he said. \u201cSo there\u2019s probably more grass and seam movement if it\u2019s not reversing, if that makes sense.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the wicket is hard, firm, deteriorating, [and with] not much seam movement, you\u2019re probably going to get that reverse swing just due to the basic conditions of the ground and the square and the wicket. So yeah, [you] sort of always find one or the other, really.\u201d<\/p>\n Hazlewood acknowledged Scott Boland was pressing hard for selection in this game, noting that the Victorian\u2019s high standards made it somewhat easier for him, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc to put their hands up to miss a game if they were carrying an injury.<\/p>\n Editor’s pick \u201cHe barely bowls poorly,\u201d Hazlewood said of Boland.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery net [session], the boys come in [and] it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, Scotty again\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cSo yeah, I think he\u2019ll play a part in this series, I think he\u2019ll play a part in the next 12 to 18 months. [He\u2019s a] class act. His record is ridiculous.<\/p>\n \u201cIt probably makes it a bit easier on us if we are struggling from time to time to then think, you know, Scotty\u2019s there, ready to go. It can make those conversations a bit easier, and again, it\u2019s more of a [bowling] unit.<\/p>\n \u201cMoving forward, we can not miss those, you know, big chunks [of cricket with injury]. We might miss a week or two here and there, and things settle quicker.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve just got a nice unit here at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Rabada addressed the Proteas squad alongside captain Temba Bavuma at training on Thursday, and Hazlewood said the fast man was a material change factor to the series, given his wicket-taking record against Australia.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s probably got both there,\u201d Hazlewood said of Rabada\u2019s skill and leadership combination.<\/p>\n \u201cThe skill set\u2019s amazing. His strike rate\u2019s second to none, I think, in terms of numbers. Every time he plays against us, he seems to create a bit of havoc.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cHe\u2019s a class player, and I think the batter is going to have to be switched on when he comes out.\u201d<\/p>\n Hazlewood was also quizzed on the Australian conditions and schedule. Unsurprisingly, he said he would not like to see the SCG Test moved from its new-year slot, while also saying that grassy pitches had made life easier for fast bowlers in recent summers, but any reversion to flatter surfaces to help batsmen would not be up to him.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d rather it go two days, like Mackay,\u201d Hazlewood said. \u201cI think there\u2019s a balance there, obviously, with any sport.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember when I first started playing Test cricket \u2013 the wickets were very, very flat. You know, the average per wicket was high. The games went five days.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, I think as long as you have a balance, it doesn\u2019t have to change for the whole year. It can be, you know, week in, week out \u2013 some spin, some seam, some are flatter. So I think that will get a better-rounded player or better-rounded bowler as well.\u201d<\/p>\n News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n No gift articles left<\/p>\n You’ve used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.<\/p>\n Close![\"In-form](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/87f0d00fb2683892efbe638053df82acf282c2b0.jpeg\")
In-form Australian quick Josh Hazlewood.AP<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/5b0806a93a9ff07500e27a724df9f654b71b9d4b96ce2995896f6c21bf69fdd5.jpeg\")
The St George\u2019s Park wicket two days out from the second Test between South Africa and Australia.Daniel Brettig<\/p>\n![\"Kagiso](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792140617_251_b50040195a3f6c2fc5658fbc6d1ebae626716900.jpeg\")
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<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Daniel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792140619_286_bf4c86786d7aea7377942b26f6887332223e1e92.png\")
Daniel Brettig<\/a> is The Age’s chief cricket writer and the author of several books on cricket.Connect via X<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"October 16, 2026 \u2014 4:27pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":930068,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":["post-930067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=930067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/930068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=930067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=930067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=930067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}