Captain Clarke to the rescue

Only Clarke provided prolonged resistance,holding Australias innings together single-handedly with a stylish 107 not out from 114 balls. The captain hit 17 fours and shared a 103-run partnership with Marsh 44 from 40 for 3 before another slide late in the day by the tourists. The ball did swing around, Steyn said. We went at a little bit more than we wanted to with the run rate but if you asked us at the start of the day if we wanted eight wickets,we would have taken that. A good day.

Clarke led Australias fightback with a classic counter-attacking innings following the early onslaught from a Steyn-inspired South Africa on a juicy pitch in Cape Town which favored the fast men throughout most of the day. Every hundred you score for Australia is special, Clarke added,but I8217;m really happy with that.

Brief scores: Australia 1st innings: 214 for eight in 55 ovs S. Marsh 44,M Clarke 107 n.o; Steyn 4/31,Philander 3/54,Morkel 1/58 GERALD IMRAY