Josh Hazlewood took a career-best 6 for 49 as Australia beat South Africa by 214 runs in the first Test at Kingsmead. Chasing 421, the Proteas batted most of the final day for a draw, then lost their last four wickets for five runs and were all out for 206.
Hazlewood, already past 300 Test wickets, broke every partnership that could have saved the match. He took three of the first six wickets to fall. After lunch he struck twice in one over, removing Simon Harmer for a third-ball duck with a ball that climbed sharply and nipped back, and he finished the Test when Anrich Nortje holed out.
Josh Hazlewood runs through the Proteas lineup to put Australia on the brink of victory in Durban 🔥
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The wicket that turned the final day looked like a gift down the leg side. It was the most carefully built dismissal of the match.
Ryan Rickelton fell to Hazlewood in both innings. In the first, he was caught by Beau Webster for a third-ball duck. In the second, he was caught behind by Alex Carey for 2.
On the fourth evening, Hazlewood trapped David Bedingham lbw for 46, ending a 66-run stand with Aiden Markram. His figures that day read eight overs, three maidens, two for 20.
South Africa got through the first 110 minutes of day five without losing a wicket. Wiaan Mulder and Markram added 69, with Mulder facing 110 balls for his 29. Then Hazlewood strangled him down the leg side, and Carey dived low to his right to take the catch.
Four balls later, Matt Renshaw had Kyle Verreynne caught at slip by Steve Smith, who had been cleared of concussion after a blow to the helmet on day four. South Africa went to lunch at 166 for 6, with Hazlewood on three for 39.
Insider Read
Leaving the ball for 110 balls is not passive work. Every leave forces the batter to judge the line early, and after two hours of balls in the channel outside off, the back foot starts drifting across to guard off stump. The body learns that everything is going wide.
That is when one ball on the hip does the damage. The glance comes out on instinct before the head has decided, and a thin touch carries to the keeper. From the stands it looks like a wasted delivery. From 22 yards it is the reward for an hour spent convincing the batter that nothing was coming at his pads.
Why This Win Matters After Lord’s
This was the first of three Tests, and Australia now lead 1-0. South Africa are the reigning world Test champions after beating Australia by five wickets in the final at Lord’s in June 2025, where Markram made 136 in the fourth innings. In Durban, Markram again led the resistance with 75 from 237 balls, but Hazlewood made sure nobody stayed with him for long.
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