Australia captain Tim Paine hailed his side’s effort and fight as they rose from the malaise of their ball-tampering scandal to find a competitive edge on the third day of the fourth test against South Africa at the Wanderers. Australia are still facing a defeat and a first series loss in South Africa in almost 50 years as they trail by 401 runs with seven home wickets still to get and two full days.
“We were really disappointed with how things went yesterday and we spoke about that,” Paine told reporters at the close.
“To come out and have a response today, we are obviously a long way behind the game, but the spirit and the fight with the bat, and then the discipline our bowlers showed… I was proud of the way they stuck at it.
“The same with our fielding, I thought the energy right through the innings was excellent.”
Australia need victory to avoid a first series defeat in South Africa since 1970, but have been rocked by the ball-tampering scandal that resulted in former captain Steve Smith, his deputy David Warner and batsman Cameron Bancroft being sent home and given hefty bans after the third test in Cape Town.
