Pitched battle awaits struggling South Africans

The ability of South Africa's middle order batsmen to conquer a powerful Australian attack and a wearing pitch will determine the outcome of the First Test between the countries at the Adelaide Oval tomorrow.

After opener Matthew Hayden (131) had confirmed the home team's already strong position with a fifth Test century, this was the predicament facing the Proteas by stumps on the match's fourth day. At 2/17 in their second innings, they were left still needing another 358 runs for an unlikely victory, or to survive a further 90 overs to avert the prospect of falling to a 1-0 deficit in the series.

The tourists faced 12 overs at the end of the day, lost openers Herschelle Gibbs (9) and Gary Kirsten (7) to catches at the wicket in the process, and didn't look at all comfortable in their attempts to come to grips with a surface offering increasing turn and variability in bounce.

Before a crowd of 13721 already on good terms with themselves in the wake of four days of authoritative cricket from the home team, it added to an air of command that has been clinically established by Australia in this Test.

All this after Hayden - Test cricket's most prolific runscorer in 2001 - had dominated in the lead-up to a Australian second innings declaration at 7/309 in late afternoon.

The Australians didn't necessarily make a great start, surrendering the in-form Justin Langer (1) within five minutes of the resumption and going perilously close to losing Ricky Ponting (25) to a vociferous lbw appeal from Shaun Pollock (1/38) from the very next delivery.

But Hayden's rasping strokeplay, in the midst of partnerships of 58 runs with Ponting for the second wicket and 181 with Mark Waugh (74) for the third, swiftly came to define the day.

The Queenslander endured a long period in the nineties, devoting more than 20 minutes to the task of advancing from 96 to three figures alone. But the lead-up to a delicate stroke from the line of the hip off Nantie Hayward (0/32) proved about the only phase of his innings in which his naturally aggressive instincts were restrained.

Otherwise, the left hander was rarely bothered in defence and was savage in his punishment of anything loose.

Even against the backdrop of lower bounce from the pitch, his hand was blessed by lavish timing and a capacity to lift the ball over the leg side field with abandon.

Ponting initially enjoyed a tough battle with Hayward. Thereafter, though, he and Waugh were similarly untroubled.

It is a holiday back home, and the South African bowlers and fieldsmen seemed attuned to the national mood in an exhibition devoid of the spark of the previous three days.

Claude Henderson (3/130) and Lance Klusener (0/27) were each thumped swiftly out of the attack upon producing loose spells after lunch. And Makhaya Ntini only compounded Henderson's problems when he returned, spilling a catch as Hayden - on 107 - tugged to deep backward square leg.

Unhappily for the Proteas, there wasn't a penetrative look about the remainder of the bowlers either.

Pollock bowled well at both ends of the innings, and Jacques Kallis (3/45) was honest in the middle stages. But there wasn't a sense that sustained pressure was being applied to the Australians.

Though they were unluckily deprived of the early lbw of Ponting and - inexplicably - the run out of Damien Martyn (6*) before the first innings century maker had scored, the Proteas even needed umpire Srinivas Venkatraghavan's assistance to quell the flow of runs.

The Indian official's thigh unluckily felt the full force of a cracking Ponting pull through square leg, and treatment from Australian physiotherapist Errol Alcott was needed amid the stoic continuation of his duties.

The Australians' biggest headache for much of the day, meanwhile, came in choosing exactly the right moment at which to declare. Captain Steve Waugh appeared initially to have erred on the side of conservatism in waiting until 5:13pm, therein delaying the closure until Australia's overall lead had reached 374 runs and only 102 overs were left in the match.

Yet, when Gibbs inside edged to short leg Langer off Glenn McGrath (1/6), and Kirsten uppishly defended the last ball of the day to silly point off Shane Warne (1/8), the wisdom of the decision was emphatically underscored.

It remains to be seen if McGrath, Warne and their cohorts can finish the job.