Australia's bowlers lay down Ashes marker but batting was exposed on first day of World Test Championship final against South Africa
Australia 's fast bowlers laid down an early Ashes marker on the first evening of the World Test Championship final at Lord's – after South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada had exposed the weaknesses in their batting.
In his first Test since a one-month ban for taking cocaine, Rabada seemed to have stolen the headlines with a superb haul of five for 51 to dismiss Australia for 212 and take him past South African legend Allan Donald's tally of 330 Test wickets.
But Mitchell Starc set about redressing the balance on a breathless day of 14 wickets by yorking Aiden Markram for a duck and having Ryan Rickelton caught at first slip for 16.
Pat Cummins then bowled the strokeless Wiaan Mulder for a 44-ball six, and when Josh Hazlewood nipped one back through the gate to take out Tristan Stubbs's middle stump, South Africa were 30 for four.
Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood are all in their early-to-mid thirties, prompting English hopes that they they might be on the downward slope.
But their control and aggression were impeccable during an evening session in which South Africa scored at just two an over, eventually closing 169 behind.
'We're in a good spot,' said Steve Smith, whose 66 made him the leading overseas run-scorer in Lord's Tests, with 591. 'I love batting here.'
Earlier, Rabada had removed Australia's 38-year-old opener Usman Khawaja for a painful half-hour duck, before knocking over the new No 3 Cameron Green for just four.
With makeshift opener Marnus Labuschagne caught behind off Marco Jansen for 17, the early honours belonged to South Africa.
Had they reviewed Rabada's lbw appeal against Beau Webster just eight runs into his eventual 72, the Australians might have struggled to get beyond 150. The DRS technology revealed three reds.
Rabada returned to hoover up his 17th Test five-for, and paid tribute to former England fast bowler Stuart Broad, who spent time with the South Africans before the game in a consultancy role: 'He gave us a few pointers on certain field placings, the conditions, cloud cover and wind. Those will be key pocket rockets moving forward.'
But Rabada admitted Australia should have been dismissed for closer to 160, and said it was 'annoying' to discover that Webster would have been out had South Africa reviewed.
Smith, the non-striker at the time, rubbed it in: 'It looked pretty good to me at the other end.'
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