Warner punishes South African bowlers again

David Warner’s dominance over South Africa’s bowlers continued as the Australian opening batsman moved towards his second century of the match on the fourth day of the third and final Test at Newlands on Tuesday. Warner followed up his first innings 135 with an unbeaten 92 as Australia reached 180 for one at lunch – an overall lead of 387. When Warner was on 79 he reached 1000 runs in eight Test matches during the southern hemisphere season - five against England and three against South Africa. South African captain Graeme Smith, who announced on Monday night that he would be retiring from international cricket after the match, was applauded on to the field by his teammates, the Australian batsmen and a sparse crowd. But the only other highlight for him was the run-out of Chris Rogers, the only batsman to be dismissed. Rogers fell for 39 to a direct hit from fine leg by Dale Steyn after an opening stand of 123 with Warner in just 20.2 overs. Warner was in sparkling form at the start of the day and reached his fifty off 41 balls with six fours and a six over long-on off off-spinner JP Duminy. Steyn, who was off the field for most of the first innings because of a hamstring strain, bowled three overs. He started with a maiden but was then hit for 24 runs in his next two overs, including a straight six by Warner. The scoring rate slowed after Rogers’ dismissal, with Alex Doolan struggling at the start of his innings before gradually finding his fluency. Warner also progressed more slowly as Smith set defensive fields. By lunch he had faced 111 balls and hit nine fours and two sixes. Doolan could have been dismissed for one when he got a faint edge to a ball from Morne Morkel. Umpire Aleem Dar gave him not out and the edge was so faint that the South Africans did not seek a review, although it showed up on the “Snicko” in slow motion replays. Doolan was 36 not out at lunch. Source: AFP