West Australian young gun Cooper Connolly has taken his maiden Test wicket on the first day in Cape Town as Australia claw their way back into the contest.
The 23-year-old has had to bide his time to return to the Test team after debuting in Galle in February last year.
And with the tourists in deep trouble after electing to bowl first on a batting pitch, he was thrown the ball just before tea.
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Connolly is a batting all-rounder but has become known in white-ball cricket as a handy wicket-taker.
However, he has only taken five First Class wickets. He didn’t look it as he landed his first ball nicely on a spot and straightened it to threaten the off stump.
He made it through the first over cleanly but found the perfect line with the first delivery of his second as it slid straight through onto the pad.
Exciting young Proteas prospect Matthew Breezkte has had a tough start to life as a Test cricketer and must have crossed his fingers in hopes Connolly didn’t see the ball glance off his pad onto the bat.
The umpire said not out, but the West Aussie very quickly convinced his skipper, Pat Cummins, to send the call upstairs, mouthing “that’s plumb”.
The review revealed the ball had hit the pad before the bat, and ball tracker showed it thumping into the stumps, prompting a big celebration in the middle.
The home side had put on 158 for the first wicket on day one before Nathan Lyon finally struck in the second session, removing second-gamer Marques Ackerman five runs short of a maiden Test century.
The Aussies were able to grab four in the session to keep their chances of a series victory alive, with both sides heading to Newlands with one win each.
Connolly has produced a strong tour of Africa so far with success in the one-day series against Zimbabwe and the Proteas.
