Cricket
Australia win by 214 runs · T20I series levelJosh Hazlewood finished the job. On day five in Durban the Australian seamer took four of the six wickets needed for career-best figures of 6 for 49, bowling South Africa out for 206 just after lunch and sealing a 214-run win in the first Test. Australia lead the three-match series 1–0. Matt Renshaw, who rescued the innings from 124 for 6 on day one and made 190, then 82 in the second innings, was Player of the Match.
South Africa, set 421, began the day on 102 for 4. Aiden Markram batted nearly six hours for 75 before Mitchell Starc had him out after a review. It was South Africa's first home Test defeat in five, and Australia's fourth straight win at Kingsmead. The second Test starts on Sunday at Gqeberha, where South Africa hope Kagiso Rabada returns from a hamstring injury.
In India, Shai Hope hit an unbeaten 102 and Keemo Paul took 5 for 41 as West Indies won the fourth T20I in Hyderabad by 24 runs, making it 2–2. A winner-takes-all fifth match follows in Bengaluru. The one-off Test in Abu Dhabi ended in a draw, with Afghanistan on 346 for 8 chasing 479, two wickets short of defeat.
- 1st Test, Durban: Australia 390 & 314/6 dec; South Africa 284 & 206; Australia won by 214 runs (Hazlewood 6-49, Renshaw 190 & 82)
- 4th T20I, Hyderabad (Wed 14 Oct): West Indies 247/3 (Hope 102*) beat India 223 by 24 runs; series 2–2, decider in Bengaluru
- Abu Dhabi Test drawn: Afghanistan 346/8 chasing 479
- Next Tests: Gqeberha from Sun 18 Oct, Cape Town 27–31 Oct
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Cricket is a bat-and-ball game between two teams of 11. One side bats and tries to score runs, the other bowls and fields and tries to get ten batters out. A batter scores by running between the two sets of stumps or by hitting the ball over the boundary for 4 (along the ground) or 6 (in the air).
Formats vary in length. A Test match lasts up to five days with two innings per side and is regarded as the highest form. A one-day international is 50 overs a side (an over is six balls). Twenty20 (T20) is 20 overs a side and over in about three hours.
In a Test, a team can declare, which means stopping its own innings early to set the other side a target while leaving time to bowl them out. Australia did that in Durban, declaring on 314 for 6 and setting 421; South Africa ended up bowled out for 206 on the last day.
The Ashes between England and Australia is the best-known Test rivalry. Series between the big nations are often three Tests, as in this tour: Australia now lead 1–0 with two to play.