Ken Borland

David Warner has been a nemesis of South African cricket for a long time, but one could only salute the stroppy left-hander for his vintage double-century in his 100^th Test which gave Australia complete control of the second Test at the MCG.

With the build-up to his landmark Test being surrounded by talk of how much longer he would feature in the longest format – his previous century was nearly three years ago – and off-field drama as he sought to overturn the leadership ban imposed on him after his scurrilous ball-tampering actions in the previous Test series against South Africa, Warner was under real pressure at the MCG.

But with Kagiso Rabada having dismissed the 36-year-old in his last five innings, Warner made the bold statement that he had perhaps been treating bowlers with too much respect and he was going to return to his old, aggressive self in the second Test.

Warner was true to his word and his innings was a high-quality display full of all the attributes that have made him a great Test batsman: he brought an almost manic intensity to the crease, he was positive and committed to every shot he played and every run he scampered, driven by an immense hunger that saw him plough on through severe cramps brought about by searing temperatures that touched 40°.

Warner produced a typically flashy statement innings on his big day at the cathedral of Australian cricket. Not only did he become the eighth Australian to score 8000 Test runs, but only the second (and 10^th overall) to score a century in his 100^th Test. He was not satisfied and went on to become only the second batsman, England’s Joe Root being the other, to made a double-century in his 100^th Test.

The lover of sports cars – he owns a McLaren and a Lamborghini Huracan – emptied the tank on Tuesday at the MCG and whether he still has the desire to fuel his continued presence on the Test stage, with daunting tours of India and England to come, remains to be seen.

Let’s hope he continues to grace the most important stage of the game because, whatever you may think of Warner the person and his antics, he is a box-office entertainer.

David Warner’s historic unbeaten double-century in his 100^th Test will be what is most remembered from the second day of the second Test between Australia and South Africa at the MCG on Tuesday, but Anrich Nortje’s phenomenal effort with the ball should not be forgotten either.

Although Nortje finished with figures of just one for 50 in 16 overs as Australia piled up 386 for three and Warner retired hurt with severe cramp after scoring 200 off just 254 balls, his fiery, indefatigable fast bowling certainly caught the imagination of the 42 000 people at the MCG.

Nortje strung together some of the fastest overs recorded in Test cricket, consistently exceeding 150km/h for lengthy periods, and his endurance on a sweltering day when the temperature touched 40° was incredible. Even the notorious Bay 13 spectators were charmed by Nortje, who signed many autographs on various items, downed a bottle of water for their entertainment and had his warm-up routine mimicked by the crowd, as they used to do most famously for Australian fast bowler Merv Hughes.

Not even being struck to the ground by spidercam could get Nortje down.

“I was just trying to get a breakthrough, be more aggressive and bring out the pace. I wasn’t bowling as quickly as I can, but I did try to speed it up,” Nortje said after a torrid day’s play for the Proteas.

“Bowling the one over on the first day, I felt I needed to adjust to the wicket, which is a good one. There’s a bit of a slope upwards and my focus was on getting my momentum through the crease rather than jumping up.

“It started clicking and then you can push a bit more when you feel you have the momentum, you just ride it and not try to force anything else. I felt I had good rhythm and just tried to come as hard as I can.

“It’s a good wicket for batting, but if you can hit good areas over time then you can get reward, good bumpers can make the batsmen a bit uncomfortable. Unfortunately it just didn’t work out for us today,” Nortje said.

Warner became just the second batsman after England’s Joe Root to score a double century in his 100^th Test, and the veteran left-hander became the eighth Australian to score 8000 Test runs. It was his first Test century in nearly three years.

“He batted really well, hats off to him for the energy and fight he showed,” Nortje said.

David Warner, celebrating his 100^th Test, batted with executive authority as he put South Africa to the sword with an unbeaten double-century as Australia took complete control of the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Tuesday.

Warner, suffering from severe cramps, retired hurt immediately after he reached 200 with a steer wide of the slips for his 16^th four to go with two sixes. He was spent physically in the sweltering Melbourne heat, but no doubt mentally as well after coming through a tumultuous period in which his Test future was in doubt.

There was no respite though for the South African bowlers, who toiled manfully without much luck in the morning session, but finally crumbled after tea as Australia added 155 runs in 28 overs in the final session to reach the close on 386 for three, already a lead of 197.

Steven Smith scored 85 but did not bat with his usual immaculate control, instead showing his powers of determination as he weathered some tough times, adding 239 for the third wicket with Warner.

The pair had accelerated after tea, lashing 83 runs in the 11 overs after the break, but Smith then steered the first ball after drinks straight to gully to give Anrich Nortje a well-deserved wicket.

But Travis Head showed he is well-equipped to also be one of the fast cars on the Australian race-track, cruising to a run-a-ball 48 not out by stumps.

About the only concern for the home side is that two of their bowlers may have broken fingers. All-rounder Cameron Green had to retire hurt on 6 after being a struck a fearful blow on the hand by Nortje, while Mitchell Starc dislocated a finger in the field on the first afternoon.

Nortje was a phenomenal mix of F1 car and tough bakkie on Tuesday, consistently sending down 150km/h thunderbolts and showing remarkable endurance to keep his speed up right until the end of a tough day, his figures of one for 50 in 16 overs not doing him justice.

He was the one bowler to really trouble Warner, finding his inside-edge several times. But South Africa’s only wicket in the crucial morning session came via a run out, Warner and Marnus Labuschagne (14) getting into a mishap over an overthrow. Nortje completed the run out of Labuschagne with good composure at the bowler’s end, Keshav Maharaj having provided the throw.

Left-armer Marco Jansen was also probing and he had Smith dropped on nine, gloving a hook down the leg-side, wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne spilling a tough, diving chance.

A neck-and-neck contest such as the 100^th Test between the Springboks and the All Blacks last weekend invariably comes down to decision-making and South Africa forwards coach Deon Davids on Monday admitted that they could have made better choices in the last 10 minutes of the epic encounter in Townsville.

The Springboks were leading 17-16 and their brilliant pressure game continued to produce opportunities for them to close out the game. But unfortunately, front-foot ball, when the momentum was with them, was kicked away too often and the All Blacks were able to counter-attack and earn the penalty which fullback Jodie Barrett slotted to give them a thrilling 19-17 victory.

“We’ve looked in-depth at our game-management in the last 10 minutes. You must remember the players were under tremendous pressure, there was a lot of pressure towards the end and great intensity.

“But we will be the first to say we could maybe have made better decisions at some stages. But things happen and there are different reasons for why things go wrong.

“Sometimes it had to do with communication. A player has to decide what to do in a split-second based on what is in front of him.

“But we will need to learn from it and, based on the quality of players we have, I am sure we will be better this weekend against the All Blacks. We try to paint scenarios based on what we expect and past experience, and the challenge is then for the players to make better decisions,” Davids said.

The 53-year-old former Southern Kings head coach is also a backer of having good mobility in the loose trio when playing New Zealand. Kwagga Smith’s outstanding performance certainly justified his selection in the starting XV, while Siya Kolisi led from the front in a wonderfully defiant performance that suggests the Springboks management will stay with the same balance amongst the loose forwards.

They have a potential problem on the bench though because replacement flank Marco van Staden, who made a real impact when he came on in Townsville, has suffered a shoulder injury. He did not train on Monday and must be considered doubtful for Saturday. Jasper Wiese is the obvious replacement, but is a tighter loose forward than the pacy Van Staden.

“The players bring different strengths and we know Kwagga’s fast over the field, he’s an explosive runner and he has a very high work-rate. Against New Zealand you need players than can give you that.

“Duane Vermeulen and Siya are both ball-carriers, lineout options and they play well in the wide channels. So it’s a combination that can deal well with our plan and what the opposition will bring.

“In terms of selection, we lost the game in the last minute but it’s a different situation if you win. We will be asking questions over what is necessary to get a good result on Saturday and in terms of what we are building towards.

“We are excited to get another chance to put it right and we are proud of the players because they implemented the plan very well, but we lost a nailbiting match,” Davids said.