‘It’ll end in a tie’: All FOUR results on offer as Aussies face moment of truth – LIVE
Do or die for Marnus on day 5?! | 13:14
Tim Miller from Fox SportsOctober 31st, 2026 6:21 pm
It is all on the line for Australia and South Africa as day five of the third Test dawns – and in a rare treat, all four results are on offer for both sides in Cape Town. Live updates below!
Australia’s run chase of 288 on a pitch offering spin but which is yet to significantly break up, a target set by South African pair Ryan Rickelton and Wiaan Mulder’s fourth-day centuries, looms as a monumental, yet achievable, task.
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Just one team – a Ricky Ponting-inspired Australian line-up in 2002 – has successfully chased more in the fourth innings at Newlands.
But Pat Cummins’ men have aced similar efforts before, with two-wicket and four-wicket wins at Edgbaston during the 2023 Ashes and Christchurch against New Zealand in 2024 respectively offering plenty of cause for hope.
MATCH CENTRE: Live scores from the second Test
A win would keep the Aussies clear atop the World Test Championship rankings, while defeat would see them slump to third, behind both the Proteas and New Zealand.
A draw keeps them in second spot ahead of a bumper window featuring four Tests against the Black Caps and a five-Test tour of India, to go with the 150th anniversary Test against England in March next year.
Commentator Adam Collins, meanwhile, has cheekily suggested the unlikeliest result of all.
Individually, Marnus Labuschagne faces a defining day in his Test career, with a second failure following his first innings duck likely to see him lose his place in the team for the summer.
“He needs (an) innings of context,” Kerry O’Keeffe said on Fox Cricket while previewing the final day.
“If Australia was to go close or even reach the target, if he plays an innings of significance in the chase, then his career is revived, so that is the key.
“I mean, it could be 50 or 60 on a turning pitch, it doesn’t necessarily have to be 100 if Australia get there.”
Follow all the action from day four of the deciding Test between Australia and South Africa below. Can’t see the blog? (Click here)
Source: www.foxsports.com.au
