Updated March 02, 2018 02:07:07

Durban's characteristic bad light ended play early on day one of the first Test between Australia and South Africa, after an even opening exchange between the two rivals.

At stumps, Australia was 5-225 with Mitchell Marsh 32 not out and Tim Paine unbeaten on 21, after South Africa made early inroads to remove the tourists' top order relatively cheaply.

David Warner (51) and Steve Smith (56) were Australia's top scorers on day one, but two wickets apiece to Vernon Philander (2-45) and Keshav Maharaj (2-69) saw South Africa briefly claim the ascendancy.

But Marsh and Paine's 48-run partnership for the sixth wicket steadied Australia again as it looks to notch a competitive 300-plus score in the first Test.

Topics: sport, cricket, south-africa, australia

First posted March 01, 2018 18:44:04