Live updates: South Africa vs Australia, third Test, day four from Newlands, Cape Town

As is befitting a tight contest and the familiarity that has come from playing each other three times in the space of four weeks, emotions were pretty high during yesterday’s play.

I am sure that’s why the normally affable if excitable Marnus Labuschagne blotted his copy book by criticising Travis Head for checking on the stricken Marques Ackerman.

All that and more in our quick hits from day three.

Looks dry.

And dusty.

And spinny.

Nathan Lyon? Simon Harmer? You will get a lot of work today.

Moving day at the Cape Town Test was a cracker, with Australia pushing its advantage out to 100 runs exactly thanks to some gutsy batting from the middle order – and then the bowlers went to work to put the tourists in an ideal position to win the match.

Here’s how it all went down.

Hello everyone and welcome to the fourth (and final?) day’s play from Cape Town, as this topsy turvy series seems set to reach its conclusion, one way or another.

Another brilliant day for Australia has the tourists in a great position heading to this fourth day, with South Africa four down and just 40 runs ahead on the scoreboard.

Does that mean Australia is home and hosed?

Not on your life.

South Africa will need more runs, of course they will, and they will be desperate for a partnership that might give them a lead of 150 or more.

But given how much turn was being extracted by Nathan Lyon yesterday, and the stirrings of variable bounce for the quicks, I don’t know how comfortable I would be chasing much more than that.

So much time left in this Test match though, so you wonder if South Africa can apply themselves a bit, whether they might be able to hold on to make things very interesting into the evening.

Regardless, it should be a lot of fun, and the team of me, Simon Smale and Chris de Silva are looking forward to bringing you all the action as it happens.