There have been two dominant features of the Gqeberha Test over its first two days: the lack of play and Scott Boland. The performance of the latter means that Australia could still push for victory if the skies remain reasonably clear from here.
With every minute eaten out of the game, and every delivery which nips off the seam, the call to include Boland ahead of Nathan Lyon looks ever more sound. And, as it transpired on the second day, it became increasingly valuable with Josh Hazlewood absent due to illness. Having Boland as part of the attack meant that the loss of a frontline quick was not a major problem on a day reduced to 30 overs, although Hazlewood would likely have been a handful as well.
Across 14 overs Boland, who is now the oldest specialist quick to play for Australia since Ray Lindwall in 1960, has rarely missed his mark. It started on the opening day when he struck twice in consecutive balls to remove Aiden Markram and David Bedingham. Then, when play finally resumed on Monday, he picked up exactly where he left off. With his seventh delivery of the afternoon, from round the wicket, he drew Marques Ackerman into a drive which provided Alex Carey another catch.
"It probably felt like, from the end I started, [there] was probably a little bit less bounce. I felt like the stumps were really in the game," Boland said. "My game-plan is pretty simple, I'm just trying to put the pressure on the batter as much as I can, get as many repeat balls in a good area, making them make tough decisions."
It's possible to pick holes in the dismissals of Markram (driving on the up), Bedingham (playing away from the body) and Ackerman (loose push) but Boland challenges batters' techniques so often that there is always a threat on both edges.
"Scott reminds me a little bit of someone like Vernon Philander," South Africa's batting coach Ashwell Prince said. "He doesn't miss his spot often. And because of his height, slightly shorter, [but] not a lot shorter than the other guys, his balls are always in and around the top of the stump ... against taller guys, you can leave a lot more balls on length.
"Because he's hitting the top of the stumps, there's always that uncertainty over whether it's going over the top of the stumps and you can leave, or whether it's hitting the top of the stumps, which means it drags you into playing at more balls. His record speaks for itself. I think the only thing that's stopping him is that it's quite hard for him to get in the line-up consistently."
It is a little over 10 years since Boland previously toured South Africa, and his career looked very different when he was selected as part of Australia's white-ball sides. The final match of that trip, an ODI in Cape Town, was the last time Boland would play for Australia until his stunning Test debut against England at the MCG in 2021-22.
Since then, he has put together a Test career that, while only 20 matches old, is already part of Australian cricket folklore with the question often asked: how can he play more? It was a dilemma Pat Cummins spoke about ahead of the Test, before space was found for Boland when the first morning dawned cloudy and the forecast suggested time would be lost.
Boland said that leading up to the game it took him "six balls" to feel good although he was only told he was playing on the morning of the Test. He looked primed three days out when he bowled at centre-wicket training in what became an hour-long spell - around 10 overs - which, Boland explained, was longer than he'd planned because he wanted to make up for what he felt was a bit of a dip in the middle of his session. That sort of attention to detail helps him maintain a state of readiness despite lengthy periods without game time.
"I'm not like, 25 [years old], so I know that time's probably running out a little bit," he said. "But we've got so many Tests over the next 12 months that I knew I was going to play a part somewhere, so [I] back that preparation. I want to play every Test, but I probably know that's not 100% realistic, so I just want to be ready for whenever I get an opportunity and then trying to get back into the game straight away."
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When Mitchell Starc followed Boland's success by removing Matthew Breetzke, South Africa were 40 for 4 and appeared to he heading for a world of pain. Temba Bavuma and Ryan Rickelton, given a life on 26 when Marnus Labuschagne spilled a chance at leg slip that he appeared to lose in the setting sun, partly righted the ship with a stand of 52, but Boland still loomed large.
Having returned for a second spell from the Park Drive End, his Ashes avatar made an appearance when Carey came up to the stumps midway through his 12th over. The first delivery after the move found Rickelton's outside edge but it was played with soft hands and went wide of second slip.
After that, he switched to the Duck Pond End to complete the day and, with a sense of inevitability, had something in store. From around the wicket, he found the edge of Rickelton. It was a reasonably fine nick and was there for Carey to snaffle, but the keeper didn't go for it. Remarkably, however, Matt Renshaw was able to swoop low to his right to complete a stunning catch.
Renshaw wore a look of astonishment that he'd been able to hold on, shared by his team-mates, while Carey's was a little more of relief. "I thought it was going for four…unbelievable catch," Boland said.
With a helping hand, Boland had done Boland things. It's a Test where his threat will be ever-present when he has ball in hand.