When Temba Bavuma pulled Pat Cummins for four in the 35th over of South Africa's second innings, it brought up a landmark. Not for the batter, but the bowler. Cummins wasn't raising the bat (or ball) but it took him to his double century: 203 runs conceded since he last claimed a wicket when he removed Tristan Stubbs in the second innings at Kingsmead. For a bowler who had 326 Test wickets at 22.20 coming into the Cape Town Test, it has been a remarkably dry run.
The delivery after the boundary, Cummins whistled a superbly directed bouncer over Bavuma's shoulder. It looked rapid, although the broadcast didn't immediately flash up the speed. Pace has not been Cummins' issue in this series. He bowled quickly in Durban, nudging the speed gun to 147kph, as he claimed four wickets but has since gone on the most barren run of his career which, by the close of the third day at Newlands, had reached 358 deliveries.
Before this Test, Cummins was asked about his love for Test cricket. "It's the most rewarding [format], I find. It challenges you in so many ways," he said. "You're on top of the world in Durban and then a week later you're left scratching your head. Even last week [in Gqeberha] I felt like I bowled reasonably well [but] didn't take a wicket… so it's just always challenging in different ways.
Recommended Read
"The months of work that goes into being able to bowl 40 overs a week and then back up the next week. You can't just turn up like you might do for a T20 tournament. I think all those little things add up in Test cricket. The different tempos, the different problems you've got to solve along the way. It throws something different at you every week and I love it."
The last couple of matches have thrown Cummins a lot. It is not as though he suddenly started spraying the ball around. There is an argument he has bowled a touch too short for what the last two pitches have demanded. Some of that has been by design, such as the short-ball approach with the older ball in the first innings.
However, in the second innings at Newlands, Cummins was unlucky not to break his duck as he was a constant threat as Australia were relentless across 47 overs. As is so often the case in this game when it would be helpful for something to go your way, the narrow calls and near misses went against him.
In his fifth over of South Africa's second innings, he thudded a length delivery into Bavuma's pads. Bavuma, it needs no reminding, is not the tallest of batters. It was given not out on the field by Richard Kettleborough and Cummins used one of his reviews. The ball had taken Bavuma on the back pad but the tracker had it missing the top of the stumps completely by a few millimeters so, not only did Cummins' wait go on, Australia lost their second review inside 17 overs.
Then when Cummins' runs-between-wickets tally was poised on 199, Bavuma got an edge which fell just in front of slip. Two overs later, Bavuma fended a lifter at his ribcage around the corner just out of reach of Travis Head who was under the helmet at a backward short leg.
But while Cummins' own frustrations grew, having Head in that position was an example of the proactive captaincy he showed during the final session as he tinkered with field settings and made 12 bowling changes in 34 overs.
One of those, a two-over spell from Mitchell Starc at the Kelvin Grove End, brought the vital breakthrough of Marques Ackerman, who had followed his first-innings 95 with a sprightly 62, as South Africa approached wiping off the deficit. It was a vicious short ball which followed the left-hander as he half tried to ramp and half tried to arch his body out of the line.
The ball brushed the bat then went into the grille of his helmet before deflecting to slip. Ackerman staggered to the leg side and appeared unsure of what to do as he regained his balance. He called for a review but was told he had run out of time. Momentarily there was some confusion as he paused by the boundary before heading back up the steps to the dressing room although replays confirmed the involvement of bat so, in fact, South Africa had been saved a wasted review.
Fifteen overs later, with Bavuma and Matthew Breetzke edging up the narrow lead, and with around 15 minutes left in the day, Cummins' 11th bowling change of the session was to bring Nathan Lyon back from the Wynberg End. With the clock ticking down Bavuma, who had fought through 114 deliveries, went to whip a delivery out of the footmarks and was beaten by sharp spin as it crashed into the stumps.
It was a critical and, potentially, decisive moment. Cummins had made all the right moves, even if he was still waiting for things to move in his favour.