Third Test day 2, cricket series match starts in Newlands, Cape Town, at 7.30pm AEDT, local time; scores, results, line-ups

Pristine morning in Cape Town and Newlands looks as beautiful as ever on day when Australia need to make batting hay while the sun shines.

Recent history is not entirely promising for the Australian batting lineup, but it should be noted that they made big scores when needed in Brisbane, Adelaide and Sydney during the Ashes last summer.

Of course the main question will be how much better they can handle Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada, who cut through the tourists with ruthless efficiency in Gqeberha apart from when they were temporarily held up by Travis Head and Scott Boland.

It’s a huge day, too, for Marnus Labuschagne, having been granted yet another chance to get the big score that has eluded him in Test cricket since 2023.