Rain severely limited play on the opening day of the second Test between South Africa and Australia in Port Elizabeth, with South Africa reaching 20 for two wickets in a rain-affected session. Only 12 overs were possible before persistent showers forced the early suspension of play.

Australia’s captain Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bowl first despite the uncertain weather, but conditions delayed the start by 90 minutes. Initial attempts by Australia’s pace bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were hindered by damp conditions affecting their run-ups. It was the introduction of seamer Scott Boland, brought in to replace the off-spinner Nathan Lyon, that made an immediate impact.

Boland claimed two wickets in consecutive balls early in his second over. He first dismissed South African opener Aiden Markram, who played a drive that nipped back sharply to clip the inside edge onto the middle stump. The following delivery caught David Bedingham’s loose drive away from his body, resulting in an edge that was comfortably caught behind the stumps.

The early wickets put South Africa on the back foot as they aimed to recover from a heavy defeat suffered in the first Test at Durban. Debutant Marques Ackerman, opening the batting for the first time in his career, faced a challenging start. He took 14 balls to score his first run and narrowly survived a sharp edge through the gully before play was halted by rain.

South Africa’s side saw the return of seamer Kagiso Rabada, who replaced the spinner Keshav Maharaj. Despite this change, the hosts continued to include specialist spinner Simon Harmer in their lineup. For Australia, the decision to leave out Lyon—who had been a fixture in the team since 2013 when available—was notable. While Lyon had previously been omitted from two pink-ball Tests in the past year against his wishes, selectors opted for Boland for this red-ball Test, a choice vindicated by his early success.

Play was eventually abandoned at 4:15 p.m. due to further rain, with more inclement weather forecast for the coming days, raising questions about how much cricket will be possible for the remainder of the five-day match.