After enjoying one of the most successful seasons in the club’s recent history in becoming Europa Conference League champions, West Ham United followed up with an action-packed summer transfer window.

Club captain Declan Rice left to join Arsenal in a record-breaking £105m move, which allowed the Hammers to reinvest heavily in their squad, bringing in the likes of Mohammed Kudus, Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse among others.

While several new incomings were brought in, we have also seen West Ham in recent years begin to capitalise on the talent being nurtured in the academy, with the goal of producing a future star.

Who is in West Ham’s academy?

The most notable name to have graduated from the setup more recently would have to be the now-departed Declan Rice.

Rice, who was originally part of the Chelsea academy, joined West Ham at the age of 14 after being released from their London rivals. The England international would spend ten years at the club and of course captained the side in their victorious European run last season, winning their first major trophy since 1980.

Despite the 24-year-old’s absence, by no means does it rule out any more talent being able to make a name for themselves by following a similar route into the first team.

In their trip to Bucharest for the final group game of the Europa Conference League last season, manager David Moyes selected a young side with top spot in the group already guaranteed, giving players the opportunity to impress.

Of those youthful starters, one of which was 18-year-old prospect Divin Mubama.

The young forward marked his debut by assisting his first goal for the club in a comfortable 3-0 win.

After continuing to impress in the Premier League 2, Mubama would make his Premier League debut in the closing stages of West Ham’s defeat to Arsenal towards the end of 2022.

Another brief cameo in the FA Cup in early 2023 had fans impressed, and the teenager was rewarded with another start shortly after in the 2nd leg of the round of 16 stage in the Europa Conference League, against Cypriot side AEK Larnaca.

Moyes’ faith in the youngster paid off, with Mubama scoring his first senior goal for the club and West Ham’s fourth on the night, as they progressed to the quarter-finals in a 6-0 aggregate win.

While it may seem as though Mubama is head and shoulders above the rest of his competition at youth level, there is currently another gifted centre-forward making headlines in West Ham’s current youth setup.

Northern Ireland’s Callum Marshall.

Who is Callum Marshall?

The promising forward joined the Hammers U18s in January 2022 from Northern Ireland outfit Linfield, and has impressed in multiple teams at youth level in the time since.

In terms of his performances, the majority of his appearances so far have come in the U18 Premier League, where Marshall has played 32 times over the last two seasons, scoring 25 goals and assisting four.

He has also had his chances in the U23’s side as well, playing in the Premier League 2 14 times and scoring on six occasions.

On the international stage, the 18-year-old has played for both Northern Ireland's U18 and U19 teams, scoring once.

Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take long for Marshall to catch the eye of fans on social media.

Only a matter of months after his arrival at the club, his standout performances in the U18’s side, particularly after a winning goal against Brighton, gained plenty of praise.

Journalist Josh Bunting, for example, took to Twitter to write: “Callum Marshall is flying with West Ham under 18’s, what an impact he’s made in east London.”

With no doubt that West Ham have two incredibly talented centre-forwards on their hands, some may argue that only one will be able to win the battle for a future place in the first team, but that might not be the case.

How do Mubama and Marshall compare?

The 2022/23 FA Youth Cup saw West Ham lift the coveted trophy for the first time since 1999, and both players played a major role in the run to do so.

In Marshall’s six appearances, he scored four goals and assisted one, with an average of one goal contribution every 103 minutes.

Mubama on the other hand made five appearances and scored an incredible eight goals, including an unstoppable hat-trick in the 6-1 semi-final win against Southampton and would end the tournament as the top scorer.

The two players’ equally impressive contributions to the U18’s cup success highlights their ability to be able to play alongside each other, rather than leaving the manager with the difficult choice of whom to pick.

While Mubama is more of an out-and-out centre-forward, Marshall is also capable of performing on either side of the attack, which is always a benefit to have with a forward as seen with so many examples in modern football, with Kylian Mbappe perhaps being the most notable.

In all competitions for West Ham, Marshall does have the slightest of edges in terms of goals per game, with 0.64 – compared to Mubama’s 0.6.

Divin Mubama

Callum Marshall

Goals

Assists

Goals

Assists

Premier League 2

14

2

6

1

U18 Premier League

30

4

25

4

FA Youth Cup

10

1

4

1

Stats according to Transfermarkt

What does the future hold for Marshall?

Despite having yet made his first senior appearance for the club, it would not be a surprise to see Moyes slowly integrate the Northern Irish gem into the first team on occasions this year, as seen with Mubama the previous year.

Following the Europa Conference League success of last year, the Hammers will notice a jump in quality as they compete in this year’s Europa League, although the experience won’t be too new to Moyes and his side, who went all the way to the semi-finals in their previous appearance in the competition in the 2021/22 season.

Perhaps the earlier stages of the domestic trophies could prove to be an opportunity for Marshall to get his chance, though even if it may be deemed too soon for the 18-year-old, his position at the East London side will be one to watch in the upcoming seasons.

Manchester United’s rich and storied history of overpaying significantly for players who failed to live up to expectations doesn’t appear to be going away.

Although Erik ten Hag has signed a few stars who could form the backbone of the team for the next few seasons, notably Andre Onana, Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Rasmus Hojlund, but extravagant fees have also been spent on certain arrivals who have yet to shine.

Antony cost the Red Devils £86m in the summer of 2022 from Ajax and has since scored just eight times, hardly the return such a significant investment promised.

Mason Mount was signed this summer for £60m, yet he hasn’t exactly lit up Old Trafford as yet as he sits on the treatment table, and while these two players have time on their side, the club overpaid for them, without a shadow of a doubt.

Unfortunately, this has been happening at the Red Devils since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 under a succession of managers who tried to emulate the achievements of the great man in the United hot seat.

Indeed, it was under Jose Mourinho that the club arguably wasted the most money, with players such as Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku underachieving massively during their stints in Manchester.

It was perhaps the signing of Alexis Sanchez which proved to be one of Mourinho’s worst during his spell as manager, especially considering the hype surrounding his move.

How much did Manchester United sign Alexis Sanchez for?

The Old Trafford side shelled out £30m to sign the former Barcelona star from the Gunners during the 2018 January transfer window.

Mourinho heaped praise on him during his arrival, saying: "Alexis is one of the best attacking players in the world and he will complete our very young and talented group of attacking players.

"He will bring his ambition, drive and personality – qualities that make a Manchester United player."

His record in the Premier League had been wonderful under Arsene Wenger, scoring 60 goals in the top flight across just three and half seasons, while netting 80 goals and grabbing 65 assists overall, suggesting the £30m could turn into a bargain.

These attacking qualities combined with his prior experience in England surely meant the Chilean would become a huge success in Manchester. How wrong could it go?

What happened to Alexis Sanchez?

Despite arriving with much fanfare at United that winter, Sanchez had been struggling for Arsenal during the opening months of the 2017/18 campaign, even being dubbed “woeful” by journalist John Cross mere weeks before moving north.

He had netted just eight times during the opening half of that season, yet a fresh start was perhaps required for him to hit the heights during his first three years in London.

Sanchez ended up scoring three goals and registering five assists across just 16 games in the Premier League and FA Cup, which was a solid if unspectacular start to his United career and surely this would be used as a base from which to build on during the following term.

It proved to be a false dawn, as the versatile forward managed to score twice across 27 matches, a terrible return for a player of his quality and there were now huge question marks over his signing.

The Chilean started only nine league matches that campaign, while averaging just 0.5 shots on target per game, creating only six big chances and succeeding with 0.7 dribble attempts during his spell on the pitch.

Across the whole United squad for these attacking metrics, he ranked tenth, fifth and sixth, hardly the type of form which was going to spearhead the club to glory or repay the £30m fee which was shelled out to lure him to the club 18 months prior.

Having scored just five goals for United, he cost them a staggering £6m per effort just on the fee alone. Evidently, this was a gigantic waste of money during a time when they were struggling to achieve success.

Where is Alexis Sanchez now?

His valuation, as per Football Transfers stood at €47.3m (£41m) upon his arrival at the Red Devils in 2018, yet when he left to join Inter Milan on a free transfer – following a season-long loan during the 2019/20 campaign – his value had dropped rapidly, sitting at just €13.6m (£12m), representing a fall of £29m.

His spell in Italy was far more productive than the previous few years spent in England as he ended up scoring 20 goals and grabbing 23 assists for Inter, helping them win the Serie A title during the 2020/21 campaign.

1

4

0.5

0.5

6

5

1.1

1.5

0.7

1

Across the whole Inter squad that term, Sanchez ranked third for shots on target per game (0.5), seventh for big chances created (eight) and fourth for key passes per game (1.2), showing a pleasant return to form on the continent and giving Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a taste of what he was missing.

He spent a season in France with Marseille as he continued to prove that there is still life in the old dog yet, finishing the 2022/23 campaign with 18 goals and three assists in all competitions which led to him joining Inter yet again during the summer transfer window.

These statistics go to show that there was an issue at United, rather than with Sanchez as his form before and after his spell at the club has allowed him to demonstrate his vast attacking abilities.

There is no doubt he flopped in Manchester, but with a more stable environment and more regular game time, could Sanchez have actually succeeded?

Who knows, but it was once again a waste of money by Mourinho, who in his bid to return United to their glory years, ended up splurging case left right and centre on a collection of players who simply weren’t up to the task.

Ten Hag will have taken note of his predecessors' mistakes in charge of the 13-time Premier League winners, yet with the aforementioned fees for Antony and Mount big talking points, it’s evident that the club still have a penchant for spending lavish fees on players who are potentially worth a lot less.

Former West Ham United star Joe Cole has drawn a pretty interesting comparison between one player and Arsenal star Declan Rice, despite James Ward-Prowse taking all of the plaudits.

West Ham 3-1 Backa Topola

David Moyes and the Hammers opened their Europa League account with a solid 3-1 win over Serbian super league side Backa Topola on Thursday evening. After a fairly tepid first half, where Topola really frustrated West Ham, the hosts were given an early scare upon the second half restart when a defensive disaster handed the away side a shock lead.

Angelo Ogbonna was caught on the ball to display his rustiness in Claret and Blue, but luckily for Moyes, Nemanja Petrovic's own-goal began to spare their blushes with an equaliser on the 66 minute mark. It took just a few minutes for summer signing Mohammed Kudus to gift West Ham the lead afterwards, as the Ghana star headed home from a corner.

Another new arrival, James Ward-Prowse, supplied the delivery for Kudus before doing the same for Tomas Soucek – who headed home from another corner with eight minutes of normal time left to play. Moyes, speaking after the game, admitted his side could've improved in a lot of things but ultimately didn't fear the worst at any point.

"Tonight I thought we did enough to win although I didn't think we were great in a lot of things we did," said West Ham's manager after the match. "The goal was probably our own doing but I didn't fear the worst. It was a game where we had the lot of the ball and gave us a chance to see if we could do what teams have done to us lately.

"The mistake changed the game – but it also made us more determined. Kudus I thought started really brightly and came up with an important goal when I couldn't really see where we would get one from."

Latest West Ham news

One star player who missed the encounter, though, was Mexico international midfielder Edson Alvarez. The 25-year-old was forced to sit out through suspension after picking up a red card in the competition earlier this year, during his Ajax days against Union Berlin.

Speaking ahead of the encounter, former Hammer's midfielder Cole, now working as a pundit on TNT Sports, drew an interesting comparison with ex-superstar Rice. Cole said that while Alvarez won't directly replace the Arsenal star, he suggested that the Mexican can emulate what Rice did during his West Ham days.

“Alvarez is a big miss for them,” Cole told TNT Sports ahead of West Ham’s group-stage opener at the London Stadium. “[James] Ward-Prowse has taken the plaudits because of his ability and what he’s done, he’s been brilliant, outstanding.

“But don’t underestimate Alvarez. He's absolutely perfect… not a replacement for Declan because that would be a tall order. But he can do what Declan did for the club.”

While Ward-Prowse has arguably been West Ham's signing of the summer thus far, Alvarez certainly doesn't fall far behind. Indeed, the former Eredivisie star has been lavished with praise by sections of the media for his start to life in east London, and his tenacious style is also winning over parts of the fanbase.

Things aren't going well for Newcastle United at the moment and they have now suffered a fresh injury blow alongside the concern for Sven Botman, according to a new update.

Who is injured for Newcastle?

The Magpies had such an impressive season last time around, finishing fourth in the Premier League and getting back into the Champions League, but things aren't going to plan in 2023/24 to date.

Having cruised to an emphatic 5-1 win at home to Aston Villa on the opening weekend of the campaign, things have gone very wrong since, with three defeats in a row. They were beaten 1-0 away to Manchester City, which certainly wasn't a disaster, but losing to 10-man Liverpool was hugely disappointing, as was Saturday's 3-1 defeat at Brighton.

It means the mood at St James' Park is fairly bleak heading into the international break, and the absence of the influential Botman was felt against Brighton, with Newcastle looking more open at the back without him around. Joe Willock is also currently absent, having not yet featured this season, and now another blow has emerged during the international break.

Is Alex Murphy injured for Newcastle?

According to an update from Newcastle World, Magpies youngster Alex Murphy has now also been sidelined through injury, being ruled out of the international break:

"Newcastle United’s young defender Alex Murphy has been forced to withdraw from international duty because of injury. The 19-year-old was called up to the Republic of Ireland’s Under-21 squad for Euro qualifiers against Turkey and San Marino but has been replaced by Wigan Athletic defender Baba Adeeko.

"In a statement released by Ireland on Monday morning, they revealed Murphy suffered an injury during the young Magpies’ 4-0 defeat to Manchester City Under-21s on Saturday and was therefore unavailable."

While Murphy certainly isn't a key man at Newcastle currently, this is still clearly another setback at a difficult time for the Magpies, with Eddie Howe no doubt beginning to feel like the world is against him and his depth is dwindling – there are also rumours about Joelinton's fitness.

The 19-year-old is a talented centre-back who has made 22 appearances for the Under-21s, not to mention winning nine caps for the Republic of Ireland's Under-19s, while Howe himself has lauded him in the past, saying:

"I thought he was excellent, really really good. It's a very tough environment to come into, especially slightly out of position. But he was very composed, and defended really well. I was really, really pleased with him.

"I've always liked Alex. I think he's a very good technician. But it's really when you find out about players when you're in this environment- a full crowd, Premier League opposition. He can be very pleased with his night's work."

The hope is that Murphy's absence is only a short-term one, allowing him to be fit once the international break is over, as he continues to mature as a footballer and hopefully push for first-team football in the near future.

More important for Newcastle right now is getting Botman back fit, though, with the centre-back someone who the Magpies cannot afford to be without for an extended period of time, as the defeat away to Brighton showed, with goals conceded simply too easily.

A hand injury has left Misbah-ul-Haq a doubtful starter for the PSL Qualifier against Karachi Kings in Dubai on Sunday night. The Islamabad United captain has suffered a hairline fracture in the side of his hand, near the wrist. The 43-year-old also missed Islamabad’s first two games of the season with a hamstring injury.If he does not play, Islamabad will miss Misbah’s leadership even if his batting has been a peripheral force this season: he has only batted four times in eight matches, with a top score of 22.Misbah spent Saturday in hospital, getting his injury assessed, and insists that he can play the game with injections. In the worst-case scenario that he cannot play, the South African batsman JP Duminy is expected to lead the side. Rumman Raees, Islamabad’s vice-captain, led the side in Misbah’s absence in the first two games of the season, but was himself ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury, after playing only three games.Islamabad finished top of the PSL’s league table, with seven wins from their ten games. The winner of the Qualifier will directly enter the tournament final, which is scheduled for March 25 in Karachi. The loser will take a flight to Lahore to play an Eliminator on March 21 at the Gaddafi Stadium, against the winner of the other Eliminator between Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiator on March 20.The Pakistani players in the Peshawar and Zalmi squads have already landed in Lahore. The overseas players who have committed to travelling to Pakistan will fly out from Dubai on March 19.

نجح منتخب كرواتيا في تحقيق الفوز أمام نظيره البرتغال بنتيجة 2/1، في مباراتهما الودية استعدادًا لبطولة كأس أمم أوروبا.

والتقى منتخب البرتغال مع نظيره الكرواتي في مواجهة ودية، ضمن الاستعدادات لبطولة كأس أمم أوروبا 2024، على الملعب الوطني بمدينة لشبونة البرتغالية.

اقرأ ايضاً.. كروس: ألمانيا بطل أوروبا 2024.. وبدأ العد التنازلي لمباراتي الأخيرة

وافتتح لوكا مودريتش التسجيل لمنتخب كرواتيا بهدف في الدقيقة الثامنة من المباراة، من علامة الجزاء.

ونجح منتخب البرتغال في إدراك التعادل عن طريق ديوجو جوتا، بهدف أحرزه في الدقيقة 48 من اللقاء، بعدما تلقى تمريرة حاسمة من نيلسون سيميدو.

فيما تمكن أنتي بوديمير من تسجيل ثاني أهداف منتخب كرواتيا بحلول الدقيقة 56.

وتلتقي البرتغال وديًا مع إيرلندا يوم الثلاثاء المقبل، فيما اختتمت كرواتيا مبارايتها الودية قبل مواجهة إسبانيا في بطولة يورو 2024 السبت القادم.

وتنطلق منافسات كأس أمم أوروبا يوم 14 يونيو الجاري وتستمر حتى 14 يوليو القادم، وتستضيفها ألمانيا. اهداف مباراة البرتغال وكرواتيا 2 1 مباراة ودية

MatériaMais Notícias

A partir desta quarta-feira, Fortaleza e São Paulo abrem a série de confrontos válido pelas oitavas de final da Copa do Brasil. No primeiro jogo, cabe ao Leão abrir uma vantagem confortável, já que a volta está marcada para o Morumbi.

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Ídolo dos clubes, Rogério Ceni, atual comandante do Tricolor do Pici, coloca o seu ex-time como favorito no confronto por conta do investimento e estrutura dos clubes.

‘O favoritismo é do São Paulo, a diferença de investimento, estrutura é muito grande. O favoritismo é do São Paulo, se eu jogasse lá eu teria certeza que o favoritismo é do São Paulo; hoje como treinador do Fortaleza, eu também tenho essa consciência. Têm alguns clubes no Brasil que é impossível jogar de igual para igual, mas vou fazer o meu melhor para vencer, não tenha a mínima dúvida’, comentou ao programa ‘Bem, Amigos’.

O jogo da volta entre Fortaleza e São Paulo está marcado para o dia 25 de outubro.

Newcastle United defender Sven Botman has returned to the club's training ground, and a reliable journalist has revealed the chances of him being involved in the Premier League game vs Brentford next weekend.

What's the latest injury news on Sven Botman?

Last summer, Botman arrived at St. James’ Park from Ligue 1 side Lille where he’s since gone on to make 47 appearances to date, but he’s recently been spending some time on the sidelines after being forced off the pitch with an ankle injury on 87 minutes during last month’s 2-1 loss to Liverpool.

The Daily Mail’s Craig Hope soon after delivered an update on the severity of the centre-back’s problem, stating:

“Understand early indications are that Sven Botman has avoided serious damage to his ankle after injury suffered on Sunday. More news awaited ahead of [the] weekend but I’m told it’s not as bad as perhaps first feared.”

The Netherlands international has recently been left out of his nation’s squad for their Euro 2024 qualifiers to focus on his recovery in the Northeast, and if the following update is to be believed, the 23-year-old could be set to stage his comeback as soon as next week.

Will Botman play against Brentford?

Taking to X on Monday, Jordan Cronin confirmed that Botman has returned to Newcastle's training ground as he works his way back to full fitness, although his availability for next weekend's visit of Brentford is a mystery.

“Sven Botman was back at #NUFC’s training ground today as continues his recovery from an ankle injury. Eddie Howe said it is "unknown" if Botman will return v Brentford but his latest social media activity offers hope of him being available.”

Just how good is Botman?

Standing at 6 foot 3, Botman has been dubbed a defensive “unit” at Newcastle by football talent scout Jacek Kulig and the physical presence that he has brought to the backline since joining is clear for all to see, so it would be a huge boost if he was edging nearer to a return.

Sponsored by Nike, Howe’s ace was averaging three clearances and two aerial wins per top-flight game prior to his absence, via WhoScored, not to mention that he’s won all five of the tackles he’s attempted this term which is the joint-best success rate throughout the whole of the squad, as per FBRef.

The Magpies’ £90k-per-week earner, who has also recorded one assist since putting pen to paper with the black and white stripes, is even capable of operating out wide at left-back alongside his usual role in the heart of the defence, so he provides the boss with some welcome versatility, albeit in case of absolute emergencies.

Aside from Botman, Howe only has Fabian Schar and Jamaal Lascelles as his two natural options at centre-back so he will no doubt be worried that he's lacking reinforcements having failed to bolster his ranks over the summer, so hopefully for the boss, the former will soon be back at his disposal.

Newcastle United have been backed to sign an exciting player by TalkSPORT pundit Gabby Agbonlahor, who believes the player would rather join the northeast outfit over several other high-profile clubs in the Premier League.

How have Newcastle started the season?

Eddie Howe’s side have had a mixed start to the new campaign having secured two wins but also suffered three defeats from their opening five games, meaning that having taken six points from a possible 15 and they find themselves 12th in the table, as per the division’s official website.

The Magpies, however, did enjoy their first game in the Champions League, securing a hard-fought 0-0 draw against AC Milan at San Siro Stadium on Tuesday night, and the opportunity to play under the lights at the highest level is something that could appeal to one of the club’s targets in particular.

According to Spanish reports, PIF are plotting a swoop for West Ham United’s Lucas Paqueta in January following his failed £80m move to Manchester City over the summer, with Fabrizio Romano confirming that chiefs wanted him back in May, but at the time, decided to instead prioritise a deal for Sandro Tonali.

Are Newcastle signing Lucas Paqueta?

Speaking to Football Insider, TalkSPORT pundit Gabby Agbonlahor was asked whether Paqueta would choose to join Newcastle over some of their biggest rivals in the Premier League should he leave David Moyes' side in 2024, to which he replied:

“Of course. They’ve got a project now, and they’ve got the richest owners in the world. The ambition is to play Champions League football every season, and that will attract Paqueta – playing in the big boy competition.

"I think Paqueta would go to Newcastle, Man United, Arsenal, Liverpool – these big clubs have a bigger chance of finishing in the top four.

“The Man City move might not have happened but I think he’d choose Newcastle. He knows there is a good Brazilian contingent at the club already in Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes. I think it’s a move he would seriously look at.”

What age is Lucas Paqueta?

Paqueta is currently 26 years of age so is in the real prime years of his career, and with the positive impact that he has at both ends of the pitch, he has been dubbed a “mind-boggling” player by his former teammate Declan Rice at West Ham.

The Brazil international, who is naturally an attacking midfielder, has posted 14 contributions (eight assists and six goals) in 46 appearances at the London Stadium, but he is also a rock in defence, where he currently ranks in the 99th percentile for tackles and the 97th percentile for clearances by midfielders, via FBRef (prior to the game vs TSC on Thursday).

Moyes’ left-footed ace, who pockets £150k-per-week, has even already had a taste of success having been crowned Europa Conference League winner during the 2022/23 season, but he would have the perfect chance to step up to the next level and really test himself should he decide to put pen to paper at Newcastle.

A low-key opening day of the series finished early and without a runaway winner, though South Africa were probably slightly the happier after keeping Australia to 225 for 5

The Report by Brydon Coverdale01-Mar-2018

Steven Smith drives through the covers•Getty Images

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIt wasn’t exactly a whimper, but neither was it much of a bang. Perhaps low-key is the best way to describe the opening day of the series at Kingsmead. Durbanites didn’t flock to the venue, and what the vast majority of the city missed was a couple of half-centuries from Steven Smith and David Warner, a few fifty partnerships, five wickets, and a day that was shortened by 14 overs due to bad light. It was a day without a runaway winner, though South Africa will probably go to bed slightly happier.Play ended with Australia on 225 for 5, with Mitchell Marsh on 32 and Tim Paine on 21. Like most of the Australians before them, they had made starts, but nobody yet managed to push on to an influential score. South Africa’s bowling was consistent and admirable, and there were two wickets each for Vernon Philander and Keshav Maharaj, and one to Kagiso Rabada. Their catching was sharp, though their reviewing was awful. Having lost the toss, they would be comfortable with their position.Most notably for South Africa, they prevented Warner and Smith from really getting away. Smith brought up his fifth consecutive score of fifty-plus in Tests, and Warner shook off his recent struggles against the white ball to extend his run of fifty-plus Test scores in South Africa to six. But like a pair of rockabilly tragics, they both got stuck in the fifties.Philander snared Warner for 51 with the final ball before lunch to leave Australia three-down at the long break, having already lost Cameron Bancroft and Usman Khawaja cheaply. Warner fell to an excellent catch from AB de Villiers at second slip and it was the second brilliant take by the South Africans in the session – Quinton de Kock had dived to his left to pouch a tough chance to remove Khawaja for 14 when Rabada nibbled one away in his first over.Keshav Maharaj claimed the wickets of Steven Smith and Shaun Marsh•AFP

Although just a single wicket fell in the next session it was arguably as valuable as the three that fell before lunch, for it was that of Smith, the best Test batsman in the world and the man to whom Australia look for stability. On 56, Smith edged one off the spin of Maharaj and saw the ball ricochet off the wicketkeeper de Kock and lob up to be easily grabbed by de Villiers at slip. It left Australia at 151 for 4, and less than ten overs later Maharaj added Shaun Marsh, who limply pushed outside off and edged behind for 40.There was no shortage of action in the opening session, with South Africa out of reviews by the 11th over. They wasted their first on the third ball of the Test, when Morne Morkel’s delivery to Bancroft was shown to be both high and wide of leg stump, and the second review disappeared when Maharaj’s first ball spun sharply in to Warner – too sharply, for it would have missed leg stump comfortably.They were potentially costly errors, and South Africa later could have had Shaun Marsh lbw on 19 if they had a review left in the bank. Rabada fired one in from around the wicket and struck Marsh low but was given not out on field; ball-tracking showed the delivery cannoning into leg stump. That they picked up Marsh before he did too much further damage must have been a relief.The only Australian who failed to reach double figures was Bancroft, whose place in the Test side becomes more tenuous with each failure. Bancroft took the strange decision to walk across his stumps against the second ball he faced from Philander and edged behind for 5, the manner of his dismissal hardly what might have been expected of a man noted for patience.By the close of play, all of his batting colleagues had made better starts, though Australia’s position was not especially strong. On an understated day of Test cricket, it was the hosts who narrowly took the honours.