London: Ange Postecoglou watched intently from a box in the Tavern Stand as Australia and South Africa did their best to emulate the famous first day of a Lord’s Test match 20 years ago.

In 2005, England revelled in the dismissal of Ricky Ponting’s mighty Australians for 190, only to be flummoxed by Glenn McGrath and reduced to 7-92 at the close.

Pat Cummins of Australia celebrates after taking the wicket of Wiaan Mulder.Credit: Getty Images

If not quite so dramatic, the opening exchanges of the World Test Championship final carried a similar sense of undulation in north London, as Kagiso Rabada humbled Australia for 212, before Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood left South Africa wobbling at 4-43 by stumps.

For Postecoglou, who was happy to relax at side stage as a guest of Cricket Australia after two dramatic years with Tottenham Hotspur, the game’s fast-forward nature kept him and more than 26,000 other spectators very much on the edges of their seats.

There is brittleness in evidence among the batters on both sides, and they were fully stretched by quality fast bowling and a pitch that did more than its straw-coloured visage might have at first suggested. In all, nine wickets fell for 64 runs in the day’s final session.

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