Australia fielded the oldest playing XI in their men’s Test history in the first Test against South Africa in Durban on Friday, with all 11 players aged 30 or above. It was the first time in 149 years that an Australian men’s Test XI did not include a player in his 20s.Captain Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to bat, with Australia’s playing XI having an average age of 34.59. According to cricket statistician Ric Finlay, as quoted by News18, it was the seventh-oldest Test XI of all time and the oldest in around 100 years.At 38, spinner Nathan Lyon was the oldest member of the side, while Matt Renshaw, 30, was the youngest. Five players were aged 35 or above: Lyon, Steve Smith (37), Mitchell Starc (36), Alex Carey (35) and Josh Hazlewood (35).Australia’s regular rotation of openers had ensured that the team included at least one player under 30 for months. However, that changed with the recall of Nic Maddinson, 34, for the Durban Test.Maddinson was playing his first Test since December 2016. He has featured in only three Tests, all of them in that year.Australia’s 18-member squad has an average age of around 32.6, with only three players under 30. Cooper Connolly, 23, is the youngest, followed by Cameron Green, 27, and Sam Harper, 29. Green has regularly featured in the playing XI but has struggled for form in recent times.Meanwhile, South Africa’s pace attack, without their spearhead Kagiso Rabada, restricted Australia to 187/6 before bad light and rain brought an early end to the first day of the opening Test at Kingsmead in Durban on Friday.Despite Rabada’s absence, Anrich Nortje, Wiaan Mulder and Marco Jansen made good use of the early movement and bounce on a pitch with a tinge of grass after Australia chose to bat. Mulder struck first by dismissing Travis Head for nine, before Jansen ended Maddinson’s scoreless 33-ball stay on his return to Test cricket, leaving Australia at 24/2.Marnus Labuschagne, who scored 37, and Smith, who made 25, steadied the innings with a 60-run partnership for the third wicket off 94 balls. Smith, who moved past Steve Waugh to become Australia’s third-highest run-scorer in men’s Tests, hit two sixes off spinner Keshav Maharaj before Jansen dismissed him after lunch.Australia had won the toss and opted to bat in the first match of the three-Test World Test Championship series.
