Australia are set to face world record run chase after another day of misery in Perth as their gamble to play two underdone quicks in the first Test came to bite on Saturday.
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Australia fight back with late wickets
Centuries to JP Duminy and Dane Elgar meant it was ultimately the Proteas' day despite losing late wickets, the visitors leading by 388 runs at stumps.
Captain Steve Smith has seen some hard times abroad recently but he has not had a tougher day in the office at home than this. If he thought it could not get worse than the humiliating collapse on the second day then he was proven wrong by Dean Elgar and JP Duminy. He is staring at his first Test loss on home soil and fourth in a row.
Elgar and Duminy did what Australia could not, scoring marathon tons as they batted for the first two sessions to ram home the advantage gained by South Africa's bowlers.
The hosts did not strike until the final ball before tea. Despite some late wickets, the Proteas were 6-390 at stumps, leading by 388.
Australia already have to better their highest successful run chase in Perth of 342, set in 1977/78. No team has scored more than the 418 the West Indies ran down in Antigua in 2003.
The injury to Dale Steyn is cause for some optimism, however Australia's batsmen will need a dramatic form reversal if they are to post a miraculous victory. Given their brittleness, the outlook for Smith's men is grim.
The ramifications of the horrors of the past two days extend beyond Perth. Mitchell Starc and Peter Siddle are feeling the pinch after coming into the game underdone and it will be a big risk for selectors to play both quicks in Hobart.
Starc is the major concern. Having their underdone pace ace bowl on three, possibly four, consecutive days would not have been part of the plan. He was already showing signs of fatigue on Friday night but the full impact of his injury-interrupted preparation came to bear in the second innings.
The star left-arm quick came into the game with just one innings under his belt - and his lack of conditioning showed. Not only was his speed down but his control also suffered. His best spell came late when he claimed the wicket of Faf du Plessis.
Starc clearly needs more time but does not have it. Australia need him on the park. There is simply no like-for-like replacement in the country.
Siddle showed his trademark courage and will to toil away in the oppressive heat. He tied up an end for Smith but also lacked penetration. His pace was regularly in the 120s, well down on what coach Darren Lehmann would like to see from one of his fast bowlers.
His wicket of Duminy - from a 123km/h delivery - came from a tired shot rather than any venom from the bowler. Joe Mennie has never been closer to a baggy green.
Duminy and Elgar were the unlikely stars for a South African team missing the injured AB de Villiers and with Hashim Amla already out.
Their partnership of 250 is the second highest by a South African pair in Tests against Australia and comfortably the best in a game that had been dominated by the ball.
Duminy boasts an excellent record against Australia but a Test average of 32 will come as a surprise for such a talented player. It was a high-class innings by Duminy, who was prepared to occupy the crease and wait for the bad balls that would inevitably come in the heat.
Elgar was also superb, grinding away for nearly eight hours for his 127. The left-hander made a pair at this venue four years ago but was anything but the bunny that his numbers had suggested. He gave a life on 81 but was otherwise in control of his game.
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