Boland puts South Africa on the back foot on rain-hit day in Gqeberha

Nathan Lyon's absence from Australia's XI may have been a talking point at the toss in Gqeberha. On the opening day of the second Test, South Africa were left reeling at 20 for 2 after only 12.2 overs of play, but Scott Boland provided another reminder of what Australia gain from having him in the team during the brief period of meaningful cricket.

In a game that had barely begun, Boland took out David Bedingham and Aiden Markram from consecutive deliveries to give Australia the advantage. The right-arm seamer found movement off the surface to bowl Markram through the gate before inducing an edge from Bedingham, who pushed at a delivery outside off stump. When Temba Bavuma inside-edged the ball onto his pads, he almost scored a hat trick, eliciting loud 'ooohs' and 'aahs' from the stacked cordon.

Weather interruptions dictated the day's proceedings from the outset. Although the toss went ahead on time, rain delayed the start by 90 minutes. Play eventually began with Pat Cummins' decision to bowl first, but just 5.3 overs were possible before another interruption forced an early lunch.

When play eventually got underway, debutant Marques Ackerman - one of three changes for the hosts from Durban - endured a demanding introduction to Test cricket. Opening the batting despite never having done so in first-class cricket, he spent 14 deliveries without scoring before a thick edge evaded gully to get him underway.

While Australia's fast bowlers struggled to find early purchase, Markram at the other end seemed at ease, scoring the boundary with two well-timed drives against Mitchell Starc. Starc even switched to bowling around the stumps to the right-hander, a plan he aborted quickly enough.

Boland, however, needed little time to find his rhythm after being introduced into the attack following the first rain break and threatened to run through South Africa. In the end, the weather proved to be the greatest obstacle to a full day of play. The umpires called stumps at 4:13 PM local time as the afternoon rain continued well past the scheduled tea break.

South Africa will resume at 20 for 2, with Bavuma and Ackerman at the crease. The second day's prospects are not very promising, with more rain expected to threaten to disrupt the competition once more.