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Lunch South Africa 225 and 2 for 320 (Amla 149*, de Villiers 18*) lead Australia 163 (Wade 68, Hastings 32, Steyn 4-40, Peterson 3-44) by 382 runs
The dismissal of Jacques Kallis was the only blip in another comfortable session for South Africa © Getty Images
Australia's hopes for a miracle did not eventuate as Hashim Amla waltzed on through the morning session of the third day in Perth, pushing South Africa's lead in the third Test to the outskirts of 400. Amla reached a richly deserved century from only 87 balls in the first over of the day, and lost only Jacques Kallis while moving on to 149 in a total of 3 for 320.
They did so in the face of an Australian bowling effort much improved on the wastefulness of the second evening, but there was a lack of threat about the hosts that reflected the mighty advantage South Africa had already wrested before play began. Mitchell Starc defeated Kallis and beat the bat every now and then, while Mitchell Johnson drew a half-chance from Amla's bat with one of the worst balls of the series - a wide full toss the batsman did well to reach.
Resuming with a lead of 292, South Africa rose to salute Amla when he flicked Johnson to fine leg for his 18th Test century, a stroke representative of his legside mastery. Amla's movement across outside off stump to play to leg was exaggerated at times, but apart from the sliced drive from Johnson's wide ball that just eluded Michael Hussey's reach he was seldom troubled.
Kallis rumbled along comfortably enough himself until Michael Clarke swung Starc around to the Prindiville Stand end, teasing out a top-edged hook shot that Johnson held well at fine leg, the ball dying into the breeze late in its path. Apart from one impudent reverse-sweep off the bowling of Nathan Lyon, AB de Villiers took his time to get established but accompanied Amla to the interval with an enormous amount of time left to stretch Australia's eventual target.
The dismissal of Jacques Kallis was the only blip in another comfortable session for South Africa © Getty Images
Australia's hopes for a miracle did not eventuate as Hashim Amla waltzed on through the morning session of the third day in Perth, pushing South Africa's lead in the third Test to the outskirts of 400. Amla reached a richly deserved century from only 87 balls in the first over of the day, and lost only Jacques Kallis while moving on to 149 in a total of 3 for 320.
They did so in the face of an Australian bowling effort much improved on the wastefulness of the second evening, but there was a lack of threat about the hosts that reflected the mighty advantage South Africa had already wrested before play began. Mitchell Starc defeated Kallis and beat the bat every now and then, while Mitchell Johnson drew a half-chance from Amla's bat with one of the worst balls of the series - a wide full toss the batsman did well to reach.
Resuming with a lead of 292, South Africa rose to salute Amla when he flicked Johnson to fine leg for his 18th Test century, a stroke representative of his legside mastery. Amla's movement across outside off stump to play to leg was exaggerated at times, but apart from the sliced drive from Johnson's wide ball that just eluded Michael Hussey's reach he was seldom troubled.
Kallis rumbled along comfortably enough himself until Michael Clarke swung Starc around to the Prindiville Stand end, teasing out a top-edged hook shot that Johnson held well at fine leg, the ball dying into the breeze late in its path. Apart from one impudent reverse-sweep off the bowling of Nathan Lyon, AB de Villiers took his time to get established but accompanied Amla to the interval with an enormous amount of time left to stretch Australia's eventual target.