Brett Lee last night became the 12th Australian bowler to reach 200 Test wickets as his five-wicket haul handed his team a decisive advantage over South Africa in the second Test at Kingsmead.
Having bowled a luckless but fiery spell on Saturday evening and again yesterday morning, Lee unleashed a devastating burst with the second new ball to finish the Proteas' innings shortly before tea on day three.
Lee tore through the lower-order to grab 4-5 in the space of 22 balls as South Africa slumped a handy lunchtime position of 4-221 to be all out for 267, a deficit of 102 runs.
When he scattered Mark Boucher's stumps at the height of the carnage, Lee reached the coveted 200-mark and stood triumphantly with arms raised as he was swamped by congratulations from his team-mates.
He reached the mark in his 51st Test, the same time that tearaway speedster Jeff Thomson took to join the exclusive club.
But it was the arrival of South Africa bowler Andre Nel, who replaced Boucher at the crease, that produced the fieriest encounter of the series which Australia leads 1-0 with one Test to play.
Nel was greeted with a searing bouncer and a subsequent taunt on Lee's follow through, and the outspoken South African responded by following Lee back down the pitch.
At that point, Shane Warne became involved in the exchange as he wandered up to Nel from his position at first slip and was heard on the television commentary to call Nel a "soft c**ck" and a "f***cking dill".
Lee claimed his man in the following over and then removed last man Makhaya Ntini immediately after to tilt the match in Australia's balance and leave him eyeing a hat-trick when the South Africans bat again.
It continued Lee's renaissance as a fast bowler, and was his third five-wicket haul since the start of the summer after a lean spell that lasted years and resulted in his 18-month exile from the Test team.
The brittleness of the Proteas' batting in the absence of Jacques Kallis was highlighted by their rapid disintegration once the classy right-hander was dismissed for 114.
Kallis's innings was a model of patience, interspersed with some occasional flashes of brilliant strokeplay against a fiery spell of fast bowling from Lee.
It also confirmed his affection for the normally true Kingsmead pitch, with yesterday's innings being the fourth consecutive ton in as many Tests at the ground.
Kallis was involved in a 134-run stand with opener AB de Villiers (50) and a useful 56-run partnership with Ashwell Prince who again fell to Warne.
Prince was furious with himself when, having made 33 and appearing well set, he mishit a sweep shot to Andrew Symonds at square leg.
The leg-spinner has now claimed left-handed Prince's wicket a remarkable 10 times in eight Test matches.
It was the belated arrival of Stuart Clark at the bowling crease yesterday morning that brought the initial breakthrough for Australia after a frustrating evening on Saturday.
Clark, the first Test hero who had been denied the ball on the second day because of poor light, reprised his performance at Cape Town when he had de Villiers caught in the gully.
Despite his facial injury, Symonds was called on to bowl 10 overs of medium pace on Saturday evening as South Africa built a resolute pursuit of Australia's first innings total in fading late afternoon light.
The heavy cloud cover that descended on the coastal city ensured that the final session on Saturday was played under floodlights and blunted Australia's plans to attack the Proteas batsmen with their seam bowlers.
After Lee had removed Smith with the first ball of the innings and Michael Kasprowicz followed 10 runs later by rattling Herschelle Gibbs' stumps for the third time in as many Test innings, the Australians look set to cut deep into the middle-order.
But West Indian umpires Steve Bucknor and Billy Doctrove informed Australian captain Ricky Ponting that, due to the gathering darkness, they would have no choice but to suspend play if the fast bowlers were employed.
Ponting was left with the option of bowling leg-spinner Shane Warne along with part-timers Symonds and Hussey in order to keep the game going.
- ALAN RAMSEY