Simon Harmer took six wickets as Australia collapsed to 111 all out to hand South Africa a 176-run victory and a 2-1 series win at Newlands on Saturday.

Chasing 288 on the fifth and final day, Australia slumped to 60-7 at lunch after a devastating opening burst from Kagiso Rabada (3-14).

The pacer removed Matt Renshaw for a first-ball duck and Marnus Labuschagne for four in the first over, then claimed Travis Head for 14 for his 350th test wicket to leave Australia 22-3.

Harmer, who finished the innings with 6-16 and the match with 10 wickets, struck twice in an over as Alex Carey reverse-swept to Marco Jansen and Cooper Connolly edged behind, leaving the tourists 42-6.

A run out of Josh Inglis for four added to the chaos.

Cameron Green, 27, was Harmer’s first victim after lunch, bowled dancing down the pitch, before a defiant 45-run stand between Pat Cummins, 11, and Nathan Lyon, 33 not out, delayed the end.

Cummins was trapped lbw by Harmer before he bowled Josh Hazlewood to seal the victory.

Temba Bavuma’s side had set up the win on day four with centuries from Ryan Rickelton, 101, and Wiaan Mulder, 115, in a 154-run stand to post 387, after being 140-4 overnight.

South Africa now find themselves top of the ICC test rankings.

Ryan Rickelton and Wiaan Mulder both hit centuries as South Africa set Australia 288 to win on the final day of the deciding third test at Newlands on Friday. The Proteas need ten wickets.

South Africa, dismissed for 387 in their second innings, recovered from 140-4 overnight thanks to a 154-run stand for the sixth wicket.

Rickelton made 101, his third test hundred and second at Newlands, hitting 12 fours in 219 balls.

Mulder struck 115 from 204 balls with 10 fours and four sixes, his third test century.

The partnership ended in farce when Rickelton was run out charging down the pitch, with Marnus Labuschagne and Josh Inglis combining.

Marco Jansen then fell for a duck pulling Mitchell Starc to Nathan Lyon, before Lyon bowled Simon Harmer for one and Gerald Coetzee was run out for one, too.

Mulder added a valuable 36 for the last wicket with Kagiso Rabada, before falling to Pat Cummins in the final over of the day.

It leaves what would need to be the second-highest successful chase at Newlands to decide the series.

The third test decider is delicately poised after South Africa closed day three on 140-4, leading Australia by just 40 runs at Newlands on Thursday.

Temba Bavuma, 35, and Matthew Breetzke, 19 not out, had fought to steady the innings before Nathan Lyon, 1-31, bowled the Proteas captain five minutes before stumps, after he passed 4000 test runs.

Australia had started the day on 300-4, leading by one, with Josh Inglis, 102, and Alex Carey, 80, extending their partnership to 191.

Inglis reached his second test ton before Harmer had him caught, then removed Carey at slip.

The Proteas roared back after lunch, taking the last six wickets for just 59 runs to bowl Australia out for 429, with a lead of 100.

Harmer finished with 4-104 and Marco Jansen 3-60, while Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada and Wiaan Mulder all chipped in, too.

South Africa’s second innings wobbled immediately as Mitchell Starc, 2-29, removed Aiden Markram for one and Josh Hazlewood dismissed David Bedingham for 11.

Marques Ackerman made 62 before gloving Starc to slip, leaving Breetzke and Ryan Rickelton not out to see out Thursday and set up a fascinating penultimate day’s play.

Australia found themselves 330-4 with a one-run lead and six wickets in hand after four half-centuries put South Africa under pressure in the deciding third test at Newlands on Wednesday.

Josh Inglis, unbeaten on 85, and Alex Carey, 51 not out, added an unbroken 145 after the Proteas had threatened a fightback.

Australia started their innings with the bat at the beginning of the day after bowling South Africa out for 329 at the end of day one thanks to Mitchell Starc’s six-wicket burst.

Matt Renshaw, 74, and Travis Head, 41, put on 58 for the first wicket before Simon Harmer, 2-84, struck twice in his first over to remove Head and Marnus Labuschagne for a duck.

Renshaw and Cameron Green, 65, then added 126 from 191 balls to take Australia to 185-2.

Marco Jansen sparked hope for the hosts with a fiery spell of 2-3 in five overs to leave Australia 185-4 at tea, but Inglis and Carey batted through the final session.

Kagiso Rabada, struggling with stomach cramps, went wicketless, leaving Temba Bavuma’s side facing the possibility of a big first-innings deficit with three days still to play.

Mitchell Starc claimed six wickets in a stunning final-session spell as Australia bowled South Africa out for 329 on day one of the deciding third test at Newlands in Cape Town on Tuesday.

South Africa had dominated the morning after being put in to bat, reaching 140-0 at lunch thanks to Marques Ackerman, 95, and Aiden Markram, 78.

Ackerman was stumped five short of a maiden test ton off Nathan Lyon.

The hosts collapsed from 158-0 to lose 10 wickets for 171.

After tea on 221-4, they added 95 through Marco Jansen, 52, and Ryan Rickelton, 42, before Starc tore through the tail with the second new ball.

Starc, who finished with 6-72, removed David Bedingham for 50 and Wiaan Mulder, Gerald Coetzee and Kagiso Rabada for ducks, as the last four wickets fell for just two runs.

Lyon took 2-71 including captain Temba Bavuma for a duck, while Josh Hazlewood and Cooper Connolly claimed one each.

Day two will kick off with Australia’s first innings at 10:30am on Wednesday.

Harry Kane became the first Englishman in a quarter of a century to win the Ballon d’Or on Monday night, beating Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe to claim his crown as the best footballer on the planet.

The Bayern Munich striker, 33, scored 73 goals in 65 games for club and country last season to lead Bayern to a domestic double and England to a third-place finish at the World Cup with six goals.

He succeeds Michael Owen, the last English winner in 2001.

“I love to represent my country and to bring this trophy back to them,” Kane said. “What a crazy night.”

He added that his 2023 move to Bayern, seen by some as a risk, had pushed him to “another level.”

The first ceremony held on English soil started almost an hour late due to London traffic.

In the women’s award, Alexia Putellas won her third Ballon d’Or after leading Barcelona to the Champions League before joining London City Lionesses.

She succeeds Spain teammate Aitana Bonmati, who missed much of last season with a leg break.

Yamal, 19, won young player of the year for a third straight time but finished third for the main prize, while Mbappe was second after being the top scorer in La Liga, the Champions League and the World Cup.

The Socrates award, which honours humanitarian work and social initiatives connected to football was given to Arsenal star Bukayo Saka.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente was awarded men’s coach of the year while PSG were named men’s club of the year.

Kimi Antonelli closed to within one result of the Formula One world title with a dominant victory at the United States Grand Prix in Austin on Sunday.

The 20-year-old Mercedes driver’s ninth win of the season leaves him needing only a ninth-place finish in Mexico next week to become the youngest Formula One world champion ever and the first Italian champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

Antonelli, who started from pole, led by two seconds after the opening lap and never looked threatened, finishing more than 13 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in third.

The Italian would have clinched the title on Sunday had Mercedes teammate George Russell finished lower than eighth and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton outside the top four.

Russell, who was hit with a five-second penalty for leaving the track on lap one, struggled home eighth behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, while Hamilton finished fourth after chasing down Verstappen late.

Verstappen was jumped at the start by Leclerc but quickly reclaimed second, only to lose it again in the final stages as his tyres faded.

Outgoing champion Lando Norris ran second until late before his tyres dropped off and he slipped to fifth, behind Hamilton and ahead of Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar in sixth.

Had Russell finished lower and Hamilton missed the top four, Antonelli would have broken Sebastian Vettel’s record as youngest champion, set at 23 years and 133 days in 2010.

Michael Carrick could be on the brink of the sack after Manchester United crashed to a 3-0 home defeat against Bournemouth on Sunday, stretching their winless run to eight games.

Carrick’s decision to drop captain Bruno Fernandes backfired as goals from Rayan, Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson gave Bournemouth a third win by a three-goal margin at Old Trafford in four seasons.

Fernandes, who criticised Carrick’s tactics after Wednesday’s 4-1 Champions League thrashing at Como, was left on the bench for the entire match, with Carrick calling the decision “purely football” driven.

Bournemouth fans taunted him with chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” as United were booed off, sitting 16th in the Premier League, one point above the relegation zone with seven points from eight games, their worst start since 1986-87.

Co-owners the Glazers and Jim Ratcliffe were also targeted for abuse.

Elsewhere, Alexander Isak continued his hot streak with his sixth goal in seven league games as Liverpool beat Brighton 2-0 at Anfield.

Pascal Gross’s own goal and Isak’s strike gave new Reds boss Andoni Iraola his first league win at Anfield, lifting Liverpool to fourth, six points behind leaders Manchester City.

Newcastle beat Crystal Palace 2-0, while Sunderland drew 0-0 with Leeds to stay bottom after Manchester City and Chelsea were both stunned with losses to Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur respectively.

Kagiso Rabada and Wiaan Mulder cleaned up Australia’s tail to hand South Africa a remarkable innings and 31-run win on day five of the rain-hit second test at St George’s Park in Gqeberha on Thursday.

The result levels the three-match series 1-1 heading into the decider in Cape Town next week, despite just 43 overs being possible in the first two days and the entire morning session on day five being washed out.

Built on Temba Bavuma’s career-best 179, plus 85 from Marco Jansen and 82 from Simon Harmer to reach 425-9 declared, South Africa bowled Australia for 99 in the first innings, with Jansen taking 5-33, before enforcing the follow-on.

Australia showed far more fight second time around, finishing on 295.

Night watchman Scott Boland faced 166 balls for 40 in a gritty rearguard, while Travis Head struck his 13th test century with 121 off 190 balls.

Resuming on 156-4, still 170 behind, Australia added 53 through Head and Boland before Mulder deflected Head onto his own stumps.

Steve Smith, battling a neck injury, made three before skying Rabada to midwicket.

After tea at 253-6, Mulder, 3-64, bowled Boland and Pat Cummins. Rabada, 4-77, removed Mitchell Starc for 11 and Jansen had Josh Hazlewood caught for a duck to seal it.

The series decider takes centre stage at Newlands from 10:30am on Tuesday.

South Africa are one day away from levelling the series after bowling Australia out for 99 and leaving them 156-4 in their follow-on at stumps on day four at St George’s Park in Gqeberha.

Australia, who trailed by 326 after South Africa’s 425-9 declared, were asked to follow on by Proteas captain Temba Bavuma.

They still need 170 more to make the hosts bat again, with Steve Smith’s neck injury potentially keeping him from batting.

Marco Jansen was the destroyer in the first innings with 5-33.

Resuming on 69-6, Australia lost their last four wickets for 15 runs. Jansen had Beau Webster caught at second slip for 13 to complete his five-for, while Wiaan Mulder, 2-12, bowled a battling Smith for 28, and Kagiso Rabada, 2-33, and injured Anrich Nortje, 1-5, chipped in.

Rabada struck early again in the second innings, removing Nic Maddinson for eight.

Travis Head, dropped on four in the first innings, fought back unbeaten on 87, sharing a 92-run stand with Marnus Labuschagne.

Labuschagne made 39 but threw it away charging Simon Harmer and skying to long-on.

Late strikes from Rabada, who bowled Matt Renshaw for 11, and Harmer, who trapped Beau Webster lbw for either, left Australia 150-4.

Night watchman Scott Boland on two will resume with Head.