Australia captain Pat Cummins chose to bowl first on a fine morning and a flat pitch, but his attack was taken apart. The tourists bowled 27 overs without a wicket, with Mitchell Starc (7-1-39-0), Josh Hazlewood (7-1-27-0), Cummins (7-0-39-0) and Nathan Lyon (6-0-33-0) all unrewarded. South Africa reached 0-102 after 22 overs at more than four-and-a-half runs per over, with Ackerman punishing the bowling once he got his eye in and moving into the 80s before the break.
The session was overshadowed by the late withdrawal of Steve Smith from the Test. The Age's live blog wrote that the team seemed "spooked" by the decision, and that whatever happened before play was "a big enough fissure" to produce a display lacking the required focus and intensity. Smith watched the session from the team viewing area. Travis Head then dropped an easy catch off Mitchell Starc at extra cover, with Aiden Markram the batsman to benefit.
The blog called it "one of the worst bowling sessions for this Australian team in living memory" and noted that fans were "coming after Australia" on social media.
In a separate piece for the match coverage, Daniel Brettig wrote of the "distinctly eerie" feeling of returning to Newlands for the first time since the infamous 2018 "sandpapergate" Test, recalling how David Warner was abused by a spectator as he walked up the dressing-room steps after his first-innings dismissal in that match.