Boland brings the heat in wet Gqeberha

Despite only 74 balls being bowled on Day 1, the Australian quicks look set to make the most of a green deck at St George's Park in Gqeberha.

On a damp, grassy pitch, captain Pat Cummins couldn't have been more quick to make his decision to bowl at the toss of the coin, much to the relief of Australian batters.

There were still plenty of talking points out of the 12.2 overs bowled on Day 1, with some big selection calls from both sides set to change the way this Test match unfolds.

See the biggest headlines below:

Boland gets the nod over Lyon – need we say more

With overcast conditions and 7mm of grass on the wicket, the decision was made to play Scott Boland ahead of Nathan Lyon, and the Victorian proved his worth with a mesmerising over where he removed Aiden Markram and David Bedingham in successive balls.

It completely opened the game up South Africa, and from there every ball of the session was an event. His selection at this stage looks a masterstroke. SEN commentator Gerard Whateley said it was “unquestionably the right decision” when it became public. 20 Tests, 84 wickets at 18. Is he still the fourth of the big four?

Where to for Nathan Lyon?

It’s the third Test in 18 months that Nathan Lyon has been left out, and the first red ball Test he’s missed when available since 2013. Where does it leave the GOAT? With the amount of Test cricket to be played over the next 12 months we’re sure he’ll still feature more often than not, but the Australian selectors have shown they are not afraid to unleash all four world-class quicks together when the conditions suits

Rain, rain, go away

It didn’t come as a surprise but rain heavily impacted the opening day in Gqeberha, with just 12.2 overs bowled over two stints of play. Rain is again forecast for Monday morning for the start of day two but it’s clear skies after that for the remainder of the match.

Cricket needs to get with the times

Rain struck just after the coin toss which saw a two-hour delay to proceedings. However, rain had ceased by 11am local time and after an umpire’s inspection at 11:15am, play was scheduled to commence at 12pm. Lunch wasn’t taken early, but another 45 minutes of potential playing time was wasted. After 30 minutes of play we were off again with another rain delay, and lunch was taken. Cricket needs to bend its conventions and find a way to get back on the field quicker. Cricket fans deserve better.

With Boland back in the team and looking dangerous every ball, Gerard Whateley and Simon Katich discussed on SEN Cricket what makes him such a potent bowler.

"It's the consistency of hitting the seam and presenting a seam that allows the ball to go both ways," Katich said.

"So when you're tracking that ball out of his hand as an opening batter, you know that you've got to be on with your defence or you leave, because if you start sparring at balls outside off stump, you're going to be nicking them because the ball deviates late.

"And not only after it pitches off the seam it basically, because of the length, it still has a chance to move by the time it gets to you at the crease line."

It's raised the question about whether Boland should be a regular starter in the Australian side.

Asked if Boland could be ahead of Mitch Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, Katich believes the Victorian offers more in the greasy conditions than his counterparts.

"Not in these conditions, no," Katich said on whether the others would be better than Boland.

"But in your typical Test cricket, with flatter conditions, you go, 'Ooh, it's hard to go past the other three.'"

Boland will undoubtedly be a part of plans for the Summer and beyond with a busy Test schedule likely resulting in the bowlers to be rotated.