Proteas batting banker Zondo confident of fifth-day resistance despite another batting blowout

Proteas batter Khaya Zondo remained confident of their ability to bat out the fifth day of the third Test against Australia despite another potential blowout at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.

Dean Elgar's side finished the fourth day on 149/6, 127 adrift of the following on target of 276 as SA try to find a way of avoiding a series whitewash.

Australia made 475/4, but with the first three days of the Test being affected by the weather, including a washed-out third day, Australia's captain Pat Cummins was forced to declare with Usman Khawaja stranded in 195*.

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Cummins made sure the declaration was capitalised on with 3/29 from 14 hostile overs, with one of his scalps being Zondo (39), who was SA's top scorer.

Zondo said Cummins and Josh Hazlewood (2/29) didn't get the ball to reverse swing a lot, but used the crease very well.

"Yes, it is. We've still got another day to bat and I'm sure we've done that before," Zondo said.

"I'm sure we'll be able to do it on day five. I felt it was quite dark, but he (Cummins) wasn't slow and the ball wasn't reversing a lot.

"They've used the crease very well, but if there is swing, it's a hint, but not too much."

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Zondo, who has played four of his five Tests against England (one) and Australia (three), said he felt at home on what was a sluggish SCG surface.

Zondo, who played for the Durban-based Dolphins, said the nature of the SCG track reminded him of the Pietermaritzburg Oval because of the sluggishness.

Zondo played a fair bit of his cricket at the quaint ground before the restructuring of the South African domestic system meant that the Dolphins play their