Australia stumbled, steadied, staggered and then scrapped on an absorbing first day of their Test series against South Africa, finishing 225-5 at stumps in Durban. The dismissals of Steve Smith and David Warner, for 56 and 51 respectively, swung momentum the Proteas’ way during the post-lunch session on Thursday.

The Marsh brothers and Tim Paine, three Ashes selection masterstrokes who helped their side reclaim the urn during the past summer, responded with stubborn resistance. The trio failed to score anywhere near as freely as Smith and Warner, but their composure was in marked contrast to the overseas collapses that have plagued Australia in recent years.

Mitch Marsh and Tim Paine’s unbeaten stand was worth 48 runs when bad light forced the end of play after 76 overs. Smith was summoned to the middle within one hour of winning the toss, with his side in trouble at 39-2 after Cameron Bancroft and Usman Khawaja both departed early.

The Proteas’ energy dipped, especially after AB de Villiers offered Smith a life on 47, as the world’s best batsman picked gaps and stroked boundaries with trademark ease. Distress soon turned to delight for de Villiers, who watched an edge fly off Smith’s blade, Quinton de Kock’s gloves and pop up to him at first slip.

The tourists slipped to 151-4 when Smith was out to left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, who was comfortably South Africa’s most threatening bowler on the slow pitch. Shaun Marsh was on 40 when he became Maharaj’s second victim, but his young brother continued to show the sort of maturity that suggests he could be Australia’s long-term answer at No 6.

The all-rounder has scored 32 from 77 balls, interspersing a conservative approach with a couple of sweetly timed boundaries through the covers.

Marsh and Paine’s bid to lift the tourists to a decent total is being aided by the fact South Africa ran out of reviews after just 10.1 overs. Faf du Plessis’ two speculative referrals have already cost his side.

Shaun Marsh was on 19 when he survived an animated lbw shout from Kagiso Rabada. Ball-tracking replays confirmed he would have been out on review, but the Proteas weren’t able to send it upstairs.