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Pretoria - South Africa's fielding bordered on the embarrassing, said vice-captain AB de Villiers after the world's number one team were dominated for the third straight day by Australia in the first Test on Friday.
SA v Oz - Day 3 as it happened
Australia were 288 for three in their second innings at the close of play, a huge lead of 479 runs.
Dropped catches and sloppiness in the field were unwanted features for South Africa as they walked off having seen opener David Warner make 115 and Alex Doolan 89.
"It felt almost embarrassing," batsman-wicketkeeper De Villiers told reporters. "It was not an easy outfield but we were way below our standards.
"The way we fielded and bowled showed no intensity and that's not like us. We are very much in trouble."
De Villiers, who top-scored with 91 in the first innings, is hoping the home team can still clinch a face-saving draw.
"If we can deal with the bounce generated by the Australian fast bowlers we could cause an upset or still draw this test match," he said.
"We can't show any weakness. We have to be prepared to get hurt...once you have no fear you play a lot better."
