LORD’S

(Final day of five; South Africa won toss)

Close: match drawn

South Africa 247 (A.G. Prince 101) and 393-5 (N.D. McKenzie 138, G.C. Smith 107, H.M. Amla 104 not out) v England 593-8 dec (I.R. Bell 199, K.P. Pietersen 152, A.N. Cook 60)

The first Test ended in some disarray after a stoppage for bad light when conditions appeared to be perfectly playable and then another, after the sun came out and the players re-appeared, when stumps were drawn at 4.50pm. England by then had given up any chance of removing Hashim Amla, who completed his first century in England off 231 balls. Ashwell Prince finished undefeated on nine.

So a match that promised much, not least an England victory, finished in a certain amount of farce, with Alastair Cook bowling some distinctly non-turning off spinners at Prince and the umpires, Billy Bowden and Daryl Harper, unsure of the intentions of both sides at this juncture. The crowd, which burst out into slow handclap when the players initially left the field, was left bemused until the presentation began in front of the Allen Stand.

The third new ball, which surprisingly was taken by Paul Collingwood as well as Stuart Broad, proved innocuous. Any chance of an England victory dissipated at that stage and both teams departed earlier than expected, to reconvene at Headingley on Friday. The South Africans will take more heart from England from this match as a result of the manner of their fightback over the past two days. Nevertheless, Ian Bell was named man-of-the-match for his innings of 199, the highest Test score of his career.

Lunch

South Africa achieved another objective in their quest to stave off what had appeared earlier in the match to be a likely defeat in the first Test. Their second-wicket pair batted throughout the morning, which meant that at lunch they were only 34 runs behind England. Neil McKenzie illustrated again what an accomplished opening batsman he has become, taking his lunch score to 131 off 526 balls in 428 minutes, hitting 15 fours.

Hashim Amla, meanwhile, progressed to an unbeaten 57 off 127 balls with ten fours. Their partnership was 108. Neither batsman gave a chance and Amla, in particular, was targeted again with some short-pitched bowling aimed at his rib cage. At one stage, Michael Vaughan positioned two forward short legs and two backward short legs – almost a Bodyline-style field, although perfectly legal – in the hope of having him caught fending off a short ball.

This ploy did not work. Amla concentrated as impressively as his partner and occasionally unfurled a cut or a drive that bore the hallmark of a fine batsman. Monty Panesar was given a considerable amount of bowling from the Nursery End but was unable to gain much turn, even though the pitch should be showing some sign of wear on this, the final day.