Consolation prizes come in many shapes and sizes but few will be as welcome as
this one, should England knock off the 197 runs for a victory that for much
of yesterday seemed a formality. That there remains a shard of doubt about
the result is solely because of A.B. de Villiers, who fell three short of
what would have been a sparkling hundred as the air began to chill, and the
unlikely figure of Paul Harris, who gave him the kind of brave support that
can often galvanise a team to greater heights.
When De Villiers and Harris, the left-arm spinner, came together, South Africa
were 218 for seven, a lead of only 96, and the Basil D'Oliveira Trophy was
being given a final spit and polish before its presentation. When Harris
edged Stuart Broad to second slip after almost an hour and a half of
stout-hearted resistance, during which time he was to Andrew Flintoff what a
punchbag is to a heavyweight boxer, the lead had been stretched to 191 and
Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, could be seen beaming on the
balcony.
That, though, was because Smith is demob happy rather than supremely confident
of success. The pitch remained true - just the occasional ball climbed
unexpectedly - and any turn was tortoise slow. The only demons will be in
the minds of the England batsmen, especially since there are one or two who
need a score to quieten the rumour mill.
Harris's contribution was considerable, but it was De Villiers who provided
headaches for Kevin Pietersen, England's new captain. De Villiers's first
fifty came at a sedentary pace, but, as with all good players, he can travel
smoothly through the gears so that his next 47 runs came in 58 balls, thanks
to a combination of quicksilver footwork and hands that move through the
stroke in a blur.
De Villiers has looked a coming cricketer throughout the series. His
unpolished talent was noticed on England's last tour to South Africa in
2004-05. He is not exactly a Jacques Kallis clone now, but there is
something about his stance - tall, upright and, at times, rigid - and about
his trigger movements before the bowler releases the ball that betray the
work he has put in with his mentor.
He thoroughly deserved a seventh Test hundred, but was denied by Monty Panesar
and his own impetuousness. Fearing that Andre Nel and Makhaya Ntini would
prove to be less willing allies than Harris, De Villiers was suckered in by
Panesar's over-the-wicket ploy. Hurtling down the pitch, he did not quite
get to the pitch of a ball that turned out of the rough and was bowled. It
was an unworthy end to a valiant innings.
Pietersen did not do a lot wrong, bar drop a simple catch at short extra
cover, but he may reflect with regret on his positioning of only one slip
when James Anderson took the second new ball, De Villiers slashing
Anderson's first ball with it through the untenanted second slip area. Also,
the momentum started to slip away from England once Pietersen set a deep
field for the established batsman in the hope of bowling to the tailender.
It is a tactic that most captains pursue; it rarely works.
The value of five bowlers was highlighted again as the wickets were shared. No
England bowler in either innings took more than three wickets and the
suspicion remains that had England taken the field with a bowler fewer,
there would have been a lot more work in the field for them all. Pietersen's
bold decision to play five bowlers has been richly vindicated.
Stephen Harmison's return, and Pietersen's insistence on a five-man attack,
have released Flintoff so that he can once again resume the role of a shock
rather than a stock bowler. This was useful, because Ashwell Prince, a thorn
in England's side this series, has looked thoroughly disconcerted by pace in
this match. He was jumpy here again, eventually edging behind.
The persistence of England's four-pronged pace attack meant they had a very
good morning, taking three wickets and the runs coming in a trickle rather
than a flood. Harmison did what a strike bowler should do; that is to say,
he led the attack. His first spell, eight overs of consistently hostile and
straight bowling from the Pavilion End, was the best of the match.
Hashim Amla had raced away from England in the 26.5 overs of play on Saturday,
but he was more uncomfortable yesterday and it was no surprise when he edged
through to Tim Ambrose, who was under the spotlight after dropping a
difficult catch the day before. Ambrose was playing with a break to the
third finger on his left hand and it was in this hand that the ball
eventually stuck after threatening to hit the turf. He has not kept badly
this summer, but he does not totally convince.
Harmison then put Kallis through the mangle. It is one of the blips on
Kallis's marvellous career that England supporters have not seen the best of
him in this country. This continued yesterday as his reactions were put
under the microscope. Dropped the ball before by Pietersen, he edged to
third slip and trudged off knowing that he may not have another chance to
right an average of less than 30 in England. The form of his protégé was
little consolation.
South Africa: First Innings 196
England: First Innings 316 (K P Pietersen 100, P D Collingwood 61; M
Ntini 5 for 94)
South Africa: Second Innings
*G C Smith lbw b Anderson 0
(2min, 5 balls)
N D McKenzie b Broad 29
(89min, 58 balls, 4 fours)
H M Amla c Ambrose b Harmison 76
(130min, 99 balls, 14 fours)
J H Kallis c Collingwood b Harmison 9
(88min, 57 balls, 1 four)
A G Prince c Strauss b Flintoff 24
(93min, 53 balls, 4 fours)
A B de Villiers b Panesar 97
(233min, 170 balls, 12 fours)
M V Boucher c Collingwood b Anderson 12
(64min, 44 balls, 1 four)
M Morkel c Bell b Panesar 10
(25min, 22 balls, 1 four)
P L Harris c Flintoff b Broad 34
(88min, 74 balls, 3 fours)
A Nel not out 3
(15min, 8 balls)
M Ntini c Collingwood b Broad 2
(10min, 9 balls)
Extras (b 6, lb 8, w 5, nb 3) 22
Total (99.2 overs, 424min) 318
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (0.5; McKenzie 0); 2-82 (20.4; Amla 46); 3-119
(30.0; Kallis 6); 4-138 (40.0; Prince 16); 5-161 (51.2; De Villiers 10);
6-201 (68.1; De Villiers 37); 7-218 (73.4; De Villiers 43); 8-313 (95.4; De
Villiers 97); 9-313 (96.5; Nel 0).
Bowling: Anderson 22-2-85-2 (nb 1; 12 fours; 3-1-11-1, 5-1-20-0,
6-0-16-0, 2-0-6-0, 2-0-11-1, 2-0-9-0, 2-0-12-0); Harmison 25-6-84-2
(w 1; 11 fours; 3-0-13-0, 6-0-21-0, 8-5-12-2, 4-1-9-0,
2-0-13-0/tea/2-0-16-0); Flintoff 18-4-53-1 (nb 2; 8 fours; 2-0-11-0,
3-0-18-0, 6-3-5-1, 4-1-13-0, 3-0-6-0); Panesar 17-5-37-2 (5 fours;
1-1-0-0, 3-1-8-0, 1-0-4-0, 7-2-15-1, 1-0-1-0, 4-1-9-1); Broad
16.2-4-44-3 (4 fours; 3.5-2-10-1/close/0.1-0-0-0, 5-1-12-0, 4-1-12-0,
3.2-0-10-2); Pietersen 1-0-1-0.
Scoring notes: Fourth day: Lunch 168-5 (55 overs, 243min; De Villiers
15, Boucher 1). Second new ball taken at 3.20pm - 241-7 (80 overs). Tea
265-7 (85 overs, 364min; De Villiers 76, Harris 12). All out at 5pm - 23
overs left.
England: Second Innings
A J Strauss not out 0
(5min, 6 balls)
A N Cook not out 0
(5min, 2 balls)
Extras 0
Total (no wkt, 1.2 overs, 5min) 0
Bowling: Morkel 1-1-0-0; Ntini 0.2-0-0-0.
Scoring notes: Fourth day: Bad light and rain stopped play at 5.16pm.
Play abandoned for day at 5.55pm. Close 0-0 (1.2 overs, 5 min;
Strauss 0, Cook 0).
Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pakistan, 50th Test) and S J Davis (Australia,
13th).
Replay umpire: P J Hartley.
Fourth umpire: R K Illingworth.
Match referee: R S Madugalle (Sri Lanka).
Series details: First Test (Lord's) Drawn. Second (Headingley Carnegie)
South Africa won by ten wickets. Third (Edgbaston) South Africa won by five
wickets.
Compiled by Bill Frindall
