Hundreds from captain Graeme Smith and fellow opener Neil McKenzie on Sunday gave South Africa hope of forcing what would be a remarkable draw against England in the first Test at Lord’s.
South Africa, heading into yesterday’s final day, were 242 for one — still needing another 104 runs to make England bat again — after following-on, having been bowled out for 247 in reply to the hosts’ 593 for eight declared.
But, importantly, they lost just one wicket during the whole of Sunday’s play and with the pitch still proving to be a good one for batting, England were going to have produce something special to take the nine wickets they needed to have a chance of going 1-0 up in the four-match series.
PHOTO: AP
At stumps McKenzie was 102 not out, having defied England for six hours and 46 minutes with the stylish Hashim Amla unbeaten on 20.
“We needed to bounce back,” said Smith who admitted his team came into the match “undercooked.”
“My preparation was not ideal but I just focussed on what was important,” explained the 27-year-old, who had had just one innings on tour prior to this game after sustaining a hamstring injury in the Indian Premier League.
“We knew that if we could get through the new ball we should be OK. It was a slow pitch and [England skipper] Michael [Vaughan] set defensive fields.”
Smith also paid tribute to McKenzie and the understanding they’d developed.
“All credit to him. He’s a had a great comeback in his career. We are both from the same school and know each other’s games well, our strengths and weaknesses,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ottis Gibson, the England bowling coach, insisted that his side could come out on top.
“We still feel in the dressing room we are in a great position to win the Test match,” the former West Indies seamer said.
“We bowled well but didn’t have the luck we had yesterday [Saturday]. We’ve bowled 92 overs and gone at just under two-and-a-half an over. That doesn’t happen much in Test cricket,” he said.
He added: “We’d like to have had them six down, that would have been the perfect scenario, but that’s why they call it Test cricket.”
Gibson revealed that Ryan Sidebottom had again been suffering with a back strain but said the left-arm quick was all set to bowl through the pain-barrier.
“He’s not whinged about it, gone out on the field and bowled brilliantly without any luck. If Michael Vaughan says ‘Siddy, you’re on,’ he’ll come in,” Gibson said.
England were frustrated by an admirable partnership of 204 between Smith and McKenzie.
But when it seemed the duo might become the first pair since Australia’s Geoff Marsh and Mark Taylor at Trent Bridge in 1989 to bat through a whole day of a Test in England, the ninth delivery with the new ball brought their stand to an end.
Smith — dropped twice by wicket-keeper Tim Ambrose — was through an attempted pull off James Anderson too early, the ball hitting the toe-end of the bat and lobbing gently to Kevin Pietersen as he ran in from backward point.
Smith had batted for five hours and 42 minutes, facing 207 balls with 11 fours.
McKenzie kept going and a single off pace bowler Stuart Broad saw the 32-year-old to his fifth Test hundred and first against England off 307 balls with 13 fours.
At tea, Smith was 71 not out and McKenzie 50 not out.
Smith, who cleverly countered first innings hero Monty Panesar’s turn out out of the footmarks by playing him from way outside off-stump, took a three off the left-arm spinner to complete his 15th Test century and third against England.
Earlier, as over after over passed without a wicket, the normally reserved Lord’s crowd did their best to encourage England by roaring and clapping as the bowlers ran in.
England first came close to taking a wicket on Sunday during the morning session when Smith, on 26, got an inside edge off Panesar.
But Ambrose had stood up too soon and the difficult chance bounced off his pads.
South Africa resumed on Sunday on 13 without loss, a huge 333 runs behind after England’s Ian Bell had made a Test-best 199 and Pietersen 152.
There had been speculation that Bell’s place was under threat before his first innings success.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
RSS