SA Eating out of England’s hands?
Pietersen missed it going for one. Paul Collingwood would let it the opportunity to slip past. The man most unwanted in the dressing room had come to England’s aid. His retort: a gigantic six off Paul Harris to get to his fifth Test hundred and at a time when perhaps only he knew he deserved to be in the England Test team. He has given England a real chance to fight and suddenly had the subdued England crowds singing his praise.
The supper certainly seems like it. England woke up to the task on hand and found two batsmen who decided to cash in on the rather lackluster South African bowling. Kevin Pietersen was at it again, switching from right handed batsmen to left handed charisma with the effortless ease that most batsmen would envy. The shots proved just as effective. But he had an unlikely man for company.
Paul Collingwood thought he was done and dusted when he was dropped at Headingley. Collingwood was being put into the library before England’s muddle selection policy decided they got it wrong. Collingwood was back in the team for Edgbastion and this time he is not taking any chances.
Pietersen was flaying the South African attack which was struggling to get its bearing right. But Collingwood was silently building himself into an incorrigible figure at the crease. Pietersen eventually paid for his big headed batting, sending down straight down the throat of mid on, all the effort gained nearly lost with him on ninety-four and a lead beginning to look bigger than what South Africa would have liked.
Collingwood took over; the thought of lack of runs under his belt suddenly amounted to nothing. He kept digging and the runs kept flowing. His unbeaten partnership of seventy-six with Tim Ambrose has kept the door shut on the visitors for the evening. South Africa’s target is getting more challenging than they had originally imagined.
Tempering through tea:
The lead of eighty-three could be viewed in two ways: as something England managed to restrict South Africa despite the visitors looking to make the lead a huge one. The other way to look at it is that given England seeming fragility, a deficit like eighty-three may force the team to look ahead to the eventuality of the Test and succumb at the thought.
England did a bit of both, in the reverse order. First, it was the case of Alistair Cook who played a shot uncharacteristic of his approach thus far. Given to the odd stylish stroke, Cook has been the pillar of the England squad where more worn hands have shown indifference. For him then to lend into a ball that was not a text book classic and gift his wicket away for a major derailment for England. It still took a spectacular catch from Boucher but well worth the effort.
Michael Vaughan perhaps thought this was the only way to bat himself into some resemblance of form. The joke unfortunately was on him. Hashim Amla latched onto the ball after Nel snapped Vaughan into a false drive. England were teetering at thirty-nine for two. Just when a partnership appearing to be building, it started to unravel again. Morne Morkel had Strauss fishing out off stump only to get caught himself. Ian Bell gave Boucher more catch practice, another rush of blood claiming a victim.
England at tea could only mange forty-three runs and the remaining six wickets really hinging on Kevin Pietersen with an out-of-form Flintoff and out-of-sorts Paul Collingwood.
SA regain lead of proceedings…
Rain enforced early lunch denied the South African bowlers from tapping into the England top order but it was a day when perhaps South Africa had to scrape harder for their runs after their first innings debacle at Lord’s.
It was certainly a performance backed by Andrew Flintoff’s fiery burst from last evening. The effect was almost unbelievable. England came out sharper, edgier and the going proved more difficult for the South African lower order in overcast conditions. But Mark Boucher, who weathered the stormed created by Flintoff, came back stronger to lead South Africa to an eighty-three run lead.
South Africa would have dearly loved to have made the lead a three-digit figure. But given that Boucher had only the tailenders for company once Ashwell Prince was dismissed, Boucher was almost singularly responsible for chalking up the runs for the teams while the lower order batsmen worked themselves to occupying the crease. But when even that became difficult, Boucher took on the onus of making a few quick runs in a desperate effort. It resulted in Monty Panesar standing underneath one high shot only for it to be spilled to the agony of an unforgiving Ryan Sidebottom.
On a tangent: Is there something brewing between Panesar and Sidebottom? One noticed the two were not the most affable walking back to the dressing room along with the rest of the England team. Looks like one unhappy pairing.
