Latest News – Sanjay's Cricket World

The morning session went to plan for South Africa who captured 2 English wickets.

After surviving the first few overs, James Anderson eventually had to go due to a strange dismissal. The introduction of Paul Harris produced the magi as Anderson bottom edged a delivery into his foot, which ended up travelling to leg gully where Ashwell Prince took a stunning diving catch.

Then Dale Steyn removed Jonathan Trott with a beauty. A full ball that nipped back to crash into the top of off stump. I don;t know why he doesn’t attack the stumps more often rather than persisting with the channel outside off.

England finished the session at 179/5.

Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell are the not out batsmen.

Freidel de Wet may have a back injury which may limit the South African bowling attack. The new ball is due 1 over after lunch. South Africa will be wanting at least 2 wickets during the second session and Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel will probably be entrusted with the new ball.

It promises to be another intruiging session with both sides still hoping to get the result they want. I’d favour South Africa, but if Bell and COllingwood can survive most of the second session, England could just sneak home.

England finished at 132/3 at stumps on day 4 of the third test against South Africa in Cape Town,needing to survive day 5 to save this game.

South Africa had resumed their innings at 312/2, and while they made steady progress, they perhaps couldn’t accelerate as they would’ve liked with so many wickets in hand. The new ball for England helped their cause, but South Africa weren’t as positive as they might have been.

Graeme Smith couldn’t get the double century as he was out for 183, ad possibly the one batsmen who could have decimated the English attack. Jacques Kallis hung around to add a further 26 to his overnight total of 20, and South Africa lost their momentum.

AB de Villiers and JP Duminy were steady (it was nice to see Duminy get some runs after 2 consecutive golden ducks!), and eventually the declaration came soon after lunch.

England had a total of 466 to win, in 141 overs.

Once again South Africa started poorly with the new ball. They need to make the English openers play more, and whilst there were some chances, Andrew Strauss and Alistair Cook looked fairly untroubled in posting a century opening stand.

The pressure started to shift back to South Africa after tea as suddenly one may even have considered a record run chase may have been on the cards.

But South Africa had a superb final hour, picking up both openers, and then Dale Steyn claimed the prized wicket of dangerman Kevin Pietersen for just 6.

James Anderson came in as nightwatchman, and together with Jonathan Trott, saw England to the close.

England need another 334 to win the match, while South Africa need seven wickets. Realistically there are only 2 results, a South African win or a draw. A second new ball will be avilable in the second session. South Africa do have a habit of struggling with the tail, so they’ll want early wickets to give them confidence to wrap this game up and keep the series alive!

Stuart Broad could be in trouble for trying to tamper with the ball in the 3rd test at Newlands.

The South Africans have raised concerns with ICC match referee Roshan Mahanama over the state of the ball after Stuart Broad was caught on tv “standing on the ball.”

Broad was bowling the 15th over of the South African innings at a time England desperately needed a breakthrough and stopped a defensive shot from Hashim Amla by using his boot. That was possibly fair enough, but tv footage clearly shows Broad then stepping on the ball, trying to apply pressure with his studs after it had been stopped.

At the end of the day’s press conference England coach Andy Flower said he hadn’t heard about any ball tampering allegations. “The umpires or match referee haven’t said anything to us about that. That’s the first I’ve heard of it so I can’t really comment.”

When told Broad had allegedly stepped on the ball Flower said, “I think over the years we have seen a lot of tall fast bowlers stop balls with their feet so I don’t see anything sinister in it all.”

I find it unlikely that Flower was unaware of the incident considering he had been sitting in front of monitors and laptops. Later in the day he indicated to his players that a tv referral had been too high after viewing it on a tv monitor. How could he not have seen the many replays of Stuart Broad then?

The issue is also not whether Stuart Broad managed to actually achieve reverse swing (the idea behind trying to scuff or damage one side of the ball). The issue is what Broad tried to achieve and his intention.

Broad’s on field behaviour has been the subject of controversy already this series, and Indian great Sunil Gavaskar has alredy claimed that Broad escapes punishment because his father (Chris Broad) is an ICC match referee. I’d suggest they seriously need to have a father-son talk soon!

Graeme Smith dominated day 3 to leave South Africa in a dominant position in the 3rd cricket test against England at Newlands.

Earlier South Africa cleaned up the English tail without too much damage. They were helped by Morne Morkel claiming the dangerous Graeme Swann and James Anderson in the first over of the day.

Matt Prior then threatened to get plenty of quick runs as he took the offensive approach to the South African bowlers. Eventually his luck run out and England ended up all out for 273, a deficit of just 18 runs.

Morne Morkel ended up with a 5 wicket bag. I had questioned when he was ever likely to get one, but he bowled well this innings and was duly rewarded. If he can remain consistent with line and length, he’ll reap these sorts of rewards more often.

The South African innings once again started poorly with Ashwell Prince out for 15. Questions must now be asked, is Prince the answer to South Africa’s opening position. I suggest not. Hashim Amla could quite easily open, but i’m not convinced he has the technique to be persevered with. Imraan Khan could always get a recall.

Graeme Smith and Amla then set about rebuilding the innings, and their dominant approach reaped the rewards. After seeing off the new ball, the hot weather ensured there are no demons in the pitch and England were made to toil hard in the field.

Their stand was worth 230, the first century stand of the match. It could well be match defining. Unfortunately Amla was dismissed for 95, 5 runs shorts of what would have been a well deserved century.

Graeme Smith continued to dominate however and whilst he had a few chances, he ended the day on a majestic 162 not out. With Jacques Kallis with him on 20 not out, both batsmen will look to see off the new ball (due first thing) and continue to cash in. Smith has his third double hundred against England insight, whilst if Kallis survives the new ball, he too has a chance of 2 hundreds for the match as his technique of playing straight should bring dividends on this wicket.

I look forward to plenty more runs and some individual milestones!

Day 2 of the 3rd cricket test between South Africa and England at Newlands ended with the match firmly in the balance.

Resuming on 279/6, South Africa produced a dismal batting effort lasting just 17 balls for the addition of 12 measly runs whilst losing 4 wickets!

James Anderson was the chief destroyer, and will he was aided with a new ball and not the easiest batting conditions early on, South Africa lost a golden opportunity. Jacques Kallis for the umpteenth time in his career could not press on, on the morning after scoring a century. In fact he lasted only 1 delivery and yet another opportunity to build a big hundred went begging.

The South African tail then folded dismally giving the advantage to England. Considering how tough the Proteas find it to wrap up the tail of their opposition, the South Africans will be mightily disappointed they couldn’t produce better themselves.

However as they’ve often done, they struck early. Morne Morkel removing the dangerous Andrew Strauss in the first over of the English innings. Surprisingly Dale Steyn was not given the new ball. I’m not sure why the number 1 fast bowler in the ICC test rankings would bowl first change, but he snared 2 quick wickets including the prized Kevin Pietersen for a duck to leave England reeling at 36/3.

The South African fast bowlers couldn’t gain the uper hand however and the match continued the ebb and flow of much of the series. South Africa bowled tighter as a unit, drying up runs and prepared to build pressure.

It kept them in touch and they’ll be happy to have England finish at 241/7, maintaining a lead of 50 runs.

The challenge for South Africa on day 3 is to do to the English tail what England did to them on the second morning. The ball is only 2 overs old, and conditions will be testing for the first half hour or so.

After that the wicket should be good for batting and if they can see off the new ball they can cash in and build a large lead to put pressure on England in the fourth innings. England will hope their tail can frustrate South Africa and eek out a lead to give them a numerical and psychological advantage.

After the second day’s play Jacques Kallis outlined the plan South Africa had to win the game. He said history has shown the Newlands pitch is always difficult to bat on in the morning, especially against the new ball.

“If we can knock over their tail they way they did to us this morning and then get through the new ball, then we’ll feel we are on top of the game. The guys are pretty upbeat in the change-room right now.”

Kallis said South Africa would like to give England a target of 300 plus to win the Test.

“It’s going to be very tough chasing down anything more than 300 on this wicket. It’s going to be tough to get there, but the guys are up for a fight, and we know we have to win this Test.”

Day 3 should see one side gain an advantage. The match is in the balance and there for someone to stand up and produce a match-winning performance. Who wants to win this one?

Jacques Kallis produced a defiant innings on his home ground at Newlands to ensure South Africa remain a chance in the 3rd test.

England won a crucial toss and had the use of humid conditions and a mottled coloured pitch after some early rain. Batting was always going to be difficult first up, and James Anderson produced a great first spell, claiming Ashwell Prince with a swinging delivery in the first over. Graeme Onions then caught the edge of Graeme Smith’s bat in the next over, but Graeme Swann spilt an easy catch.

South Africa were in early trouble, and Smith and Amla steadied the ship temporarily. I was pleased to see Smith trying to plat positively as it’s the only way to put pressure back on the bowlers.

Amla went LBW as again he got caught trying to play around a delivery because his feet move accross the pitch. Smith and Kallis too the Proteas to lunch, but Smith went almost straight after the resumption.

de Villiers looked quite scratchy and got out to a poor shot to short mid-wicket and JP Duminy got a second consecutive golden duck, although he was unlucky to receive a great ball first up from Graeme Swann who got nice turn and bounce.

Kallis remained the rock of the South African innings and together with another fighter in Mark Boucher produced an important 6th wicket partnership after the Proteas were 127/5. South Africa were in trouble again when  Boucher left at 216/6, but Dale Steyn batted well to support Kallis.

At 279/6 the match is firmly in the balance. The new ball is only 3 overs old, and could hold the key. If England strike early they will have the advantage, but if Kallis and Steyn can see off the new ball, they could get South Africa above 350.

Days 2 and 3 will be good for batting, so South Africa need as many runs as possible otherwise a repeat of Durban could eventuate.

King Kallis holds the key. His 33rd test Century was a splendid innings. He always looked in control, well balanced and put the bad balls away.

English fast bowler James Anderson said Kallis was one of the most difficult batsmen in Test cricket to bowl to. “He’s very focussed when he bats.  The lateness that he plays the ball is incredible – even when the ball’s reversing, he can pick it, which makes it hard for the bowler.”

Kallis now moves into 5th place on the all time centurymakers list, behind Sunil Gavaskar and Brian Lara (34), Ricky Ponting (39) and Sachin Tendulkar (43). Unfortunately he has often come out to bat in a similar position and struggles to get going again on a second day of batting. If he can see off the new ball and get himself ‘in’ again, that elusive double century may just come to fruition.

There wouldn’t be a better ground for Kallis to achieve it on. He averages 70 at Newlands, and this was his thrid consecutive century against the English at this ground. I can’t wait for day 2, there has never been a better chance for Kallis to cash in and get his first double hundred!

England crushed South Africa by an innings and 98 runs in the second test at Kingsmead to lead the series 4-0.

England only required an hour and 15 minutes to wrap up the South African innings. Any hopes of some South African resistance on a good batting pitch were non-existent.

England thoroughly deserve their victory as they played the more positive cricket, and put South Africa under increasing pressure.

It’s the  first time since 1964 that England have beaten South Africa by an innings while the last time the Proteas suffered an innings defeat was in 2006 against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

South African captain Graeme Smith could only say it was “Massively disappointing.”

“It’s been disappointing, the past few days, the way we’ve been outplayed and we haven’t really had an answer. We fought very well in the first innings, to post 340-odd – it was a very good first innings total. But right from ball one, with the ball we were very poor. We gave England a start, after we’d created some pressure with our tail, to get a total. We bowled badly, took the pressure off them and they raced to 80, 90, 100. And right from that point, we were playing catch-up. We never really found our areas, we weren’t precise enough and it was disappointing the way we finished,” said Smith.

Looking ahead to the next test, Smith said  “We need to make the right decisions to win the next test in Cape Town. So we’ll have a look at the squad and see what the selectors give us for Cape Town and take it from there. We’ve had one collapse, and disappointing as it is, I don’t think it’s a call to make massive changes in the team. Our top six have got good records and have performed well over time.”

To rub salt into the would English captain Andrew Strauss said “It was as emphatic a victory away from home as I can remember. The whole test match, we did exactly what we wanted to do. We wanted to start the game well, and we got them two down early on. They got stuck in and came back at us a bit, but they never got away from us. We always felt it was under control and manageable.”

One of the key elements I felt was the pressure the English Bowlers were able to exert with accurate bowling. Andrew Strauss also said, “The ball was reversing a bit and spinning a bit, but it was also the pressure and we didn’t give them any loose deliveries, and that’s ultimately what got us into a position to win the game today.”

It shows that the game is all about executing the basics and building pressure.Responding to pressure is the South African weakpoint.

After finishing 2008 so superbly, the Proteas have wilted terribly. Of the 6 test matches in 2009, 5 of which were on home soil I might add, we’ve won 1 test match, which came in a dead rubber.

More worryingly, we’ve been outplayed quite convincingly in 4 of those matches, and have struggled to consistently take wickets. Was it any coincidence that the 1 victory came when we were playing without Graeme Smith?

Graeme Smith said “We haven’t played as much test cricket this year as we did in 2008, but 2009 hasn’t lived up the hype that we built up in 2008 and that’s disappointing. We reached a point and haven’t been able to move up to the next level and that’s something we need to look at – possibly with a leadership meeting.”

Leadership meetings aren’t needed. What is needed is some quality bowlers who can bowl wicket to wicket, attack the stumps, and bowl to fields that aren’t spread all over the ground. Morne Morkel and Makhaya Ntini don’t fit that bill.

The batting lineup needs players who are prepared to back themselves, take the attack to an average English pace line-up and bat for long periods of time.

The one saving grace that may help South Africa get back into this series is the fact we generally perform very well at Newlands and it has been a happy ground in recent times. If we don’t start well in the third test, 2010 could be a long year for us as well!

If the weather holds at Kingsmead on day 5, England will convincingly demolish South Africa in the second test.

Starting the day at 386/5, England produced numerous partnerships in scoring a massive 575/9. Ian Bell top scored with a magnificent 141 to give the tourists a 232 run lead after the first innings. In reply South Africa are in dire straits ending the 4th day on 76/6, still some 156 runs behind making England bat again, and with their engine room gone, I can’t see South Africa surviving until lunch let alone the 98 overs in the day.

During the England innings it was evident from the South African body language and demeanour they lack any enthusiasm or energy, were simply going through the motions and waiting for the declaration or the next stanza in play to happen. Representing South Africa you should never give up. That is not good enough.

England played superbly, sucking the life out of the South African bowling attack. It worked.

All we heard from the commentators was how good a batting strip it is. And it truly is. History shows it is easy to bat on days 3, 4 and 5.

South Africa couldn’t cash in on it however as both Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann claimed 3 wickets apiece to trigger a collapse where South Africa lost 6 wickets for just 23 runs.

Both bowlers are hardly the most dangerous in the world, and on a good batting wicket, it was the pressure that told. South African cricket simply doesn’t respond well to pressure situations. There are the odd exceptions such as the Melbourne test match against Australia last year, but in general we either choke or succumb way to easily when someone has to stand up and fight.

England should go 1-0 up heading to Cape Town. With only 2 tests remaining South Africa would have to win them both. Based on how things normally unfold I’d suspect an England victory again with South Africa claiming a dead rubber in the last test. I don’t wish to be the eternal pessimist, but we’ve down this road to many times before.

I’ll be praying for rain for day 5 at Kingsmead!

After 3 days, England ended at 386/5 in reply to South Africa’s 343, gaining a handy lead of 43.

Resuming on 103/1, the early loss of Jonathon Trott was negated by some impressive batting partnerships in the face of some wayward bowling from South Africa.

Alistair Cook toughed out an impressive century given his recent form of only 32 runs in his past 8 test innings. His first 37 deliveries of the morning only produced 1 run, but he showed the value of hanging in there, and being able to cash in once the bowlers tired.

Cook managed to overturn an LBW dismissal with the help of the tv replay, and prospered after that. He was aided by Kevin Pietersen first, followed by Paul Collingwood in partnerships of 51 and 142.

Whilst the pitch is definitely easier to bat on compared to the first day, and historically often is, the South African bowling attack looks devoid of an threats. The Proteas are discovering that it is one thing to get to the top, it is definitely harder to stay there. Since achieving the number 1 ICC world rankings in both tests and ODI’s, they’ve slipped back, in my view because they’ve become complacent and defensive.

England have shown a willingness to attack with the bat, the Proteas haven’t shown the same urgency or belief in their ability to stamp their authority over the England attack.

The South African bowling attack lacks penetration, but more importantly a plan. At this stage it looks like it is harder to get out of the side than to get into it. Morkel is a back of a length bowler who can trouble batsmen with his bounce, but is hardly likely to bowl a side out. Ntini has lost pace, accuracy and is just a gentle medium pacer who tries hard, but has lot his edge. Dale Steyn is still a fantastic bowler, but bowling wide of off stump will blunt his edge. He can bowl fantastic yorkers, and shape the ball away from the right hander. He needs to bowl straighter and attack the stumps. What is the captain telling him to do?

We need a new pace attack. Friedel de Wet looked good at Centurion. Wayne Parnell is a wicket taker, Lowabo Tsotsobe can move the ball and offers variation. Attack more, back the bowlers. Set more attacking fields. Putting Harris on to tie up one end with a long on, deep mid wicket and deep square leg is negative. You can’t build up pressure when you allow 3-4 easy singles each over.

Proteas coach Mickey Arthur said it had been a hard day for South Africa, but he was pleased with the way the team had stuck to its task. “If we can restrict them to a lead of 150, we’ll be very happy,” he said.

The morning session will be crucial in determining whether the Proteas can earn a draw or allow England to get away and dictate conditions on the last day.

Day 2 at Kingsmead ended with England seizing the advantage to finish at 103/1 in reply to South Africa’s 343

South Africa had produced a good rearguard action to total 343 after having started the day at 175/5.

AB de Villiers and Mark Boucher combined well to lift the scoring rate and produce a valuable 63 run partnership. England were hoping to wrap up the tail quickly, especially with the aid of the second new ball, especially when de Villiers was out on 269.

However resistance in the form of Morne Morkel, followed by Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini allowed South Africa to post a score they were more than happy with.

Steyn and Ntini batted beautifully in putting on 58 for the last wicket. Steyn showing that you can be positive without slogging every delivery. In fact he chose his deliveries to attack exceptionally well, and Makhaya Ntini supported him admirably.

It also demonstrated to the South African top order that you just need to see off the new ball and you can cash in as the bowling attack gets tired and loses its edge with the older, softer ball.

Andrew Strauss is a defensive captain, and his decision to persist with Graeme Swann puzzled me. Swann has been England’s leading wicket taker, and he is a decent bowler who gets a bit of turn and is fairly accurate. However he is no Muralitharan or Saqlain Mushtaq, and Dale Steyn showed how ordinary he can look when the attack is taken to him.

The Proteas would have been more than satisfied in reaching 343, but most of the good work was undone with wildly erratic bowling. Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntiniwasted the new ball, bowling too short, too wide and lacking the pace and fizz one would expect from a new ball attack.

Graeme Smith had to turn to Morne Morkel and an ineffectual Jacque Kallis who is still not 100%.

It has also highlighted to me how much more positive Andrew Strauss and the English side are compared to the Proteas. They scored at 3.91 runs per over compared to 3.16 from South Africa (which was boosted considerably from Dale Steyn and Mark Boucher).

Clearly the English are looking to dominate and seize the initiative. They have achieved this and enter the third day in pole position. South Africa will need Steyn and Ntini to fire and grab early wickets because I can’t see Morkel ever ripping through a batting order. With good overhead conditions and still something in the wicket, it’s up to whoever is prepared the put in the effort to reap the rewards.