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SA crush England; lead series 1-0

Brad Morgan

22 July 2008

After a resolute second innings batting performance had saved the first test, South Africa found their form to hammer England by 10 wickets in the second test at Headingley on Monday to take a 1-0 series lead in the battle for the Basil D'Oliviera Trophy.

It was a solid all-round performance by South Africa, with batting, bowling, and fielding all contributing in equal measure to the one-sided result. SA captain Graeme Smith accurately described it as "a very good performance".

There is little the Proteas will feel they need to work on after the win, apart from ensuring that the keep up their standards in the remaining two tests as they go after a first series victory on English soil since 1965.

Kallis' batting form

The only thing that truly stands out is Jacques Kallis' poor run of form with the bat, but coach Mickey Arthur is, frankly, quite excited about that because a batsman of Kallis' stature will fire sooner rather than later; his return to form will make South Africa a much tougher side.

Consider that they have, in their last two innings against England, scored 915 runs for the loss of only 13 wickets. Adding an in-form Kallis into that mix is something that England would dread.

As opposed to South Africa's performance, England's was a fragmented effort, which was not helped by some questionable selections that clearly unsettled the home team.

England bowling selection

Darren Pattinson was brought into the team with only 11 first class matches to his name; Chris Tremlett had been included as cover for bowling spearhead Ryan Sidebottom but, when Sidebottom failed to overcome an injury, Pattinson was instead rushed into the team.

To Pattinson's credit, his performance with the ball was better than some of the regulars in the side, but the fact that the rest of the team hardly knew the man certainly gave them some cause for unease.

Paul Collingwood was omitted and, in hindsight, that decision appears to have been an error; England's batting looked brittle and spotty in both innings.

Out on the opening day

Put in to bat, they managed only 203 all out in their first innings and were bowled out on the first day.

The lost wickets at regular intervals and failed to put together any big partnerships; their best stand was one of 44 for the fourth wicket between Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell. That kind of performance is not going to win many test matches.

The South African-born Pietersen looked threatening as he top scored with 45 off 46 deliveries, but it was his aggression that saw him get out when he edged Dale Steyn to Graeme Smith at slip while attempting a flamboyant drive.

Wicket-takers

Steyn claimed 4 for 76, while Morne Morkel made good use of the conditions, utilising his height to extract good bounce out of the wicket and capture 4 for 52. The South African team's catching was excellent and wicketkeeper Mark Boucher continued adding to his world record tally of victims with five in the innings.

There was some controversy when AB de Villiers claimed a catch at slip off the bat of Andrew Strauss. Television replays showed that the ball had hit the ground first and the opener was given not out. The crowd let De Villiers have it; he didn't seem to realise the ball had hit the ground, but an incident later in the day would help to undermine the English crowd's booing.

Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith got the South African innings off to a decent start before McKenzie was caught at slip by Andrew Flintoff off James Anderson for 15 with the score on 51.

Smith was out for 44 with the total on 69 and seven runs later Kallis played on to Anderson for four.

Amla and Prince

At 76 for 3, South Africa were in a spot of bother. Hashim Amla and Ashwell Prince were at the wicket; both had scored centuries in the first test.

Amla then spooned a ball to England captain Michael Vaughan at mid-off. He raced forward and dived to take what looked like a fair catch.

Amla was on his way off the field when coach Mickey Arthur signalled him to stay put. After the decision was referred to third umpire Richard Kettleborough in the stands it was shown that the ball had bounced.

Amla was not out and, suddenly, the criticism of De Villiers' "catch" in England's innings had quietened remarkably.

Together with Prince, he took the score to 101 for 3 at the close of the first day's play.

Domination

On day two, South Africa's batsmen totally dominated the England attack. Amla and Prince took the score to 143 before Amla was unlucky to be given out LBW to a full toss that was clearly going down the leg side. His contribution was 38.

AB de Villiers, to the accompaniment of boos, joined Prince in the middle and they proceeded to take the game away from England. They batted throughout the rest of the day as South Africa reached stumps on 322 for 4 – 119 runs ahead of England.

The pair added a further 33 runs on day three before Prince was caught by wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose off the bowling of Pattinson for a hugely impressive 149. He had played with assurance and style and helped his team take charge of the contest. Together with De Villiers, Prince put on 212 for the fourth wicket.

On the third day, South Africa added exactly 200 runs to their overnight score as De Villiers did the damage. He went on to top score with 176, showing a maturity that truly became evident when he scored 217 not out against India in the second test in April. He is, no doubt, set for bigger and better things.

Huge lead

With a huge first innings lead of 319 runs, the Proteas were well and truly in the driver's seat; with little more than half of the match complete, SA had plenty of time to bowl England out again.

By stumps they had made some inroads as Makhaya Ntini struck twice, dismissing Andre Strauss for a duck and Michael Vaughan for 21, to reduce England to 50 for 2 at the close.

The pitch offered much better batting conditions on day four and England managed a better second innings effort, but they still lost wickets too regularly to offer up anything more than token resistance considering their position in the match.

Alistair Cook batted well for 60, but a number of batsmen played themselves in only to lose their wickets in the thirties.

Late resistance

When the ninth wicket went down with England on 266, they were on the verge of losing by an innings, but some good hitting from Stuart Broad and dour defence from Pattinson ensured South Africa would have to bat again as they put on 61 for the last wicket.

Broad finished unbeaten on 67, while Pattinson was the last man out, clean bowled by Morkel. The lanky paceman finished with 3 for 61, while Steyn knocked over 3 for 97. Kallis picked up 2 for 50 and Ntini, who did the initial damage, ended with 2 for 69.

South Africa required only nine runs to win and they took just seven balls to complete a comprehensive victory.

Man of the match

Prince was named man of the match for his crucial innings which came at a critical time in South Africa's reply to England's first innings of 203. The bottom line, though, is that it was a team performance – something which England lacked – that won the test.

A number of players will be afforded a rest before the third test when South Africa take on Bangladesh A at Worcester from 25-27 July.

The third test takes place at Edgbaston in Birmingham from 30 July to 3 August, with the final test being hosted by the Kennington Oval in London from 7-11 August.

A win in either test match would seal a South African test series victory.