OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 9.40PM.
SOUTH Africa’s seamers did the trick on the first day of the series-deciding fifth cricket Test at Headingley, dismissing the home side for 230 runs.
English opener Mark Butcher was, in fact, the only English bat who really worried the South Africans, as he played a stirling career-best innings of 116. Butcher, who was a bit tentative at the start, kept the South African pacemen at bay for five hours, hitting the pickets 18 times.
The tourists replied with eight without loss in the four overs to the close.
For the South Africans Makhaya Ntini bagged a career best 4/72 which cut England back to 213/9. The lanky Border youngster added Graeme Hick(2) to his tally, a wicket that he will prize for a long time.
Shaun Pollock also played his part, and started the England rot when he sent Butcher and Andrew Flintoff to the hut in the space of four deliveries. Pollock finished with 3/51 from 24 overs and Allan Donald took 3/44.
Donald and Pollock were on fire later in the day, and needed only 32 deliveries to send six England batsmen tramping back to the showers for just 32 runs.
Scoreboard:
England first innings —
M Butcher b Pollock 116 (322m 252b 18×4)
M Atherton c Kallis b Ntini 16 (76m 50b 2×4)
N Hussain c Boucher b Pollock 9 (69m 45b 1×4)
A Stewart c Kallis b Donald 15 (50m 30b 3×4)
M Ramprakash c Boucher b Donald 21 (92m 62b 2×4)
G Hick c Rhodes b Ntini 2 (39m 21b)
A Flintoff c Liebenberg b Pollock 0 (2m 3b)
D Cork not out 24 (46m 34b 4×4)
I Salisbury b Ntini 0 (8m 4b)
D Gough c McMillan b Ntini 2 (15m 7b)
A Fraser c Cullinan b Donald 4 (19m 16b)
Extras (4b 5lb 2w 10nb) 21
Total (all out) 230 — 83,3 overs (369 mins)
Fall of wickets: 1/45 2/83 3/110 4/181 5/196 6/196 7/198 8/200 9/213
Bowling: Donald 20,3-6-44-3 (1w), Pollock 24-8-51-3 (5nb), Ntini 21-5-72-4 (1w 2nb), Kallis 9-4-30-0, McMillan 9-0-24-0 (3nb)
South Africa first innings —
G Kirsten not out 4 (15m 17b 1×4)
G Liebenberg not out 4 (15m 7b)
Extras (1lb) 1
Total 8/0 — 4 overs 15 mins
Bowling: Gough 2-1-4-0, Fraser 2-1-4-0