Sublime batting from Marcus Trescothick and former South African Andrew Strauss put England into a commanding position at the end of the third day of the second Castle Lager/MTN Test against South Africa at Kingsmead on Tuesday. At close of play, England was 281 for one wicket, and they had a lead of 88 runs.
When England resumed batting on their overnight score of 30 without loss, South Africa appeared to be in control of the match, but Trescothick and Strauss showed why England are currently second only to Australia in the world rankings. English cricket has not been accustomed to success in the cricketing arena for the past few years, following years of dismal performances and underachieving.
South Africa occupied the second spot in the test log for years, until the country’s recent loss of form which has caused it to drop in the rankings.
At one stage in the morning session, the English were scoring more than five runs an over, and the South African captain Graeme Smith was forced to call on his most experienced bowlers – Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis and Makhaya Ntini – to try to put some pressure on the batsmen.
Trescothick and Strauss were particularly hard on Nicky Boje and Dale Steyn, especially in the morning session, with Boje conceding 36 runs off six overs, and Steyn 31 off three.
During the afternoon session, both batsmen reached their centuries – Trescothick his ninth off 199 balls, and two minutes later, Strauss reached his fourth in just nine Tests. They also became the first pair since South Africa’s readmission to international cricket in 1992 to score a double hundred opening partnership against South Africa in South Africa.
When South Africa took the new ball, England had a lead of 69. Shaun Pollock finally made the breakthrough in the sixth over with the new ball, when Trescothick got an outside edge and wicket-keeper AB de Villiers took the catch to bring to an end the fifth highest partnership ever for England.
It was also the highest opening partnership since 1960, when Geoff Puller and Colin Cowdrey made 290 against South Africa in the fourth Test at the Oval.
Ntini nearly made it two wickets in two balls when Martin van Jaarsveld, fielding at third slip, dropped Andrew Strauss with his score on 125.
As usual, Pollock was the most economical of the bowlers, with figures of one wicket for 42 runs off 22 overs, including 10 maidens. Kallis conceded 31 off his 12 overs, and Ntini 51 off 21 overs.
When play was called off because of bad light about half an hour early, Strauss was not out on 132 – just 33 runs short of his thousandth Test run.
Mark Butcher was not out on one.
Trescothick said he had thoroughly enjoyed his innings. ”I was playing well, and it’s been a fantastic day for us. We’re both in pretty good form and we’re both positive players. We made the most of our opportunities.” He said his partnership with Strauss was working well. ”We communicate well, and we just try to relax each other. We’ get on pretty well, and we enjoy batting together.”
Trescothick said Wednesday would be a very important day in the Test. ”Tomorrow will be crucial, especially the first session. The whole Test could be decided then. We can’t get too far ahead, and we can’t be too happy and relaxed at this stage.”
South African coach Ray Jennings was confident that South Africa could still win the Test. ”There’s plenty of time left in the Test,” he said. ”The game’s far from over. It’s been a stop-start sort of game. It’s a funny game, especially with regard to the form of the players at the moment. None of the players, with the exception of Strauss, have given the impression that they are really in form.
”Our guys were really quite upbeat at the end of the day,” he added. ”It takes a lot more to get a South African team down than a day at the office like today. I see it as a positive. Not too many sides would handled that kind of heat, and having a lead, and then not having it. I’m confident that South Africa can take a lot more than England handed out today.”
Asked what target South Africa would be able to chase, Jennings joked, ”Anything between 150 and 400. The way Kallis has played, he could chase a target by himself. I’m confident that our players are good enough, and they know our conditions, and they can handle the pressure.”
Jennings said he thought South Africa had bowled quite well. ”I think Nicky Boje could have exploited the conditions a bit more, but I’m not really unhappy, although it obviously wasn’t a top-class performance. In the last 15 overs, they showed a lot more intensity, and we should probably have shown that intensity last. – Sapa