It was honours even on the first day of the third Castle Lager/MTN cricket Test between South Africa and England at Newlands on Sunday. South Africa had 247 for four at close of play.
Graeme Smith won the toss and decided to bat first. Herschelle Gibbs lost his wicket for four runs early on, when he shouldered arms to a delivery from Matthew Hoggard, which went straight and clipped the wicket.
Jacques Rudolph and Smith put on 61 runs for the second wicket before Rudolph got an outside edge to a ball from Simon Jones. Wicketkeeper Geraint Jones took the catch and Rudolph was out for 26.
Jacques Kallis joined Smith, and they picked up the pace after lunch, scoring at well over three runs an over. Smith reached his 10th Test half century in just over two hours off 81 balls. He was looking very comfortable, and seemed set to make a big score. When he had 70, he was lucky not to be given out when he got an inside edge, and was caught by Geraint Jones off Ashley Giles.
Smith stood his ground and umpire Daryl Harpur said not out. However, in the next over from Giles, Smith got a thick edge, and the ball richoted off the wicketkeeper’s gloves, and Marcus Trescothick took the catch at first slip. Smith made 74, including eight fours. He and Kallis put on 75 runs for the third wicket.
With Boeta Dippenaar at the crease with Kallis, Michael Vaughan put the brakes on the run rate with a very defensive field, apparently attempting to frustrate the batsmen into making errors, and it became a war of attrition.
The runs dried up, and the crowd of nearly 18-thousand began to get restless. But Vaughan’s tactics finally paid off, when three overs before the new ball was due, Dippenaar, who had been playing very tentatively, came forward to a delivery from Giles that pitched well up.
The ball nipped in and hit the leg stump, and Dippenaar was out for 29. He had been in four two hours and six minutes, and faced 101 balls.
Meanwhile, Kallis, in his normal imperious fashion, moved to his 34th Test 50. He appeared untroubled by the England tactics, and at close of play was not out on 81. Hashim Amla, who had a poor Test in Durban was not out on 21.
At the media conference after the day’s play, Smith said the second day would be crucial. ”We need to score lots of runs tomorrow,” he said. ”If we get a big total on the board, we can put them under pressure. If you can get 450 or more, you can start controlling Test matches, and you can start gaining momentum.
”I think we had a reasonably good day today. The wicket was playing pretty slow. It’s not a flat wicket with regard to seam movement, but it’s not very easy to score freely on. If they bowl in good areas, it’s hard to get away, and I thought they were quite defensive in the afternoon.”
Smith reckoned it had been an important toss to win. ”I think the wicket’s going to take a bit of turn as the Test goes on, and it might also quicken up a bit. It also gives our bowlers a chance to get a bit more of a rest. If we can start well tomorrow, we might see the English take a bit of wear and tear from Durban.” He was disappointed to have gone out in the seventies.
”Seventies do well, but they don’t win you Test matches. Seventy will be fine if Kallis goes out and makes 160. But it was a bit disappointing -hopefully the big one’s just around the corner.”
Smith said Kallis was just getting better and better. ”He doesn’t get the accolades of a Tendulkar or a Lara, but he’s right up there with them. His performances in the last year and a half have been unbelievable. Hopefully he can carry on, and we can start building more big scores around him.”
England coach Duncan Fletcher said he had been pleased with the way England had stuck to their task, particularly when they were trying to dry up the runs. ”They stuck to the game plan, and I thought that was very impressive,” he said. – Sapa