The third day of the fifth and final Castle Lager/MTN cricket Test between South Africa and England at Supersport Park on Sunday was a day of frustration for players and spectators alike.
With more than three hours lost because of lightning, rain and bad light, only 46 overs and two balls were bowled throughout the day. England ended the day on 114 for the loss of four wickets, still 133 runs behind South Africa’s first innings total.
It took England just two balls to wrap up the South African innings, with no addition to the overnight score of 247, when Andrew Hall was caught by Andrew Strauss off Simon Jones for 11.
South Africa struck back in the morning session, claiming three important wickets before lunch. Marcus Trescothick was run out when a misunderstanding about a run saw Nicky Boje succeed with a direct throw at his wicket. He made 20.
Robert Key lasted just 12 minutes before he edged a Pollock delivery to Mark Boucher for one. Pollock struck again two balls later when Michael Vaughan top-edged a ball to Jacques Rudolph at mid-on to go out for a duck.
Strauss and Graham Thorpe set about stabilising the England innings, but South Africa kept things tight with some excellent bowling, and the two English batsmen found runs hard to come by. At lunch, England had 66 for three, and South Africa were looking very threatening.
Only four overs were bowled after lunch before the umpires called the players off because of lightning and an impending storm. As soon as they had left the field, the storm broke, and there was torrential rain. Play was resumed more than two hours later, but after one over, the players left again because of bad light.
Forty minutes later, the players took the field again, with the score on 79 for three. Some aggressive bowling by Andre Nel, newly back in the team, saw Strauss edge the ball to Boucher for 44.
But as Andrew Flintoff came in, the clouds rolled in again, and the players left the field for the last time for the day. Thorpe was not out on 32, and Flintoff had yet to score a run.
South Africa will be hoping for good weather for the rest of the Test, which ends on Tuesday. They need to win to level the series, but England need only to draw to win the series two-one. – Sapa