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Kirtley bowls England home

Tuesday, August 19 2003

England debutant James Kirtley took 6-34 to bowl out South Africa for 131 as England sealed a thrilling 70-run final morning triumph at Trent Bridge to level the Series 1-1 with two to play.

It was a Test Match that had seen almost everything in its first four days. There were centuries from Mark Butcher and Nasser Hussain set up England's first innings of 445 before Neil McKenzie, Mark Boucher and Shaun Pollock staged a dramatic rearguard action to drag South Africa back from 132-5 to 362. It was then the turn of the bowlers to take centre stage as Pollock recorded 6-39 to bowl out England for just 118 to set South Africa 202 in four sessions, but all four of England's seamers bowled with discipline, consistency and focus to send the South African top five back to the pavilion, with several questionable umpiring decisions adding their own intensity to the game.

Day 4 - Close of Play
South Africa 63/5 (ND McKenzie 6*, MV Boucher 9*)
South Africa need 139 with 5 wickets remaining

With Trent Bridge filling up to the rafters thanks to Nottinghamshire providing over 4,000 free tickets for the final day, and offering free admission to Sunday ticket-holders, there was an atmosphere seldom experienced in cricket today - that of the final day run-chase with both sides chasing victory. A generation malnourished upon a diet of instant cricket were expectant, about to experience Test Cricket at its very best.

Andy Flintoff and James Kirtley took the new ball and incumbents McKenzie and Boucher threatened to repeat Saturday's recovery mission. Kirtley beat the bat on more than one occasion but Flintoff seemed strangely subdued, bowling not only more slowly but less accurately than on Sunday night. Twenty minutes into the crucial first half-hour the Proteas had avoided any further loss, but then Kirtley struck.

Keeping the ball pitched up and straight, the Sussex paceman let the pitch do the rest as McKenzie (11) was caught in two minds whether to go forward or back, with the result that he ended up doing neither as the ball shot off the pitch and knocked back his off-stump through the gate. 11.08am, 71-6.

Shaun Pollock, in at eight and fresh off the back of his six-wicket haul and first innings half-century was the man the visitors looked to in order to inch towards victory. It was not forthcoming as first Kirtley beat his bat with both remaining balls of his over before Andy Flintoff trapped him on the crease with an LBW shout that was just missing leg. Pollock's response was to try and get forward to the next delivery but, like McKenzie, he didn't get enough of a stride in and Flintoff, all of a sudden back to his full pace, knocked the off stump clean out of the ground in a great response to Boucher's two boundaries at the start of the over. 11.13am, 80-7.

The last of the recognised batsman, Andy Hall, was in next and England sensed glory as the Proteas entered the last chance saloon. Kirtley got one to bounce off a length to Boucher, who worked it away for a single to bring the Worcestershire man on strike. The next ball sent him back to the pavilion, a widish delivery, which Hall wasted no time in trying to smear through extra cover but only succeeded in getting a meaty outside edge that Marcus Trescothick clung on to in style at first slip, a difficult change that went quickly and to his right. 11.17am, 81-8.

Television replays suggested that both of the last two wickets had fallen from balls where the bowlers had overstepped, reminding many of Pakistan bowling England out to level the series 1-1 at Old Trafford in 2001 with several wickets falling off what ought to have been no-balls.

It seemed like England had done the hard work and now it was only a matter of time before they would finish the job and start preparing for the next Test, but Paul Adams and Boucher had other ideas. Adams was resolute in his defence and despite being beaten on a number of occasions, he only offered one chance in over an hour at the crease, with his score on 1 and the scoreboard reading 96. The excellent Kirtley moved one away from the tailender's push and caught an edge that Mark Butcher at second slip couldn't quite hold on to. It was a tricky chance, but one that he will feel he should have taken.

With Adams determined to stand by him, Boucher took the attack to England and kept the scoreboard ticking over with some excellent boundaries - when Kirtley and Flintoff overpitched he sent them through the covers with textbook driving, as Kirtley's figures of 4/15 off 12 overs became 4/33 off 15. This brought on England's first bowling change of the day as James Anderson replaced Kirtley. Anderson again beat the bat and bowled some excellent deliveries and Steve Harmison, bowling through the pain barrier with a calf strain, made Adams look intensely uncomfortable with two steepling balls that evoked memories of West Indian quicks of yesteryear. Yet they did not fall, and as the partnership nudged and nurdled towards 50, nerves inside Trent Bridge started to strain once more. Captain Vaughan mis-fielded twice, giving away runs both times, but it was not just the fielding side feeling the heat as Boucher should have been run out following a kamikaze single, with Ashley Giles' throw missing the stumps when he had time to aim. Despite this, the wicketkeeper brought up his half century and with 77 needed there was still South African embers of hope glowing.

It was now that Vaughan turned once more to Kirtley and he was not disappointed as he trapped Adams (15) in his first over back in the attack to break the largest Second Innings partnership of the match, the spinner not getting through his shot properly and scooping it back to the exultant bowler, who flung the ball in the air and kissed the Three Lions crest on his shirt in delight. With nine down and Makhaya Ntini in, there was surely not long left. 12.23pm, 126-9.

Harmison was inches from finishing Ntini in the next over as a reaction dive to his right finished just short of the ball and only resulted in further grimacing from the Durham man, yet he kept running in and putting the ball in good areas with good pace, though he will have been relieved that this was his last over of the game as Kirtley claimed his sixth when the obdurate Boucher (52) tickled one through to Alec Stewart to end the visitors' challenge with Ntini unbeaten on 3. 12.31pm, 131 all out.

It was an excellent display by all of the England seamers, in particular Kirtley, whose innings figures of 6/34 and match return of 8/114 mark another highly impressive England debut this summer. If there had been a concrete wall in his run up, Harmison would have ran straight through it and Flintoff and Anderson both performed admirably. With the bat, Butcher and Hussain were immense in the first innings, the effervescent Ed Smith scored a fine debut half-century, and Stewart batted as though his career depended on it, probably keeping the sword of Damocles suspended above him for a little while longer yet. Ashley Giles batted efficiently and with no little style both times round and is growing into a useful number eight, though his spin was not needed and Vaughan and Trescothick, despite their failures with the bat, showed their experience and character in the field.

South Africa will be disappointed to let their series lead slip and will take heart from their bowlers' displays and Neil McKenzie and Mark Bouchers' grit and determination with the bat as the series rolls on to Headingley on Thursday, August 21st, but will sorely miss the class of Shaun Pollock as he returns to South Africa to be with his wife and newborn daughter. Dewald Pretorius is likely to replace him and they will also welcome back Gary Kirsten from a shoulder injury, with either Jacques Rudolph or Boeta Dippenaar standing down.

The probable injury-related loss of Harmison for the Fourth Test will open the door for another English seamer and with Glenn Chapple also not fully fit to add to England's already long list of unavailability, Surrey's James Ormond, Yorkshire's Steve Kirby and Worcestershire's Kabir Ali seem the leading candidates.

England 445 (N Hussain 116, MA Butcher 108, AJ Hall 3-88)

South Africa 362 (ND McKenzie 90, SM Pollock 62, JM Anderson 5-102)

England 118 (N Hussain 30, A Flintoff 30, SM Pollock 6-39)

South Africa 131 (MV Boucher 52, HH Gibbs 28, RJ Kirtley 6-34)

England won by 70 runs

England level the Series 1-1 with 2 to play

CricketWeb Player of the Match: Nasser Hussain (England) - despite Kirtley's debut heroics, the ex-captain contributed England's highest scores in both innings on a wicket that was harder to bat on than bowl on, and with his forceful personality and sheer passion for the game and his country he just edges out the Sussex paceman.

Posted by Neil