Email Us Forum Mail Article Print Article

Terrific Tresco blasts 'Boks

Sunday, September 7 2003

England started the day on 169-2 with Marcus Trescothick undefeated on 64 and Graham Thorpe on 28, still 319 in arrears. With the South Africans holding a lead of 2 games to 1 in the rubber, the onus was very much on the home side to force the issue in an endeavour to square the series.

Graham Thorpe opened his account for the day with a neat clip for a single through the on side off the bowling of Jacques Kallis as England set about trying to haul themselves back into the game. Marcus Trescothick lost little time finding the fence when Kallis overpitched and the opener threaded the ball through midwicket for the first boundary of the morning.

Thorpe, showing sound judgment around his off stump, was playing a waiting game when Shaun Pollock bowled wide to him but when the South African talisman erred in line the Surrey batsman smacked him to the square leg boundary twice in an over. The overnight rain had had little effect on the speed of the outfield as Trescothick admirably demonstrated with a firm push which raced past mid off for another boundary as England continued to rattle along.

Makhaya Ntini replaced Kallis at the Pavilion End and opened with a maiden, inducing the first false stroke of the morning when Trescothick flicked at one outside off stump. Taking everything into account, England could feel delighted about the manner in which they had started the session, especially when a flashing back-foot cover drive from Thorpe off the bowling of Pollock raced away to cover to bring up the 200.

A thickish inside edge by Thorpe allowed him a single to go through to a fine half-century, then Trescothick followed up with a signature uppercut over the slips off Ntini for another boundary as the partnership continued to prosper. The introduction of Paul Adams gave Thorpe an uncomfortable moment as the batsman was squared up, the ball squeezing out along the ground past slip, then two balls later the same batsman pushed past gulley to take the partnership past 150.

So few balls were beating the outside edge at this stage that one could be forgiven for harbouring thoughts that England might yet get back into the game and series. Trescothick smacked a half volley from Kallis through the covers to move imperiously into the nineties, then survived a near-impossible chance when he clipped Adams on the full to forward short leg.

Trescothick pounced on a short delivery from Kallis, lashing the ball to square leg only to be thwarted by a superb piece of fielding by Jacques Rudolph, restricting him to a single, but the Somerset opener did not have long to wait for his century. Paul Adams presented him with a dreadful long-hop and a second later, Trescothick was punching the air with delight.

Graham Thorpe had moved almost unnoticed into the eighties as the South Africans moved into more defensive mode, so much so that when Jacques Kallis finally found the outside edge, there was no waiting second slip to take the regulation catch, only the thud of ball into the fence at fine third man.

When the clock approaching a quarter to one, Graeme Smith turned to the occasional leg spin of Jacques Rudolph to no avail as England went in at the break on 271-2, still a massive 213 runs in arrears but with eight first innings wickets standing.

The afternoon session began with a gift-wrapped full toss from the innocuous Rudolph which Trescothick had little difficulty in despatching to the third man boundary. In the following over Kallis dropped short to Thorpe who smashed the ball square to move into the nineties and in the process took the partnership beyond 200 as South Africa appeared to be merely marking time before the taking of the new ball.

Makhaya Ntini gave Thorpe a good working over and the Surrey batsman looked decidedly relieved to get to the other end after receiving one painful blow to the nether regions, then a fortuitious boundary off Pollock took him to within a couple of his century on his recall to the fold. England's 300 and Thorpe's first century for his country at his home ground came courtesy of a firm push through point which brought the crowd to its feet.

Thorpe played one sumptuous flat-batted drive off Pollock for four, then a momentary lapse in concentration saw him fortunate to survive, padding up to a ball which nipped sharply back off the seam as the game moved into a key phase. South Africa's premier bowlers probed away and the England batsmen sought to leave as much as possible - almost as if the innings were just starting as opposed to being 305-2.

Finally, the shackles were momentarily loosened when Ntini dropped short. Quick as a flash, Trescothick was on to it, swatting the ball high over midwicket for four. Thorpe registered a boundary of his own with a delightful straight drive off the bowling of Pollock, then a flashing late cut sent the ball racing past third man as the English batsmen strived to re-assert control on the afternoon's proceedings.

Two examples which demonstrated the total command of Graham Thorpe at this stage came in consecutive overs. First, Ntini bowled a length ball outside off stump and Thorpe rocked back on one leg before caressing the ball through cover point, then Pollock appeared to deceive him in the flight with a slower ball, only to see it disappear high over extra cover for four more.

Andrew Hall was recalled and immediately induced a false stroke from Thorpe, finding the inside edge as the dark clouds closed in around the AMP Oval. Trescothick came within a whisker of running himself out at the non-striker's end as Herschelle Gibbs picked up and threw the stumps down in a single movement.

Trescothick despatched Kallis through midwicket for four, then a brace to point took the partnership to 265, the highest for the third wicket in the long history of test cricket at The Oval. Two overs later, the pair were parted. With the first sprinklings of rain falling Jacques Kallis, bowling around the wicket, managed to penetrate the defences of Graham Thorpe when he was on 124 and seemingly set for the day. The ball ricocheted off his pad and rebounded on to the top of off stump to give South Africa their first success in over five hours of cricket, leaving England 346-3.

New batsman Ed Smith lost no time in getting off the mark, clipping his first ball through midwicket for a boundary before a heavy shower sent the players scurrying for the pavilion and an early tea on 351-3.

Upon the resumption, it seemed to be a different game altogether with Kallis and Pollock the epitome of economy, obtaining occasional swing and a little seam movement. Eventually, Pollock erred in line and Trescothick cleverly threaded the ball through the packed off side for a rare boundary.

With Ed Smith totally becalmed, Trescothick sought to wrest the initiative from the South African bowlers. The introduction of Andrew Hall into the attack gave him just such an opportunity and in what looked to be a premeditated move, he advanced down the track to launch the bowler back over his head to move past 150 in some style.

Smith had been stuck without scoring for over half an hour when a dreadful misfield allowed the Kent batsman an easy two. The pressure relieved, he stroked the next two deliveries from Pollock for a brace of sumptuous boundaries, one through the mid off region and one past midwicket. Instead of going on, though, he departed for a disappointing 16 playing all round one from Andrew Hall which rapped him on the pad to leave England on 379-4.

The applause which greeted Alec Stewart's arrival at the crease was matched in volume by the roar which greeted his first runs in this, his farewell test match as he finally succeeded in threading a delivery from Andrew Hall through cover to the boundary, in the process reducing the deficit to less than a hundred.

Trescothick moved to his highest score in test cricket and took England beyond 400 with an uppercut over slip for four but it so nearly led to his downfall. Paul Adams, fielding at third man, raced back and finer before launching himself at the ball only for it to just evade his grasp. As if to redress the balance, Trescothick bludgeoned Hall's next delivery through midwicket to herald the drinks break.

Paul Adams extracted an enormous amount of turn from one delivery to Trescothick before Alec Stewart, sporting what appeared to be a much heavier bat than usual, then smashed successive deliveries from Ntini through the off side as England closed in on the South African total.

Adams, struggling with his length, offered a full toss to Trescothick who deposited the ball twenty rows back beside the scoreboard, then followed that up with an exquisite drive through extra cover as the runs continued to flow aplenty. Hall came in for a dose of the Trescothick treatment too as two superbly timed drives through extra cover took him into the 190's for the first time in his career.

Jacques Rudolph had the unenviable task of bowling to Trescothick on 196 - and three balls later, the obligatory half-volley was being thrown back from beyond the boundary as the erstwhile under-pressure opener was answering his critics in some style, the posessor of a maiden double-hundred in first-class cricket. Stewart, meanwhile, was more than a passive partner, nudging ones to the ultra-defensive field as South Africa's thoughts turned to saving the game as opposed to winning it.

Stewart's tenure at the crease should have been terminated on 33 when he slapped a delivery from Rudolph straight to Neil McKenzie at cover. In keeping with the occasion of Stewart's farewell test match, the fielder somehow contrived to fluff the simplest of chances and to allow the England wicketkeeper to progress unhindered.

Another full toss, this time by Jacques Rudolph, was smashed over midwicket for six by Trescothick as England continued to put the bad ball away and, Pollock apart, there were plenty to choose from. Pollock was exemplarary in line and length as always, and he reaped a deserved second wicket when he trapped Stewart playing back and across for 38 with England just four runs in arrears. It wasn't the half century the occasion had demanded but with Trescothick he had put England firmly in the driving seat.

England moved into credit on first innings courtesy of a no-ball from Pollock, then Trescothick creamed another four through the covers when Ntini dropped short and wide. It was to be his last contribution of the innings as another short ball tucked him up a little. The ball soared high in the direction of the boundary at fine leg but fell a yard short - straight into the ample hands of Jacques Rudolph who made no mistake. Trescothick's innings of 219 had come off 374 balls and had included 32 boundaries and two sixes.

With Flintoff and Giles at the crease, South Africa were right back in the contest provided they could clean up the English tail quickly. Kallis dropped fractionally short to Flintoff who simply bludgeoned the ball past McKenzie at midwicket before the fielder had chance to move. A series of scampered singles took England beyond 500.

An excellent penultimate over from Jacques Kallis to Ashley Giles comprehensively did for the England spinner. Two short balls had Giles wearing one and taking evasive action to the other, then two outswingers enticed the tentative prod, the second of which found the secure hands of Andrew Hall at slip.

England closed the third day on 502-7, a lead of just 18 runs. The final half hour demonstrated admirably why South Africa are such a difficult team to beat. They gave little away and only required a sniff of a possibility before they grabbed every opportunity to play themselves right back into the game. With two full days remaining, every result remains possible but the draw remains the most likely. Sides have won games at The Oval from a position where a thousand runs have been shared in the first innings, but Muralitharans do not grow on trees.

England 502-7 (Trescothick 219, Thorpe 124)
lead
South Africa 484 (Gibbs 183, Kirsten 90, Kallis 66, Pollock 66*)
by 18 runs


Posted by Eddie