Final match - apology for the delay and abbreviated match report - tonight is the first time I've been home before 8 all week.
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England won the toss and chose to bat on what looked likely to be a normal Oval road. Grace and Bedser had come in at the expense of Compton and Tyson, while Kirsten had come in for the underperforming Nourse.
Disaster struck for England when all but two overs of the first days play was lost to very heavy rain which flooded sections of the ground. The disaster occurred when it was revealed that the covers had been incorrectly laid, and that the pitch had become seriously waterlogged. After discussion with the umpires, the match referee, as the ICC representative, decided that television revenue was the most important consideration and ordered the game continue.
As the English attempted to commence for the second time, Hutton knew that getting some runs on the board would be vital, in case the wicket developed into a sticky gluepot. However, Donald got the early breakthroughs, removing both Hobbs and Hutton. Peter Pollock produced an inspired spell, taking 7 for 26 from 11.5, to shoot England out for a pitiful 158 from 56. England imploded against Pollock’s accurate line and length, combined with the odd bit of late movement, and some unpredictable bounce.
The pitch had started to dry out somewhat late in the second session. With Tyson out, Botham took the new ball with Fiery and stepped up, taking five wickets. Kirsten did well in his first showing of the tour, while Faulkner scored the first half-century of a match dominated thus far, surprisingly, by the ball. South Africa were all out at lunch on day two for 284 – a first innings lead of 126.
England’s second innings was, remarkably enough, more disappointing than their first. This time the home team was dispatched for only 183 off only 59 overs. On the whole in this test, the mighty English line up, containing some of the finest batsmen in history, by reputation the all-time greats on a rain affected wicket, managed to bat for 115 overs for a paltry 341 runs over two innings. The sun had come out as the English had come in to bat again, and as the still drying wicket began to develop sticky patches, Faulkner was the destroyer as his wrist spin found purchase. His normal variations were something of a redundancy as he found sharp spin and uneven bounce to rip through the fancied Englishmen, taking 7 for 51 from 15 overs.
The South Africans were left with 58 runs to get to secure the series. Despite Barnes striking twice, they secured those runs easily with Graeme Pollock fittingly hitting the winning runs.
Player of the Match: G.A. Faulkner (8-91 and match top score of 52)
Series: 3-2 to South Africa.
Player of the Series: Graeme Pollock (644@92. HS: 196)