Peanutbutterbar said:
Can't complain about stuff like this. Fair's fair. Taufell explained it well after the match, which was good of him.
Spot on my friend, I think Simon Taufel got it just right and it was very brave of him to give Nasser Hussain an interview just after because he must have known he was going to get grilled by a recently retired England captain. He explained his decision succinctly in my opinion and although I was disappointed by his decision (from an English bias) it was to the law and it was previously agreed by the captains.
As Neil said, it works in swings and roundabouts. Michael Vaughan mentioned in an interview after the presentation that England had a few favourable decisions in Sri Lanka last year to do with light and conditions and that helped us a great deal at the time.
All in all, a great Test match which I've managed to catch almost every ball of on the radio and I've been gripped by it due to the massive swings from one side to another. I reckon this was how every day ended in terms of domination.
Day One - RSA 75% Eng 25% (Although England got out for 139, they'd also managed to secure 3 wickets before the close of play for 70 runs so gave them a little credit)
Day Two - RSA 85% 15% (After England's surge in the morning session to reduce South Africa to 118/6, that man Kallis and his able ginger sidekick managed to put together the biggest (at the time) partnership of the game by far and with Kallis leading the tail, a lead of 193 looked unassailable. However, England's 15% comes from the opening pair getting through to the close without any loss of wickets.)
Day Three - England 55% RSA 45% (What a day for England as the game was completely and utterly turned on it's head by the supposedly out-of-form Tresco and Strauss. Biggest opening partnership in Durban and not just taking England into the lead but the psychological effects of this cannot be underestimated as the SA bowlers chugged away for five and a half hours with no success in crippling heat. Game on and England looking solid.)
Day Four - England 65% RSA 35% (That man bounced back again. According to Mike Atherton, "the best nurdler in world cricket" [is that a compliment??] nudged and pushed his way to another Test century on another day in which England stamped their authority. The morning started with Strauss, Vaughan (unluckily) and Butcher all falling early. Hands up who thought Freddie would come in and hook his way to his downfall. I had my doubts and my cynical dad certainly thought he would. Not to be, he played 24 scoring strokes in an innings of 112 balls. 3 of the 24 went into the crowd and 6 more into the boards. A partnership of 114 with Thorpe certainly steadied the ship and when Freddie fell to Boston (Smith), I felt a little apprehensive. What was I worrying about? The Papua New Guinean-born, Australian raised with a drop of Welsh blood wicketkeeper came down the pitch and slaughtered Smith over his head. I was waving my "I don't care if you've got a Welsh great-grandmother who's actually not Welsh but an illegal immigrant living in the Rhonda Valley" banner all around my head. A quickfire 73 from Jones meant that Vaughanie could declare (with Thorpe on 118* down the other end).....and still have time to take Smith's wicket before the close (should have had Gibbs too but we'll forgive Jones purely because he made Smith have a long-stop during his innings which was a hoot and something I've not seen since my Under 15 cricketing days).
Day 5 - Honours Even [but are they?] (Bad light stops play as England closed on a victory. 2 wickets left with 15 overs remaining [was anyone actually paying attention to the runs required column?
]. I'd say that South Africa must be happy that they survived through the work of AB De Villiers and his ginger side-kick but England will be delighted that after their poor work in days one and two that they remain unbeaten in 2004. 13 Test, 11 wins and 2 draws. Who'd have thought it when 1st January 2004 dawned 364 days ago? However, South Africa have had a far from great year in team terms. They'll be unhappy they let England off the hookv in this match if I know Smith and Jennings but they have the new year to look forward to where they'll hope (and me except in next 3 matches) SA can live up to their clear potential.)
South Africa 0 England 1.
Happy New Year everyone on CW.
