Ken Borland

The day was South Africa’s as they finished the second day on 86 for one in the first test against England at the Oval in London on Friday.

34th over – Medium-pacer Ravi Bopara comes on and nearly makes the breakthrough! Hashim Amla, on 40, drives hard off the back foot, there is extra bounce and Andrew Strauss, at first slip, moves late, perhaps waiting for wicketkeeper Matt Prior to go, flings up his left hand but gets only fingertips to the ball as it races to the boundary.

30th over – Tim Bresnan tries to bounce Graeme Smith, but the South African captain is on to it quickly, hooking the ball through square-leg for four.

29th over – Jimmy Anderson strays on to the leg side and Amla flicks him neatly through midwicket for four.

24th over – Back of a length and straight from Tim Bresnan but Amla shows great skill as he punches the ball to the right of mid-on for four runs.

20th over – Stuart Broad comes around the wicket to Graeme Smith and presents him with a full delivery, angling in, and the left-hander clips the ball easy-as-you-like through wide mid-on for four.

12th over – Just a single over from Broad is possible after tea as rain starts to fall heavily. A trademark work off his hips gives Smith two runs and takes South Africa to 27 for one. Play resumes after a delay of one hour, 46 minutes.

Afternoon session

Graeme Smith was clearly desperate to succeed in his 100th Test as he steered South Africa to 25 for one at tea on the second day of the first Test against England at the Oval in London on Friday.

11th over – Lovely batting by Hashim Amla as he punches successive deliveries from Jimmy Anderson through the covers for four.

7th over – Dark clouds hovering about and some spittings of rain … umpires confer but decide play can continue. Anderson beats Smith outside the off stump … But the focused left-hander celebrating his 100th test then whips the swing bowler from middle-and-leg to fine leg for four!

6th over – Typical Smith as Stuart Broad pitches on middle-and-off and the left-hander shovels him through midwicket for four!

3rd over – WICKET – Anderson makes the early strike with a superb in-swinging delivery that comes back a mile to hit Alviro Petersen on the back leg and trap him lbw for a duck.

South African fast bowler Morne Morkel ended the England first innings on 385 when he took two wickets in an over on the second day of the first Test at the Oval in London on Friday.

126th over – Morkel wraps up the innings in his second over back. WICKET – Matt Prior drives away from his body again, but there is extra bounce and he ends up edging the ball to wicketkeeper AB de Villiers. Prior scored 60 off 90 balls, with nine fours – nicely played, and a very handy innings for England. WICKET – Jimmy Anderson is out for two as he flaps at a short-pitched, leg-side delivery from Morkel, getting a scratch through to give De Villiers his fifth catch.

125th over – Imran Tahir is back but Graeme Swann handles him well, a well-struck sweep shot bringing him four runs.

123rd over – Good shot by Swann as Dale Steyn drops short and he pulls him through midwicket for four. Two balls later, Swann drives, ball under the eyes, through extra cover for another well-played boundary.

120th over – Prior brings up a crucial half-century for England as he punches Vernon Philander beautifully straight down the ground for his ninth boundary. The wicketkeeper/batsman has been at the crease for two hours and faced 75 balls. WICKET – But Philander then produces a superb delivery that comes back a long way from over the wicket to bowl Stuart Broad through the gate for 16, the ball again just clipping the bail.

119th over – 350 up for England as Broad stands tall and drives a back-of-a-length delivery from Steyn, off the back foot, through the covers for four.

118th over – Prior has come out after lunch full of attacking intent and he forcefully drives Philander off the back foot, wide of gully, for four more runs.

117th over – Steyn is back on from the Vauxhall Rd End but Prior drives him square of the wicket for four – a fine, compact shot with great timing.

116th over – Play is delayed for 10 minutes after lunch by light rain and Philander ends the first over after the break by over-pitching and being driven crisply through mid-off for four by Prior.

Morning session

South Africa stated their intentions clearly with the ball as they reduced England to 326 for seven at lunch on the second day of the first Test at the Oval in London on Friday.

115th over – Well that’s a waste of the final review. Stuart Broad pushes forward to Imran Tahir, the leg-spinner turns the ball into the front pad and appeals confidently for lbw. Broad has surely been struck outside the line though, which the replay confirms.

114th over – Wow! Broad powers a drive on the up, through the covers for four off Vernon Philander.

112th over – Philander returns and swings the ball back into Broad, striking the left-hander in line with leg stump. The appeal is turned down by Asad Rauf, South Africa call for the review, but the replay shows the ball is only just clipping leg stump – fair decision.

111th over – Tahir is brought on and breaks the threatening partnership in his first over! WICKET – Tim Bresnan (8) tries to slash a short delivery turning away from him, but can only bottom-edge the ball into the ground and back on to his stumps.

110th over – Short and wide from Morne Morkel and Matt Prior dispatches it handsomely through the covers for four.

109th over – Jacques Kallis dishes up the full away-swinger and Bresnan accepts the invitation to drive, lambasting the ball superbly through the covers for four. After four successive maidens and 27 balls, those are the first runs Kallis has conceded today!

108th over – Dropped! Prior, on 17, drives Morkel off the back foot, but the ball comes off the outside half of the bat, flying to gully, where Jacques Rudolph drops a sharp chance lunging low to his right.

106th over – Morkel has overdone the short ball today and Prior hammers a pull over midwicket for four.

101st over – Kallis replaces Dale Steyn after an outstanding burst of 5-2-8-2. And the great all-rounder strikes with his fourth ball! WICKET – Ian Bell (13) has faced a couple of away-swingers and now he leaves another delivery, but this time it’s the in-swinger and it just trims the off-bail, causing to gently topple from the stumps …

100th over – This time it’s a genuine edge for four between the slips and gully for Prior as he drives at Philander.

99th over – Prior has just survived a probing over from Philander and now he flashes Steyn through backward point in rather flamboyant fashion for four. He repeats the stroke to the next ball and immediately sets off for a run, but this time Alviro Petersen has made a brilliant diving stop at third slip. Both batsmen are stranded in the middle of the pitch, Petersen has a shy at the stumps but misses!

95th over – WICKET – Steyn has a close lbw appeal against Ravi Bopara turned down, but the next ball is a bouncer, the batsman shapes to hook, then tries to withdraw the bat, but is too slow and the ball finds the edge and goes through to wicketkeeper AB de Villiers. Bopara out for a duck!

93rd over – WICKET – Alastair Cook’s footwork is still a bit sluggish early in the day and he goes hard at a drive off Steyn. The ball swings back in, finds the inside edge and rockets into the stumps! Cook bowled for a mighty fine 115 off 295 balls.

92nd over – Encouraging signs for South Africa as Philander gets some early movement, rapping Cook on the pads, but it’s too high, appeal turned down.

Opener Alastair Cook was in complete control as his unbeaten century put England in a strong position on 267 for three at stumps on the first day of the first Test against South Africa at the Oval in London on Thursday.

Having suffered the shock of losing his captain Andrew Strauss in the first over, Cook compiled a superbly-controlled 114 not out to put England in control against a South African attack that lacked energy and spark – their limited preparation being the obvious bearer of the guilt for that.

It had all started so well for the tourists when Strauss, having initially been reprieved by umpire Steve Davis, was condemned by the review which showed Morne Morkel had trapped him lbw for a duck with the fourth ball of the day.

But South Africa’s response to the breakthrough was lax – Dale Steyn was only introduced in the 11th over and there was a glaring lack of interrogating, hostile fast bowling.

Cook and Jonathan Trott steadied and then rebuilt the innings, taking England to 70 for one at lunch. They batted through the second session, Cook reaching his fifty first in 137 minutes and 98 balls, with Trott following an hour later off 190 minutes and 127 balls.

Trott was impressive as he played the ball late and worked anything back-of-a-length through the leg side to good effect.

He eventually fell in the fifth over after tea as he was drawn into a drive at Morkel, who had found the perfect length and gained a bit of away movement to find the edge, presenting wicketkeeper AB de Villiers with an easy catch. Trott had made the South Africans work hard for his wicket, scoring 71 off 162 balls and he stroked nine boundaries.

Cook had shared in a key second-wicket stand of 170 off 348 balls with Trott, and he would bat on through to stumps, collecting 11 fours and a six off his 283 deliveries.

Kevin Pietersen replaced Trott at the wicket and kept the momentum going England’s way as he breezed to 42 off 72 balls. But his team would have loved the controversial former South African to bat through to the close; instead he got himself out in the over before the second new ball was due.

There was very little pace and bounce in the sluggish pitch for the fast bowlers, but the admirable Jacques Kallis really bent his back and dug in the 79-over-old ball, Pietersen went for the hook and will be filthy with himself for just lamely gloving a catch to De Villiers.

Ian Bell (10*) survived nine overs of the second new-ball with Cook and South Africa will be desperate to remove the in-form ginger and the brilliant left-hander early on the second morning.

Cook, compact and simple in his approach, left the ball brilliantly and punished anything loose with aplomb.

Morkel was the most successful of the South African bowlers with 2-44 in 18 overs, but the performances of the underdone Steyn and the loose Imran Tahir were disappointing.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/sa-team/news/120719/Cook_England_in_control

Alastair Cook brought up his 20th Test century to steer England to a dominant 267 for three at stumps on the first day of the first test against South Africa at the Oval in London on Thursday.

85th over – Ian Bell gets underway with a marvellous, controlled push through the covers for four off a Dale Steyn away-swinger. Three balls later, Steyn tries to bounce Bell, but the batsman gets well on top of the ball and hooks for four more runs.

80th over – WICKET – What a wicket for Kallis to get and with the new ball available at the end of the over! The great all-rounder with the golden arm really digs in a bouncer, Pietersen goes for the hook but is cramped and can only glove a catch to wicketkeeper AB de Villiers. Pietersen’s 42 off 72 balls kept England’s momentum going … and threatened to take the day well and truly away from South Africa.

76th over – Stand and deliver from Pietersen as he lashes Kallis straight back down the ground for four.

73rd over – Imran Tahir drops short again and Pietersen bashes him over wide mid-on for a one-bounce four.

71st over – Cook goes to 99 with a cut for two runs off Tahir and there is still a huge gap in the covers for him to just push a single off the next ball and reach his 20th Test century, in just over five hours, from 222 balls. Pietersen then gets a couple of runs behind square-leg to bring up the fifty partnership off 81 deliveries.

69th over – Rubbish from Tahir as his long-hop is swatted through wide mid-on for four by Cook.

68th over – Impressive from Pietersen as he crunches a pull off Steyn with great power and timing, beating deep midwicket for four.

66th over – Four more for Cook as he clips Steyn crisply off his legs, with sweet timing.

64th over – A bit of width from Steyn and Pietersen throws the bat at the ball, edging it over the slips and away for his first boundary.

63rd over – A lovely shot by Cook as his on-drive goes past the left-hand of bowler Vernon Philander and scurries away for to the boundary.

58th over – WICKET – Morkel hits the right length, drawing Trott into the drive, but he’s reaching for the ball, not to the pitch, there’s a bit of away movement and the edge goes through to wicketkeeper AB de Villiers. Trott made his former countrymen toil for his wicket, scoring 71 off 162 balls.

56th over – A long-hop from Morkel and Cook cuts it away for four.

Afternoon session

England surged to 158 for one at tea on a pitch that held no surprises on the first day of the first Test against South Africa at the Oval in London on Thursday.

52nd over – Too short again from Imran Tahir and Jonathan Trott swats it from outside off stump, through wide mid-on for four.

51st over – Full and wide from Jacques Kallis and Trott latches on to it with a lovely square-drive for four.

46th over – Trott reached his 11th Test 50 in the previous over and now he celebrates with a magnificent off-drive for his sixth four, Dale Steyn being the bowler.

39th over – Tahir drops his googly short and Trott whips it through square-leg for four.

31st over – Tahir is back, but starts with two horrible long-hops, the second of which is also a no-ball which Alastair Cook heaves over wide mid-on for four, bringing up his fifty in 137 minutes, off 98 balls, with seven fours and a six.

29th over – Super batting by Cook as he starts the Steyn over with successive boundaries – a super square-cut followed by an immaculate back-foot push straight down the ground.

28th over – Too short from Vernon Philander and Trott dispatches a front-foot pull over wide mid-on for four.

25th over – Cook gets going after lunch with a superb cover-drive for four off Steyn.

Morning session

South Africa struck early but then bowled a little too wide of the stumps as England reached 70 for one at lunch on the first day of the first Test at the Oval in London on Thursday.

21st over – Frustration for Dale Steyn as he catches Jonathan Trott on the pad, the appeal is turned down and one leg-bye then becomes five as AB de Villiers’ rather wild throw to the bowler’s end eludes Morne Morkel backing up and goes to the boundary. The next ball goes for six as Alastair Cook top-edges a pull shot over deep backward square-leg!

18th over – Neatly played by Trott as he tucks a back-of-a-length delivery from Jacques Kallis off his hips, through midwicket for four – super timing.

16th over – Fifty up for England as Trott drives Kallis handsomely off the back foot, through the covers for four.

14th over – Kallis joins the attack, but his second ball is a wretched delivery, short and wide, and Alastair Cook slaps it through the covers for four.

11th over – Steyn is brought into the attack and Cook slashes the last ball of the over through gully for four.

9th over – Another excellent review system decision by South Africa as Morne Morkel slants a delivery into Trott, who misses his flick to leg and is struck on the pad. Umpire Steve Davis turns down the appeal and South Africa decide not to ask for the review. It’s a good call as the replay shows the ball just clipping leg stump and South Africa woul have lost one of their two reviews.

5th over – Cook’s first boundary is also streaky, reaching for a drive as Morkel continues from around the wicket, the ball holding its line and being edged through gully towards the shed which the bowler so famously walked into after being dismissed in his previous test at the Oval!

4th over – Four more runs for Trott, but via the outside edge between the slips and gully, but all along the ground, off Vernon Philander.

3rd over – Oh-uh … A tidy second over from Morkel, but with two no-balls …

2nd over – Philander surprisingly takes the new ball ahead of Steyn and Cook pushes a delivery outside leg stump through midwicket to get off the mark with three runs.

1st over – Not the greatest start by Morkel as umpire Steve Davis has a word with him after his first ball, bowled from around the wicket, for running on the pitch. His second ball is way wide down leg, well-taken by AB de Villiers behind the stumps. WICKET – Now it’s a great start as Morkel angles a delivery back into the left-hander, Strauss plays across the ball and is struck below the roll on the front foot. Morkel’s half-hearted appeal is not enough to convince Davis, but De Villiers and captain Graeme Smith behind the wicket decide to review and England’s skipper is out for a duck! Trott comes in, takes his time to get ready as usual and Smith tries to put him under pressure by complaining to the umpires. Nevertheless, Trott drives his first delivery, full and angled in, beautifully through mid-on for four.

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The final page of the first test between New Zealand and South Africa was left unwritten as rain washed out the last day’s play at the University Oval in Dunedin on Sunday.

After the first two days had finished basically all-square, South Africa took control of the test by posting 435 for five declared in their second innings, thanks to memorable centuries by Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Jacques Rudolph.

That set New Zealand a highly unlikely 401 to win, with South Africa’s target of 10 wickets in four-and-a-half sessions more likely.

But the experienced pair of Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor had left the test interestingly poised after the fourth day as they took New Zealand to 137 for two. But there was to be no gripping finale as sheets of rain fell on the fourth night and continued on Sunday, with the test being called off an hour after lunch.

Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor batted through the final session to take New Zealand to 137 for two at stumps on the fourth day of the first test on Saturday.

The hosts will need to score a further 264 runs on what should be an absorbing final day.

After tea, there was just the one success for the Proteas, as legspinner Imran Tahir claimed the wicket of opening batsman Rob Nicol for 19 in the most fortunate of ways.

Having come through a torrid 90 minutes against the quick bowlers, Nicol’s concentration obviously wavered against the slow bowler and he bunted a dipping full toss to mid-on, where Graeme Smith moved to his left and took a low, tumbling catch.

New Zealand were 55 for two, but the class of McCullum and Taylor then shone through as they added 82 for the third wicket in 20.5 overs.

McCullum was the initial aggressor and the former wicketkeeper raced to his half-century off just 65 balls, the precision of his strokeplay, whether scoring in front of the wicket or behind, being most impressive.

The second half of the session belonged to Taylor as McCullum added just eight more runs to his tally from the last 26 balls he faced before the umpires took the players off for bad light 10 minutes before the close of play.

The skill and timing of the Kiwi captain, particularly through the off side, was in great evidence as Taylor stroked eight fours in his 48 not out off 68 balls.

The South African attack began to look innocuous on the stodgy pitch, with Dale Steyn clearly out of sorts and Tahir tending to bowl too full.

Vernon Philander looked the most threatening of the bowlers with consistent movement off the seam, while Morne Morkel hurried the batsmen with some fiery short-pitched bowling.

Afternoon session

Jacques Rudolph and Vernon Philander were the shining lights as New Zealand reached tea on 27 for one on the fourth day of the first test against South Africa at the University Oval in Dunedin on Saturday.

Rudolph finished on 105 not out as South Africa declared their second innings on 435 for five, and finished the session well on top with New Zealand still 374 runs from a highly unlikely victory.

South Africa had resumed on 359 for five after lunch and Rudolph and Mark Boucher quickly got on with it. New Zealand were not able to stop them scoring at will as 76 runs were scored in 16 overs.

Canny left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori was the one bowler not to get collared, conceding just 65 runs in 32 overs through the innings.

South African captain Graeme Smith probably always intended to declare midway through the second session with a lead of around 400, but the timing worked so perfectly that Rudolph was able to notch his first test century since December 2005 against Australia in Perth.

Rudolph completed his sixth test century in four hours, off 177 balls, in a solid display of strokeplay, sweet timing and sound technique. Boucher also looked in solid form as he scored 34 not out with four boundaries.

South Africa had 11 overs at the New Zealand openers before tea and Philander struck the first blow by removing Martin Guptill, one of their key batsmen, for 6.

Guptill was out when he pushed half-forward to an away-swinger from the pace bowler and edged an easy catch to third slip.

Brendon McCullum had raced to 10 not out, with two fours, at the break, the same score opener Rob Nicol had laboured 38 balls to reach.

McCullum is a class batsman and will be a key wicket for South Africa to gain before the close of the fourth day.

Morning session

South Africa lost the services of Jacques Kallis early on, but Jacques Rudolph carried them to 359 for five at lunch on the fourth day of the first test against New Zealand in Dunedin on Saturday.

Rudolph was the chief provider of runs as he took his overnight score of 13 to 59 not out and South Africa extended their lead to 324. The other not out batsman is Mark Boucher on five.

The search for quick runs was stymied to an extent by the early loss of Kallis, who was dismissed in the ninth over of the day when he flicked the lively left-armer, Trent Boult, straight to midwicket.

Kallis was out for 113, which included 16 beautiful boundaries, but the most impressive aspect of the innings was its construction. Kallis had come in when the loss of two wickets in an over had left South Africa reeling on an effective score of 12 for two, but the composure and sheer technical brilliance of the Proteas’ leading run-scorer carried him through a tricky start. He became more fluent as he gained the measure of the bowlers and the stodgy pitch and seemed set to up the run-rate again on the fourth morning when he was out.

AB de Villiers came in and it was obvious he had positive intentions as he welcomed Tim Southee by cutting him superbly through the covers for four.

But De Villiers had reached 29 when he heaved the part-time off-spin of Kane Williamson to cow corner and it was left to Rudolph to guide the target-setting effort.

The experienced left-hander breezed to his 11th test half-century and second of the match off 106 balls as he took to seamer Doug Bracewell with successive boundaries nine overs before lunch.

The game rather went to sleep after the dismissal of De Villiers, with Rudolph and Boucher content to make it to lunch and New Zealand just trying to restrict the number of runs scored. The players even had the cheek to wander off the field for lunch before umpire Aleem Dar had even called time!

– http://www.supersport.com/cricket/sa-team/news/120310/Match_in_the_balance