Right, Sky are heading off to The Hundred. So that’s my cue to wrap up as well. Thanks for your company. Looking forward to seeing how England bounce back from this when we do it all again next Thursday at Old Trafford. Have nice weekends!
Nortje just did a quick spot on Sky as well. Very happy lad, talked a lot about his rhythm bringing higher speeds. I’m looking forward to the full statistical breakdown of just how quickly he bowled today. This is a nice taste of that.
Anrich Nortje's average speed of 149kph (92mph) in the 25th over of this innings is the quickest over England have faced at home in the past decade in Test cricket. #ENGvSA
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) August 19, 2022
And so is this.
Highest Average Speed for an away pace attack in England
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) August 19, 2022
86 mph - SA, Lord's 2022
85 mph - Aus, Leeds 2009
85 mph - Aus, Manchester 2019
85 mph - Aus, Leeds 2019#ENGvSA
Neil Parkes likes this from Elgar “Nortje’s spell broke the back of it. He ran in with a lot of intent and anger.” Absolutely. It was a fierce spell. So quick. What a star.
A postmortem observation in from Andrew Benton as well. “Bazball’s about everyone playing confidently and not worrying about the consequences if it goes wrong, building confidence and skill so that in the longer term the team gets better. And that applies to Potts and all. If he’d played sensibly to let Stokes bat it wouldn’t be Bazball. There must be a cunning plan there somewhere.” Quite!
Brendon McCullum is speaking with Sky Cricket. Begins by saying that they aren’t now a bad side for losing this Test. “I thought our approach was alright. We’ve been behind in the last four Tests and able to absorb the pressure before turning it back onto the opposition but we weren’t able to do that this time.” Asked about the aggressive manner, and whether that held them back at times this week? “I think at times we were a bit timid,” he laughs. “You’ve got to buckle up for the ride.” Asked to elaborate on the ‘timid’ comment? Says there were times they could have gone harder at bowlers but doesn’t give much else away. “This is a new approach the skipper and I are taking on… it won’t always be rainbow and butterflies, which takes some getting used to. That won’t be easy for some but that’s life sometimes as well.”
What will he say to the team? “You don’t become a bad team in the space of one game. We’ll maintain a level head and work out where we can get better. Day one was very difficult to bat and the toss was quite important and they were able to utilise the conditions better than we were able to.”
What about the five-week gap between red-ball games? Undercooked? “I don’t think so. I didn’t mind the break. It gave the guys a chance to let it sink in; it was a special six weeks and we beat two very good teams. We came here with high expectations but moments when the game was in the balance we weren’t able to capitalise on.”
The Crawley question comes. “His technique and his style what we are asking for him is to chase great moments.” Adds that when he gets in he had to make the most of it but repeats the earlier observation that his style of play means he won’t be a consistent opener and that’s discomfort that everyone needs to get used to.
Same XI in Manchester next week? “I’d like to see the wicket,” he says. Sounds like they’re giving themselves the option to make a major change, i.e. Crawley.
Kagiso Rabada is player of the match. “It’s truly special,” he begins. “Especially to win at Lord’s.” Speaks about his daily process to “get into the contest” and believes by doing that, he believes he’ll always be in the game. Asked to reflect on what they have learned since losing here in 2017, explains for him it is about adjusting his length and getting used to bowling with a Dukes ball. A lot of love for Maharaj for the two big breakthroughs either side of lunch. And that’s it; job’s a good’un.
Dean Elgar is up now. He has a huge smile on his face. “I definitely didn’t think this when I woke up this morning,” he notes of winning in two and a half days. “Nortje’s spell broke the back of it. He ran in with a lot of intent and anger. I was watching from mid-off and was glad not to be facing him. Adds that they play a “unique” South African way about playing and are building a team around that game plan. Elgar cites the new opening partnership he’s forming with Sarel Erwee as the foundation to their turnaround – another experienced player. Ends by suggesting they are going to have a massive night. “It is a Friday, after all!”
Right, time for the presentation. Mel Jones has Ben Stokes first. “We are disappointed to lose,” he begins. “But if we dive into this too much then we are not looking ahead. We have two matches to come so we will look to win this two-one.” He says this does “absolutely not” dent his confidence about the way they are going to play. “This isn’t a wake-up call or anything like that we just weren’t able to execute the way we wanted to this week and South Africa were better than us.”
Put to Stokes that they are coming in underdone without a lot of red-ball cricket and he pats it back initially before saying “there could be an opportunity” in the future to have another First Class game before a Test series. That’ll generate some interest.
“Dear B Mac & Co,” writes Paddy Walsh from the great Commerical Club Hotel in Fitzroy (Melbourne). “You gotta know when to hold them & know when to fold them
Know when to walk away & know when to run….”
This, I suspect, will inform much of the analysis. Just to elaborate on why I was so cross with the Matty Potts dismissal, by the way. With Broad, I mean, what else do you expect? It’s the only way he plays these days. Just go with it. No big deal. With Potts/Anderson/Leach, that isn’t how they play. Their jobs were to just hold on and give Stokes a chance. One ball left in that Jansen over, Potts trying to slog him for six? It was an emblem, to me, of where greater nuance is required for Stokes’ England.
Stick with me for the post-match presentation. We’ll hear from the captains and the player of the match in the next ten minutes or so. I’ll give you the highlights.
England lose first Test to South Africa by an innings and 12 runs 🇿🇦 👏 pic.twitter.com/zb6DU4RnQo
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 19, 2022
England batted 82.4 overs in the match. That’s an ugly statistic from Mark Butcher on Sky. Of course, the visitors were tremendous but England are right under the pump in this series with the Second Test starting on Thursday in Manchester.
SOUTH AFRICA WIN BY AN INNINGS AND 12 RUNS! [WICKET! Anderson b Jansen 1. England all-out 149]
Anderson makes room and is castled by Jansen’s outswing yorker! The Proteas have got the job done well inside three days. A magnificent bowling performance.
Updated
37th over: England 149-9 (Leach 0, Anderson 1) A huge roar around Lord’s as Anderson gets off his pair with a little tuck off Rabada to midwicket. Leach goes back with a packed cordon and steers down to Nortje at backward point, saving runs. Oooh, ever so close to slipping through the gate with his next offering, Leach just getting his blade down in time. One ball to deal with and he defends off the front foot with Nortje again doing the fielding at backward point. England trail by 12.
“Seems that for Bazball to work we might need Duffballs,” says Tom Carver. “Dukes please revert.” Certainly a factor that the early-season balls weren’t the Dukes of old.
WICKET! Stokes c Maharaj b Rabada 20 (England 146-9)
“Maharaj can do no wrong!” declares Mike Atherton as the spinner races around at midwicket to take a very good catch in front of the Mound Stand. The captain goes down swinging; two wickets in two balls. They’re a wicket away from an innings defeat with Anderson making his way down the Long Room to face the music.
Updated
WICKET! Potts b Jansen 1 (England 146-8)
That’s dumb, dumb, dumb cricket. Broad, sure, swing away – it’s his thing. But Potts trying to pop Jansen over Father Time? Come on. He had two balls to see off to complete the over and give Stokes the strike back but instead he’s clean bowled with the hosts 15 runs in the red with only Jack Leach and Jimmy Anderson to come.
36th over: England 146-8 (Stokes 20)
Updated
35th over: England 143-7 (Stokes 17, Potts 1) I still don’t feel like we know an awful lot about Potts’ batting at this level, into his fifth Test. He swings and misses at his first ball (naturally) before tucking a single to get off the mark (better). I genuinely think the approach needs to change here. Of course, Stokes to keep doing what he does but Potts has just got to stay out there as long as he can. They have to give the captain a chance to face at least another 50-odd balls himself.
WICKET! Broad c Elgar b Rabada 35 (England 141-7)
Broad falls in very similar fashion to how he did yesterday, sorted out expertly by Rabada’s slower off-cutter. Back into the attack, he rolls his fingers down the seam but the left-hander realises when it’s all too late, gifting a dolly of a catch to cover.
Updated
34th over: England 137-6 (Stokes 15, Broad 33) Jansen to Broad, backs away, another top edge, another four! He’s into the 30s and this partnership is now worth 50 runs in 40 balls – as you when coming together in the middle of what looks to be a terminal collapse. All told, eight from the over and this is turning into a white-ball OBO.
Some nice messages about the coming child that Dan referenced when handing over – thanks for those, Em Jackson and Brian Withington. The latter adds: “Great to hear the news that Winnie will be having someone to keep wicket when she occasionally leaves your bowling.”
And perfectly timed. Whisper it, but I’m making a bit of a playing comeback!
33rd over: England 129-6 (Stokes 14, Broad 28) Stokes dropped! Launched through the hands of Nortje in his follow through – they stick or they don’t, those. Broad gets his opportunity to let the good times roll later in the over and, broadly speaking, holds his shape to lift him over mid-off for another four. 31 runs from parity. You can be certain of Stokes’ plan: smash their way into the black and see what happens.
Peter Haining on an earlier topic: “Hallo Adam. Lots of people writing in about the Cricket Dice game, but no-one has put in a good word for the card game Armchair cricket. You can still find sets on a well known auction site. A friend of mine was a bridge fan and used to beat me all ends up in our Test series. It’s well worth a little look.”
I’m not sure if Dan suggested this earlier but if you like Dice Cricket, you must seek out Daniel Norcross’ masterpiece on the game in Nightwatchman a few years back.
32nd over: England 119-6 (Stokes 9, Broad 23) The outstanding young all-rounder Marco Jansen gets his first bowl of the innings here, replacing Maharaj who was brilliant either side of lunch. And true to form, Stokes keeps on attacking with a swing/miss to start then a charge/swing/miss next up. Not pretty. Jansen sees him coming with another charge and fires it into his thigh pad – they take a leg bye. So, two cracks at Disco Stu for the left-armer. He beats him with the first after the No8 tries to flay him somewhere; anywhere. Contact to finish – at last! Broad wants to pop him into the Grandstand but it goes straight over slip for four. A lot going on.
“Hi Adam.” Hi, Matthew Lawrenson. “Is this the worst England tail we’ve seen since the Mullally / Tufnell / Malcolm / Giddins glory days of the mid 1990s? I know Broad, Anderson and Leach have much better top scores than those guys. But they look just as bad against real pace as the 90s tails did against Wasim, Waqar, Donald, Pollock, Ambrose, Walsh etc.”
There’s a fairly strong case for that. Lucky they weren’t needed for those chases.
31st over: England 114-6 (Stokes 9, Broad 19) England into triple figures with a Broad boundary, backing away from Nortje – not a bad plan given he’s rolling in at 95mph – and slapping him over point. The crowd cheer – fair enough. And they do so again when he makes room again to awkwardly pull over midwicket! And now he hooks him for six! AA “lookaway hook” as it is described on TV but he gets enough of it to pop the big quick into the Tavern. Per one of my favourite twitter accounts: yes, you better believe Stuart Broad is batting. He goes again to finish, this time with no control… and it’s safe! Just passing over the top of Rabada who put in a dive running back with the flight at cover. So, 16 from the over to reduce the deficit to 47.
So @collinsadam, looks like you'll have a free weekend. I know this stuff is priced into the McCullum era, so it's going to happen at times, but surely you can be aggressive but also play the situation. This summer has been great but gung-ho swinging doesn't work every ball.
— Guy Hornsby (@GuyHornsby) August 19, 2022
30th over: England 98-6 (Stokes 9, Broad 3) Another appeal later in the over when Maharaj beats Broad’s inside edge but there’s nothing on it. The England number eight is sweeping, adding a couple, then keeping the strike with a single to cover.
“Hi, Adam.” Gidday, Smylers. “Ten years ago today, these two teams were also playing a Test match, at the same venue. How often does that happen? (I remembered because at the time I was sitting in a delivery suite, waiting for our first child to appear, trying to find the cricket score by Tweeting via SMS. None of the current SA team played in that match (a different Petersen, of course); three of England’s featured: Anderson and Broad of course, plus — playing as a specialist batter — Jonny Bairstow, whom Rob Smyth judged player of the day for making ‘a lovely 72 not out under all sorts of personal and team pressure.’”
I was just then talking about that Test Match on my podcast; didn’t realise it was on the same day. It was the moment too when England gave up their number one Test ranking, earned exactly twelve months earlier when going 3-0 up against India. As Andrew Strauss noted on Sky the other day, that is the only time England have ever been the ICC’s top-ranked Test team in the 20 years since that became a thing.
Updated
REVIEW! Is Stokes lbw to Maharaj? He’s not out on the ground; Elgar goes upstairs. Nup, around the wicket it hits the England captain in line but is missing off. They lose their review but still have two up their sleeve for the England lower order.
“Their intensity of South Africa has put England in a terrible position,” says Ian Ward on Sky Sports as the players come back from their drinks. Spot on. The Proteas have played some inspired cricket from the get go at Lord’s. Over the last twelve months, they’ve been quietly becoming a serious Test team – to be embraced.
I’m outta here… That’s it from me today folks. Thanks so much. Loved the chats about fantasy OBO, the silliness of the Bazball blues, the merit of former players and the joys of the impressive Saffa bowling unit.
I leave you with Adam Collins who is expecting his second child early next year (do drop him your congratulations and tips for handling two little ones).
England are on the ropes here. Can South Africa land the killer blow?
Best to you all.
Dan
Thank you, Dan. What an eventful stint you’ve had on the tools! Could be a quick shift this for me, so get in with your emails or tweets in the usual way. Unleash!
29th over: England 94-6 (Stokes 9, Broad 0) Stokes aint going to die wondering. He’s swinging with all he’s got to a full Nortje delivery that must have blown the hats off of spectators in the stands. He collects a single off the fourth ball and hopes that Broad can navigate two of Nortje’s screamers. He does. Just about.
28th over: England 91-6 (Stokes 6, Broad 0) Stokes rocks back and punches Maharaj for four through backward point with a lovely little shift that sees him open the blade at the last minute. There’s an lbw review to a sweeping Broad but the umpire’s call saves him. Broad will definitely prefer to face the spinner than another quick. I wonder if that may prompt a change.
“It’s tempting to write Bazball’s obituary, but it is a go-getting, never-say-die, an attitude of mind. Baz will have factored this in when occasional defeats come a-knocking, you’d think, and have a plan B.....”
We’ll find out in Manchester, Andrew Benton.
27th over: England 86-6 (Stokes 1, Broad 0) Anrich Nortje has been immense and has just bagged a double wicket maiden to all but secure a thumping victory. Whether that’s by an innings remains to be seen, but his searing pace has seen Lees and the Foakes caught behind in a blistering over of the most frightening pace. Lees was undone by a wonder ball that forced him to play. Foakes could have let his go but speed scrambles the mind. Delicious stuff from the burly quick.
Wicket! Foakes c Verreynne b Nortje 0 (England 86-6)
They’re falling apart out there. Faokes, mesmerised and spooked by the extra pace of Nortje, involuntarily wafts at a rising short ball away from his body and feathers another catch for the keeper. I’d start making plans for tomorrow. In fact, I’d start making plans for this afternoon.
Updated
Wicket! Lees c Verreynne b Nortje 35 (England 86-5)
What a peach! That is a cracking delivery and there’s not much Lees could do about that. From round the wicket, he angles it in and gets it to hold its line just enough – and at scorching pace – and it takes the outside edge. Beautiful bowling from the big scary quick.
Updated
26th over: England 86-4 (Lees 35, Stokes 1) Stokes is off the mark with a single from a reverse sweep off Maharaj. He’ll need a lot more than that. Lees collects a single at the top of the over and signs off with a three with a conventional sweep towards fine leg. They seem happy persisting with spin but I’d like to see Marco Jansen get a go, especially with two lefties in.
“Bent double, like Gatting in his slacks,
Knock-kneed, batting like hacks, we cursed Maharaj,
Till on the haunting balls we turned our backs,
And towards the distant stands began to trudge,”
Love that Richard Pearce. Superb.
25th over: England 81-4 (Lees 31, Stokes 0) England in all sorts here. Nortje is breathing fire and he’s just removed Bairstow for 18 to go along with the duck he made in his first dig. This is the same Bairstow who couldn’t stop scoring hundreds earlier this year.
Nortje welcomes Stokes to the crease with two balls over 90mph including a yorker that reaches 94mph.
Wicket! Bairstow c Verreynne b Nortje 18 (England 81-4)
Nortje gets Bairstow for the second time in the match. The first ball of this over was belted backward of point for four but Nortje knew that if he landed one on a better line he’d be in business. So it proved. It’s around a fourth stump line. Bairstow can be forgiven for playing at it. He was drawn forward and it it kisses the shoulder of the blade and Verreynne behind the stumps does the rest. An innings victory looms.
Updated
24th over: England 77-3 (Lees 31, Bairstow 14) What was that? I’ll tell you. A really ordinary shot from Lees which is an ugly premeditated reverse sweep that jags past him and could have easily taken his leg stump. That’s a result of his inability to work the single as often as he’d like. The man stationed at short mid-on has stifled his release shot and so he’s looking to invent something. Still, both batters take a single. Strange shot from Lees. Why is he not happy to consolidate?
23rd over: England 75-3 (Lees 30, Bairstow 13) Nortje is revving it now but Bairstow is up for it. What a blockbuster battle this could be throughout the series.
Bairstown pulls one from outside off and they run four before Rabada can haul it back in from the cow corner fence. Two more squirt behind square on the leg side before Bairstow hammers a short and wide one to the cover boundary. Nortje ends the over with a 94mph/152kph steamer that Bairstown defends with the full face of the bat.
“If Bairstow scores two hundred, we’re safe,” says Peter Gartner. That would certainly help.
The OBO fantasy game chat continues:
“Surely the only sensible way to run the cricket-free OBO is using cricket dice. You roll one for batting scores (with 5 being a wicket) and if its a wicket you roll again to determine how out (with an option of a no ball to save the batter).,” says Richard Lankshear.
“The challenge is to get a test match innings so would need a dungeons and dragons style 20 sided dice with mostly dots on it. Or perhaps bring in just the six sided dice to represent Baz Ball.”
22nd over: England 65-3 (Lees 30, Bairstow 3) Maharaj carries on. He gets one to turn and take the edge of Bairstow’s blade but he’s playing it with soft hands and it dribbles away for a single. Otherwise pretty uneventful set from the tweaker. He’s over the wicket to Lees who comes down the track and bunts it straight ti midwicket. Just the one from that over.
Good afternoon Daniel
Heya Kim Thonger, how are you keeping?
With profuse apologies to W H Auden, may I humbly offer this variation on his timeless Funeral Blues (Stop All The Clocks)
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with the juicy bone.
Silence the pianos and, with muffled drum,
Bring out the coffin. Let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling in the sky the message: “Bazball dead!”
Put crepe bows around the white necks of the public doves.
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
Baz was my north, my south, my east and west,
My working week and Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song.
I thought Bazball would last forever; I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now; put out every one.
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun.
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For Bazball now can never come to any good.
21st over: England 64-3 (Lees 30, Bairstow 2) Nortje is into the action and replaces Ngidi. This might be influenced by his dismissal of Bairstow in the first innings where he knocked his middle stump out the ground.
Bairstow navigates the extra pace without fuss, taking a single off the back foot. Lees also takes a single, and a couple past a diving short leg. Nortje ramps it up as the over gets on, zipping his fifth ball north of 90mph.
Well said Nakul.
You can drive a fleet of trucks through the gap between how good Test cricket is & how it’s talked about even by its backers.
— Nakul Pande (@NakulMPande) August 19, 2022
Get central financing into the non Big 3 nations, collectivise scheduling & calendar, and the game can not just survive but thrive.#ENGvSA🏏🏴🇿🇦#WTC23
“Hi Daniel”, hi darryl Accone, great to hear from you!
“On the subject of present players versus those in the past, it seems to be a feature of the now that it rates more highly contemporary players, whether in cricket, football, tennis, etc. What is little considered is the vast improvement in equipment. Imagine what Bradman, Barry Richards or Viv Richards would do with today’s uber jumbo bats, Rod Laver with a racquet one and a half times the size of his trusty Dunlop Maxply, Puskas and Di Stefano with a 2022 football.
“I would be wary of rating Maharajah over Tayfield based on extra-cricketing factors. Tayfield would probably have made any team in any era - his figures at Test level speak for themselves.”
That’s a fair point, and my guess is that most OBO readers would agree with you.
20th over: England 60-3 (Lees 27, Bairstow 1) Three from that Maharaj as he looks to attack and snatch another scalp. One for Bairstow and two for Lees who must contend with a slip, a leg slip, a short leg and a short mid-on.
Updated
19th over: England 57-3 (Lees 25, Bairstow 0) Ngidi deserved that big wicket. He’s bowled with great control and just enough heat all morning. Bairstow, on a pair, looked uncomfortable as Ngidi targeted his stumps, bringing it back sharply into the right hander. Lees is still there and must now dig deep. England are still 103 runs behind. We’re only into day three. They might yet struggle to clear the deficit, never mind post something they can defend for a victory. South Africa all over their hosts.
Wicket! Root c Markram b Ngidi 6 (England 57-3)
Huge! Massive! Possibly the game. OK, there’s a long way to go but then England are a long way behind and they’ve just lost their best batter. Root will be ill with that. A tame full ball around a fifth stump line draws him forward and he’s neither defending or looking to score. A weak prod takes the edge and Markram clings on well above the turf. Why did he play that? He’ll have plenty of time to ponder his demise as England are staring at a catastrophic end.
Updated
18th over: England 57-2 (Lees 25, Root 6) Root is emptying his box of tricks against Maharaj. He shapes to reverse sweep but paddles a single towards a very fine leg and then reverse sweeps past backward point for three. Between that Lees takes a single through mid on. Root is into his work. He won’t let the spinner settle.
17th over: England 52-2 (Lees 24, Root 2) A maiden from Ngidi who keeps it around a fourth stump line. Lees is happy to let most of it go. When Ngidi straightens Lees is watchful, defending a rising ball from the splice of his bat.
“All this pedantic discussion reminds me of an old favourite of mine: Who led the Pedants’ Revolt? Which Tyler.”
ba dum tish, Jonathan Wood.
16th over: England 52-2 (Lees 24, Root 2) Maharaj is oooing and aaahing with almost every ball bowled. Spinners, eh? What a weird breed they are. He’s giving it air and inviting Root out of his crease. I think, though, that Jansen or Nortje need to get on while there’s still some sheen and hardness on the ball. Lees takes a couple backward of square to bring up his team’s 50 and then tucks a single towards cover.
Harri Laatikainen wants to know what’s up with South Africa’s dropped catching:
“What has happened to South African fielding since the days of McMillan, Kallis, Gibbs and Rhodes? I would imagine Allan Donald had a fraction of Rabada’s drops simply because the fielders were so good.”
Hard to say, but factor in Smith catching pigeons in the slips and AB de Villiers as well and it’s perhaps just a case of individual talent rather than a coaching or system flaw.
15th over: England 49-2 (Lees 21, Root 2) Lees gets a boundary but he’s not in control, jabbing at a Ngidi lifter that squirts through the gap between third slip and gully. There’s no foot movement and it carried at a catchable height. Lucky boy.
Root kicked off the over with a scurried single and Lees took another two with a mistimed drive through cover. Lees also clips a single down to fine leg. That is the one area he’s looked assured during this knock.
14th over: England 41-2 (Lees 14, Root 1) Speaking of Maharaj, he continues after lunch. And why not? His double strike has put his team in firm control of this contest. He’ll have a tougher time bowling to Root who is arguably the best player of spin in the world (please don’t @ me sub-continental fans).
Root is off the mark with a forward push through the covers to get underway. Not for the first time he’ll need a hefty score to save his team.
Updated
A few folks are taking issue with my take on Tayfield and apartheid era cricketers.
Adrian Goldman says, “I think you are being a bit unreasonable about Tayfield and apartheid. When he was playing cricket, apartheid was not really on the radar of the rest of the sporting world - but more importantly, he plied his trade in Test cricket against exactly the same set of nations as now. So, no, he was competing against the same population (adjusted for population growth between then and now…)"
Marcus Abdullahi replies to an earlier comment: “I am not sure your Apartheid point holds. All ethical and political questions aside, the ugly reality of the time meant that SA only played against England, Australia and, occasionally, New Zealand. From a purely cricketing point of view, it means that Tayfield played the vast majority of his cricket - 30 of his 37 tests - against two of the top three test sides of his era. Of the “non-white” test nations, only West Indies were a genuine force in the 1950s.”
My point is that before 1994, white South African cricketers never had to compete for places against ‘non-white’ South Africans and so their achievements must always carry a caveat, in my opinion.
This, along with the fact that I never saw him bowl, means I Tayfield below Maharaj in the pantheon of SA spinners.
13th over: England 39-2 (Lees 13, Root 0) Ngidi gets things underway and is tidy for the first five balls after lunch. Outside off stump, keeping Lees honest. The sixth ball, though, drifts on the batter’s pads and he clips it down to fine leg for one.
Updated
The pedants are at it again!
"Re your 12:43 comment, pedantry suggests “batting in an England shirt” would be more appropriate as probably (hopefully) field again in this match, but I thought the ECB has already announced that barring injury they would stick to the same team for the next match?
“Should we expect an announcement that he pulled a fetlock in a freak quiche-related accident at lunch?”
AAAAAAH! But fair enough. I’ll cop to that one Charles Sheldrick, especially from the ‘Senior Radiographer at the Dept of Nuclear Medicine’.
Imagine what his strike rate would be if they could catch?
Since his debut in test cricket Kagiso Rabada has seen 42 dropped catches off his bowling - only Stuart Broad(50) and James Anderson(44) have seen more drops among pace bowlers within that time frame. #ENGvSA
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) August 18, 2022
Hey Tone, what that you have to say about our OBO Fantasty game?
“I shall try to be quick as the match might soon be over! I think the comments on fantasy cricket show too many roots in the actual game, whereas I was imagining something much more commentator creative : a string of boring overs, nothing happening, Joyce from Sydney starts a chat about cycling which Trevor (from Essex) turns into late night skinny-dipping when out of the blue, an imaginary Crawley brings up his 150, only to be run out by S.Broad the following ball.
There could, of course, be some guest teams, like the precocious Lithuanian Forestry XI.
It’s all about you boys and girls keeping the creative score! Whether Joyce and Trevor are real or fictional.”
“Hi Daniel,” hey Marcus Abdullahi, hope you’re enjoying your lunch.
“I think Hugh Tayfield has a stronger claim to be called SA’s best-ever spinner: 170 wkts @ 25.91 in 37 tests. He took more wickets per match than both Laker and Gibbs (both all-time greats) and did it at an economy rate of under 2 an over.
He also managed to marry and divorce five times, presumably also a record for a top-class tweaker.”
I’m not sure about his personal affairs but there’s no questioning his spin talent (the numbers don’t lie). I’m a little uncomfortable championing the exploits of players who exclusively plied their trade during the dark days of apartheid. They were only competing against a fraction of the population.
John Starbuck weighs in on two of our meatier chats today:
“Dan, The umpire calls ‘over’ when the bunch is finished, so it’s perfectly reasonable to assign that word to the full set. What’s odd is that in tennis, a ‘set’ has to include six ‘games’ to qualify. You can’t blame The Hundred people for using ‘set’ instead of ‘over’ since the latter is now defined as six balls (plus extras), though of course in some parts of the world it used to be eight balls. Quelque chose....”
And there’s this:
“‘Pedantry Corner’ is a feature of the magazine Private Eye, for corrections from readers. They couldn’t refer to it as ‘Pedants’ Corner’ because no-one agreed on where to place the apostrophe.”
Cheers John.
Lunchtime reading: This from Jim Wallace is, as you’d expect, just wonderful. Love, life, cricket and turquoise seas. Does it get any better?
Lunch: England 38-2, 123 runs behind
Have you got tickets for day four? You might not get to use them as South Africa have ripped two English wickets for just 38 runs to leave their hosts staring up at a mountain. Maharaj has two, Rabada could have had one of his own had Petersen not dived in front of Markram in the cordon and drop Lees in the third over.
Lees endures and is on 12 but he’ll be desperate for a meaty partnership with Root who once again has to dig his team out of a deep hole.
That’s lunch. I’m going to grab a bite. Will stick a few bits up in the interval and will catch you after the break.
Wicket! Pope lbw Maharaj 5 (England 38-2)
What in the what! Keshav Maharaj is tearing up the script with yet another wicket! He generates a little extra zip off the surface and it rushes past Pope who is on the back foot and looking to push it into the leg side. Umpire Richard Illingworth doesn’t think it’s hitting but the South Africans are convinced and review immediately. It proves the right decision. It’s sliding on to hit the top of leg and Pope is gone. He joins Crawley as an unlikely victim of a remarkable cameo from Maharaj.
Updated
11th over: England 37-1 (Lees 11, Pope 5) Rabada is generating extra lift. One ball to Pope angles in sharply and takes the thigh pad for four byes. Rabada adjusts his line and the rest of the over is a challenge for the right hander. But he handles it with relative comfort but that seam and bounce is promising for the the Proteas’ premier paceman.
10th over: England 33-1 (Lees 11, Pope 5) South Africa’s seamers denied Maharaj a chance to bowl in England’s first innings and English fans will be more familiar with Simon Harmer, but for those not in the know I firmly believe that Maharaj is the best spinner SA has ever produced. This is another lovely over with drift and turn and bounce. Lees gets a sweep away for a single and Pope, who plays spin well, nurdles a single off the back foot. Will be an interesting to see how the England batters handle Maharaj. They’ll want to target him but that might play into the Saffa’s hands.
“How long’s an over?” The first time I took my partner to the cricket I met with this question. Perhaps a better query would focus on the nomenclature instead.
Thankfully Nick Lewis offers some alternatives:
“Thinking on, “over” is an odd collective noun for six deliveries. Pedantry be damned! Cluster, bag, bunch. All acceptable alternatives. Although I find myself leaning towards something altogether more militaristic. Phalanx, maybe. Fusillade. Salvo! Broadside? A Broad broadside. For the ages. Yep.”
Quality, Nick...
9th over: England 31-1 (Lees 10, Pope 4) Lees gets forward and punches Rabada down the ground for three. It deserved four, it really was a wonderful shot. Pope is at it again, busy at the crease, working a couple past backward point and another one wide of mid-on. One of these fellas needs a daddy ton if England have any designs on winning. They can’t just bank on Root-Bairstow-Stokes again.
8th over: England 21-1 (Lees 7, Pope 1) Keshav Maharaj didn’t bowl a single ball in England’s first innings of 45 overs. He comes into the attack in the 8th over , much to everyone’s surprise and immediately gets the first wicket. Big job ahead of England. They really needed a solid opening partnership but Crawley fails yet again. Surely they can’t stick with him any further. At this point they’re doing him more harm than good.
Wicket! Crawley lbw Maharaj 13 (England 20-1)
Just as I was typing my shock at Elgar’s decision to bring on Maharaj in the 8th over he goes and bags the breakthrough. It’s a gif really and could be the last we see of Crawley in an England shirt for some time. It’s not a particularly special ball, just full and flighted around a middle stump line. Crawley gets down early and looks to play a swishing sweep but misses it by a mile and he’s dead in front. Doesn’t review the decision. He knows he’s cooked. England one down and 141 runs behind.
Updated
7th over: England 18-0 (Lees 7, Crawley 11) Rabada keeps probing on that good area except when he gives Lees a little width and it’s bunted, not timed, through the covers for a couple. It looked good though. Sort of Lara-esque (I said sort of, don’t get cross with me).
“South Africa’s bowling attack really is impressive and covers so many bases. It’s a shame they’ve had to wait so long to tour here again, and it’s lovely to be able to watch them go about their work in good bowling conditions. With that in mind it’s really grating to see people crowing about England’s approach being found out - they weren’t noticeably overagressive in the first dig with only a couple of wickets gifted with reckless strokes. Maybe credit the opposition bowlers for once”
100% William Vignoles, I couldn’t agree more. Though I think almost everyone would agree that this SA bowling unit is one formidable force. And you’re right, it’s such a shame the schedule is what it is. I’d happily watch this team bowl with a red ball all year round.
Jonathan McKinley is the first today to mention the ‘B-word’. Fair play to you all. I thought it was coming a lot sooner than this:
“Dean Elgar may pooh-pooh the phenomenon formerly known as Bazball, but South Africa scored their first innings runs at exactly the same rate as England, a racy 3.66 per over. He has some explaining to do.”
6th over: England 16-0 (Lees 5, Crawley 11) Crawley plays one terrible shot and gets two and one very good shot and gets nothing. The first is a howler as he looks to flick Ngidi through square leg with the angle but gets a thick edge and it pops high towards cow corner. Later in the over the tall batter gets abig stride and meets the ball with the middle of his bat but drive goes straight to the man at short extra cover. Anyone who has held a bat will tell you that those good shots for nothing might not add to your score but they do boost the confidence. And Crawley will need all the help he can get.
“When you said I was ‘squeezing’ onto the bandwagon are you saying I’m a bit too short for my width? Ok I may have put weight on during that prolonged tea interval (covid).”
No judgment here Nigel Smith. My belt buckles have felt the impact of lockdowns and a first child.
5th over: England 14-0 (Lees 5, Crawley 9) Rabada spins Crawley round as he squares him up from a back of a length prover. It takes a leading edge but plops harmlessly towards cover. Crawley then takes two past point and a single down to fine leg. Lees sights a bit of width and goes chasing it, narrowly avoiding an edge that would have made him ill had it cost him his wicket.
4th over: England 11-0 (Lees 5, Crawley 6) Ngidi has got one to jag back into Lees who leaves well despite it almost kissing his off peg. Ngidi was miserly in the first innings and he’s nice and tight here again. Good line, good length, around the top of off stump. Ngidi has made a name for himself over the last few years with the white ball but he’s proving his all round skills. Often the forgotten seamer in this attack. I for one love watching him bowl.
Oh, the cricket. Right. Crawley takes the only run from the over with a little dab past short leg.
Pete Salmon is keeping the cricketless OBO chat going (still a bit odd to me, but then this is an odd tribe we have, isn’t it?)
“Just got to jump in again about picking teams for dice cricket (11.52) – I think the OBO host chooses teams, so we can argue about selection, normal style. Oh, and given this is OBO, no franchise-type selections! The teams will be called things like England, Australia, India, South Africa... Yes, the occasional Best of XI, but still called England, Australian, India, South Africa... Fight the power.”
You know what, I’m coming round to the idea actually.
James Cavell in Amsterdam has come to our rescue:
“Barring the first day of any Test match, it is the batting team captain who dictates the rolling conditions. According to the Law 10. (a) of the ICC Rules of Cricket written and interpreted by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which entails “Preparation and Maintenance of the Playing Area”: “During the match the pitch may be rolled at the request of the captain of the batting side, for a period of not more than 7 minutes, before the start of each innings, other than the first innings of the match, and before the start of each subsequent day’s play.” Further, Law 10. (c) elucidates on the ‘Choice of rollers’ as: “If there is more than one roller available the captain of the batting side shall choose which one is to be used.”
Ta very much.
3rd over: England 10-0 (Lees 5, Crawley 5) There’s a dropped catch in the slips! Petersen at third slip dives in front of Markram at second and shells what should have been a routine dismissal. Rabada is seething as Lees should be on his bike.
It won’t help the bowler’s temperament that Lees played a lovely back foot punch to the extra cover fence earlier in the over or that the entire set (that’s for you Nick) cost seven runs. England will need a bit of luck as they go.
“Unlike some I have nothing against The Hundred. It’s cricket. It’s on my telly. No complaints. But whilst test match cricket still exists..... Stuart Broad did not just bowl a set!”
Sorry to upset you Nick Lewis. But we don’t police language on these pages. I for one like calling an over a ‘set’ on occasion, it helps keep things fresh in my opinion. I could also use a cluster, a bag or a bunch. Who knows. I’m just getting warmed up!
2nd over: England 3-0 (Lees 0, Crawley 3) Ngidi is on the money immediately, getting it to nip sharply with the slope from the Pavilion End and cramp Crawley. There’s an appeal for lbw but it’s always going over. There’s also a squeezed couple backward of square on the leg side which has the man at short leg interested. Crawley rounds the over out with a more confident dropped single to the off side. Good start from the Saffas.
Updated
George Dabby has noticed something and poses a challenging query:
“I can see on the television that the ground staff have brought out the heavy roller ahead of England’s second innings in order to take some life out of the wicket.
Is this gamesmanship or cheating? Given test cricket’s long standing problem with excessive home advantage, isn’t this something that the ICC should outlaw?”
I won’t claim to understand everything that the heavy roller does but both teams are in control of it before their innings. Elgar also opted to use it before his team’s go with the bat.
Any badgers out there happy to lend an opinion on this one?
1st over: England 0-0 (Lees 0, Crawley 0) Rabada is on the hunt to match Makhaya Ntini’s 10-for he collected here in 2003. That ended with the Mdingi Express kissing the pitch for one of the most enduring images in the game’s history.
But first Rabada needs another five in this second innings. He starts with a maiden to Alex Lees is watchful and conscious to keep his bat coming down straight.
“Afternoon Daniel, afternoon everyone. I like to imagine that Anrich Nortje is a keen cricket history badger, but that his recall of Sam Cooke lyrics can occasionally leave him befuddled. In this spirit, I’d be keen for him to pop his head into the England dressing room between innings in order to inform our boys that “you guys are geography”.
That, Harkarn Sumal, is a banger. Quality work mate.
Peter McDonald is showing his age here.
“Those Oboers as ancient as me will recall the Pools Panel, which predicted football results when football was off, for what reason I can’t remember. There was a great sketch about the members of said panel inventing commentary for the matches, culminating in a centre forward of the day lashing the ball into the net, only for a quiet voice in the background saying. “Offside”.”
Sounds, interesting…
“Surely it wasn’t just the brilliance of Bairstow and Root (and a few others) that saw us home against NZ. It was the tactics wasn’t it?”
I mean, it was partly individual brilliance, Steve Wolton.
“SA making those tactics look a bit sorry now. C’mon boys, it’s not the Hundred, let’s show a bit of application if we get the chance to bat again today.”
Simple as, eh?
Wicket! Ngidi c Bairstow b Broad 0 (South Africa 326 all out)
And that’s that. Broad’s first ball in the 90th over is full and Ngidi can’t help himself. He pokes at it without moving his feet and it takes the outside edge. Bairstow in the cordon makes a dog’s breakfast of it, fumbling an absolute sitter but he’s able to pluck out a hand and grab it before it hits the turf.
Dean Elgar would have wanted a little more but with a lead of 161 he’s in control. Big innings (I mean, they all are, aren’t they?) coming up. England were bowled out for 165 in their first dig. They’ll need a lot more than that to make a game of this.
Updated
89th over: South Africa 326-9 (Nortje 28, Ngidi 0) Oh yes! Nortje takes back to back fours off Stokes (who is still bowling instead of Anderson) with two delightful strokes. The first is cute, and expertly played, dab down to deep third and the next is a swooshing drive down the ground. Stokes kicks the turf theatrically but he only has himself to blame. He’s missed a trick tactically this morning.
You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.
“Nice to see that as well as not getting Nortje out we’re also winding him up nicely”, that’s a good point Neil Parkes. Nortje is absolutely making mental notes of all these bumpers.
88th over: South Africa 318-9 (Nortje 20, Ngidi 0) A wicket maiden for Broad who is having a handy morning after that great catch in the first over. It’s a full ball that does for Jansen with his first ball in this set but he can’t locate the stumps of Ngidi who survives the remaining five deliveries.
This OBO concept with no actual cricket is taking on a life of it’s own.
“Love the idea of an OBO commentary when there is no cricket actually being played! Perhaps we could chose our own teams? I do have questions though…..
Who decides when a player is out?
What score the batter got?
Dropped catches?
There us so much to think about, maybe crime and strong alcohol are the only answers.”
That’s from Nigel Smith who is squeezing on to the bandwagon.
Wicket! Jansen c Crawley b Broad 48 (South Africa 318-9)
It’s a full ball that bags the breakthrough (I know, right?). Broad tempts Jansen with a bit of width and the batter, conscious he’s just one blow away from a half century, takes the bait. It’s a soft dismissal and an easy slip catch for Crawley who takes it around chest height. Jansen will be annoyed with himself now but he can reflect on a job well done.
Updated
87th over: South Africa 318-8 (Jansen 48, Nortje 21) Ben Stokes is still bowling. That’s seven overs with the new ball and we’ve yet to see Jimmy Anderson. Anyway, Stokes is at least fuller than he has been but Nortje is equal to it with a sumptuous on-drive that would make any top order batter proud. It skips to the boundary and takes his score to 20 (he has a career average of 6.76 btw)
Oh, but that is a nasty bouncer but you know what, Nortje plays it well, taking his bottom hand off the bat as he rides the bounce. But that’s what a consistent full length does. It makes the bumper less predictable.
Updated
Pedantry Corner, entry #2
“Per Sports Amaze at 10.24. Yesterday, Broad did not take 100 Test wkts at Lord’s. If he had, England would have won multiple test matches, which does not appear to be the case.”
When you’re right, you’re right, David Taylor.
86th over: South Africa 314-8 (Jansen 48, Nortje 16) Broad replaces Potts and he’ll definitely look to pitch it up. Oh, what’s that? A short leg, a man in the deep on the leg side? Oh. More short stuff then. ‘Fine with me’ says Anrich Nortje who backs away and whacks Broad up and over the infield towards cover. He doesn’t time it but takes three, a perfect result for a No 10. Broad then goes over the wicket to Jansen with two slips in place but the lanky Saffa gets forward and nudges a single down the ground to inch his way to what would be a mightily impressive milestone batting at 6. Nortje takes a single himself to take the partnership to 25.
85th over: South Africa 309-8 (Jansen 47, Nortje 12) More short bowling, more nothingness from an English perspective. Stokes continues but that must surely be that. A couple of singles for Nortje who looks more than happy riding the bounce and bunting it away. There’s also a leg bye off Jansen’s pads the lead now reaches 144.
Mate…
Why don't England try and target the stumps more often when faced with the tail? Seem obsessed with short pitched deliveries. @danielgallan #ENGvSA
— Steve Pye (@1980sSportsBlog) August 19, 2022
“Hi Dan”
Hey Peter Salmon.
“Have to agree with Tine about OBO continuing when there’s no matches, but rather than you lot making things up, why not use one of the many cricket board games available? I know there will be fans of Test Match Cricket (TM), with the actual playing field and figurines, but to be honest as a traditionalist I still don’t think you can go past Owzthat – two dice, a pen and a scorecard. Vast periods of tedium coalescing in sudden periods of high excitement, like the very game itself. Of course open to other suggestions...”
I’m not sure about OBO’ing when there’s no cricket on but I can say that I LOVED that dice game!
84th over: South Africa 306-8 (Jansen 47, Nortje 10) Oooh, there’s a for Zak Crawley at deep third after Nortje’s slash to a Pott’s short ball takes the top edge and flies away to the deep. Crawley, running in from the boundary, can’t get there despite a lunging dive and the ball trickles to the cushioned rope for four.
Nortje takes another swipe at a Potts half tracker and gets three with a lob towards a vacant cover-point. 10 off the over. This strategy isn’t working. Why is no one pitching it up!?
John Starbuck from the ‘Pedantry Corner’ is here to correct me:
“Dan, Over 82: ‘gully’ not ‘gulley’ in cricket. Don’t worry, the OBO Collective will advise you of just about every grammatical/spelling slip they encounter from you.”
Fair enough John, and thanks for putting me straight. One of those ones that I just always forget. You’d be amazed how many times my fingers automatically misspell the word ‘length’.
83rd over: South Africa 296-8 (Jansen 45, Nortje 2) I think that may be the last of Stokes for a while (at least it should be). Banging it in short he makes a mess of one and tidy work from a diving Foakes down the leg side prevents it from going to the boundary. Instead it’s one bye to get Nortje off the strike. He’s back on strike though as Jansen’s full-faced bunt down the ground adds one more to his score. Nortje is growing in confidence and once again happy to get out of the way of yet another inept bumper.
82nd over: South Africa 294-8 (Jansen 44, Nortje 2) Potts starts his over with another short ball and though he looks a little uncomfortable doing so, Nortje worms it away for a single. Potts then wises up and brings his length up and gets the tall Jansen coming forward. A few keep a little low and there’s also a beauty that just misses the outside edge. Potts looks a lot better when he pitches it up.
Word from Trevor Tutu who is indeed related to the great Archbishop.
“That’s certainly my mother’s story,” he says, “and she is sticking to it!”
81st over: South Africa 293-8 (Jansen 44, Nortje 1) Stokes with the new ball digs in a short ball and takes Nortje’s edge. But it flies past the man at gulley for single. England getting their tactics wrong here, if you’re asking me. Pitch it up fellas! Thwack those pads and stumps!
Updated
Here’s a lovely mail from Tone White in its entirety. This is what the OBO family is all about:
“Good morning monsieur Gallan from a breezy and rather fresh but sunny S of France where I would fancy a spinner’s chances (!), England, at least 200 behind on the first innings and maybe a less than eventful ending to the test .... who knows with this strange, enigmatic game.
But more importantly I sense the end of the cricketing season. There will be news from abroad but nevertheless there will be long periods of ... cricketless misery. And not just cricketless, OBOlessness!
However. Since cricket is so unpredictable and unrepeatable and therefore open to any possibilities, why not continue with OBO even if there are no real matches in play? You, the commentators can make things up as you go along, you know how games progress and how teams do or don’t play, so you could just invent a series of tests to see us through the down periods. And we, the avids out here in OBOland will be able to contentedly read about batters and bowlers even though they are only playing in fantasy matches, and continue to write in and enjoy the virtual comradeship, the shared jokes, wisdom, insights of the OBO tribe.
The alternative is alcohol, drugs, crime, violence, and worst of all, politix (please, none of that, or at least not all of that). I think Fantasy OBO is morally correct, and since you, the commentators, bare total responsibility for the batting, bowling, umpiring, even the spectator contributions, I think you should consider new contracts with increased financial rewards.
I look forward to your first innings!
Anthony.”
Thanks Anthony. What a weird and wonderful
80th over: South Africa 291 -8 (Jansen 43, Nortje 0) Potts will be a little annoyed by that I reckon. The only ball that’s targeted at the stumps is easily nudged up the ground for a single by Jansen. He had four balls to Nortje but failed to hit the sticks. There’s a mean looking bouncer but Nortje is comfortably underneath it.
The new ball has been taken. Strap in!
79th over: South Africa 290-8 (Jansen 42, Nortje 0) Stokes is on and he’s charging in with all the intent you’d expect from the bristling skipper. Jansen looks solid and is able to turn a single to square. Nortje, though, looks less at home and is roughed up by a short one that rises towards his ribs. Credit where it’s due though. Nortje rides the bounce and bunts it with his bat. He won’t shy away from the challenge, that’s for sure.
“Hi Dan,” Hi Trevor Tutu (any relation to the great Archbishop?)
“Greetings from a cold and wet Cape Town. I am shocked, shocked that you can have any doubts. The Proteas are obviously on course to a famous victory. They’ll sprint to just about four hundred by lunch, and have England reeling this afternoon with 5 -6 wickets down by stumps. We’ll clean up the tail in the morning tomorrow, and have won by and innings and 60 odd runs.”
Steady now Trev, let’s not count our chickens just yet.
78th over: South Africa 289-8 (Jansen 41, Nortje 0) A successful start for England as Potts kicks things off on Day 3 with a wicket maiden. He’s mostly short to Rabada and then to Nortje who is the new man in.
We’ve been chatting all morning about pitching it up to the tailenders but it’s the short ball that sends Rabada packing. Though only because of a wonder grab from Broad.
Wicket! Rabada c Broad b Potts 3 (South Africa 289-8)
Stuart Broad! You cannot do that! What a grab by the big man. Rabada takes on Pott’s short ball – the third delivery of the day – but doesn’t middle his cross-bat hoick towards the leg side. Still, it’s sailing over Broad’s head at mid-on, except, no, it isn’t! Broad shoots out his arm and the ball sticks in his hand. What a beauty that is and exactly what England needed first up.
Updated
Right then! Potts has the ball in his mitts. Here we go!
Inane bowling, that’s the attention grabbing headline from Neil Parkes’ email which reads:
“The worry I have is that in the same way that the batting strategy is obviously taking pointers from one-day techniques, the bowling strategy seems to be doing the same.
The difference is that an aggressive batting side can impose themselves on a bowling attack, it’s risky but it might work. The reason it’s risky is that the fielding and bowling restrictions that support this approach in a one-day context don’t exist in tests, and a composed and skilled bowling attach should prevail. In practice that doesn’t seem to have happened this Summer, and it’s great!
When fielding in a one-day innings the approach at the end of the match is to compensate for restrictions by bowling at the head or bowling yorkers. The idea being that the batters are going to swing anyway and might hole out on the boundary. In tests though, there are no such restrictions, and the batters aren’t in such a hurry. The sneaking suspicion is that we’re bowling like this because that’s the end of the innings one-day way, and of course bowling at the head looks “aggressive” and hence is “exciting”?”
Yeah, I think you’re on to something. I wouldn’t advocate for six yorkers in a row. But I’d want to see some more
There’s a Zak Crawley joke in here, I just can’t see it.
Word of the day is a reminder of 'ipsedixitism' (18th century): the assertion that something is 'fact' based on one person's opinion.
— Susie Dent (@susie_dent) August 18, 2022
“Morning Dan, morning everyone”
Morning Dan Ward. Good to hear from a fellow member of the House of Dan!
“In response to Mike D (10:26), while I freely admit to playing a strictly village level of cricket, some of the most wonderful moments of the Test Summer so far have had a villagey feel to them - juggled catches, preposterous and unfortunate dismissals, captains deciding to wallop it immediately with no thought for the position of the game.”
100% with you mate. It’s the absurdity that keeps this game alive.
“So, perhaps the notion of ‘bowl it at the stumps’ and that age-old captain’s entreaty to the bowler to ‘ask the question’ isn’t so far off the mark? At the village level, the question is often ‘what is 2+2’ and the batter usually knows the answer. But you can’t bowl them out if you don’t threaten the stumps, and you have to feel that Anderson, Broad, Potts, Stokes and Leach can do enough with the ball to beat a less experienced tail and at least keep the pressure on?”
You’d think so. One might argue that the English attack lacks the genuine pace that the South Africans have and we know that that tailenders hate that extra oomph. Still. Hit those sticks!
“The Guardian, like the English team, is reverting to type,” says Adrian Goldman. Uh, cheers mate.
“We had two days of a modern interface, where we could write comments directly rather than sending them through mail - and now no more! Based on this, I fully expect SA to get 400 and England to lose by 100 or so. There won’t be a fifth day. :)“
Let’s see. Looks like a good day for batting. England might yet post a tricky target for the Saffas.
Our first correspondence of the morning comes from Mike D who touches on something that absolutely irks me:
“It was quite dispiriting to see England, immediately after Broad removed Verreynne with a masterclass of length bowling, reverting to trying to bounce out the tail. A bit of Mikey Holding “You Miss, I Hit” is called for this morning, I think. Here’s hoping.”
Right you are Mike. It baffles me that bowlers – who are very skilled white ball bowlers – don’t target the stumps more to the lower order.
I remember watching Broad and Wood cart the SA seamers around the Wanderers a few years back and it was staggering to behold!
Elite company
Stuart Broad’s solitary strike puts him in a select group of bowlers who have nabbed 100 scalps at a single ground.
Most Test wkts in a single ground
— SportsAmaze (@Sports_amaze) August 19, 2022
166 : Muralitharan in Colombo (SSC)
117 : Muralitharan in Kandy
117 : James Anderson in Lord's*
111 : Muralitharan in Galle
102 : R Herath in Galle
100 : Stuart Broad in Lord's*
Yesterday, Broad took 100 Test wkts at Lord's.#ENGvSA #ENGvsSA
Preamble: new ground for New England
Four Tests. Four remarkable fourth innings chases. Four swashbuckling tons from Johnny Bairstow.
The start of the summer felt like the breaking of a new dawn for England’s red ball team. It was a period where everything seemed to thrum with a frenetic energy as they swatted aside New Zealand and then India to reshape the parameters of this ancient game.
Now they face a new challenge and must find a way of keeping the good times rolling. After being bowled out for 165 with Kagiso Rabada’s 5-52 leading the vanguard, England watched on as opener Sarel Erwee registered 73 and then Keshav Maharaj and Marco Jansen plundered a pair of 41s to drive South Africa to 289-7 and a lead of 124.
Ben Stokes snared three wickets, including that of Erwee with a ripping bouncer, to drag his team back in the fight, but they’ll need a blockbuster third day to have a shot of winning.
Jansen remains unbeaten and he’s got Rabada for company. Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi are up next so England will want to wrap this up quick sticks and get the pads on.
My name is Dan. I’m really looking forward to this. They say the third day of a Test is ‘moving day’. Which way d’ya reckon this one’s going?
