Here is the report from today.
Sibley has shown what he can do.
A good day for Jimmy.
England’s day. By any measure. They will take a lead of 264 into the fourth morning with Sibley still there on 85. He has been immense, combining first with Denly for 73 then Root for 116 through the afternoon and evening sessions. The skipper went on the counterattack from the moment he arrived, keeping the board ticking over to transfer the pressure straight back onto the Proteas after Nortje won a top edge from Denly when hooking not long before tea. The young opener has 15 runs to collect to post his first ton with the lower-middle order by his side, the visitors very well placed to set South Africa a hefty fourth-innings target. For the hosts, though, they will go to bed knowing that England collapse better than any team in world cricket. They shouldn’t, and won’t, give up.
Right, that’s it for me. Thanks for your company throughout this absorbing afternoon. I’ll be back with you at 11pm tonight for the fourth day at the SCG and we’ll be back tomorrow morning, as always, from Newlands. Until then, bye!
WICKET AND STUMPS! Bess c de Kock b Nortje 0 (England 218-4)
Yep, he’s gloved it alright! Nortje ensures that South Africa end their day on a high with wickets in the final two overs. Bess has bagged a pair but it could be argued that he has done his job as nightwatchman in a quirky kind of way. Stumps!
79th over: England 218-4 (Sibley 85)
HAS BESS BEEN CAUGHT DOWN THE LEGSIDE OFF THE GLOVE? The decision on field is not out but Faf has signalled for DRS. Stand by!
78th over: England 218-3 (Sibley 85, Bess 0) Bess walks out as the nightwatchman with eight minutes on the clock, Stokes taking his pads off in the dressing room. He picked up a half century in this role against Pakistan in his most recent Test Match but he is walking out this time on a King Pair here, of course. He gets through the first ball with a nice straight bat, to the cheers of the Barmy Army. As far as Somerset are concerned, he is a legitimate all-rounder. Oooi, Pretorious finds that crack for a second time in the over going over the head of de Kock, via his outstretched glove, for a bye. He keeps the strike, which is a good outcome when you send a nightwatchman out there. They should get two more overs in.
As Nasser notes on Sky and techology confirms, had the wicket-taking delivery not hit the crack it would have tracked straight into the middle of Root’s bat. Keep that in mind when reflecting on the skipper’s dismissal. He batted exceptionally well.
Root undone after Pretorius' delivery hit the crack in the pitch and seamed away a touch - but an important innings from the England captain.
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) January 5, 2020
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WICKET! Root c du Plessis b Pretorious 61 (England 217-3)
Caught at slip! Completely against the flow of play, Pretorious locates the crack just outside the off-stump and also finds the edge of the England skipper, taken by his counterpart at first slip. The end of an excellent partnership.
Updated
77th over: England 217-2 (Sibley 85, Root 61) Oh, so they were just swinging Maharaj around to replace Nortje. It makes no difference though - both batsmen feel as though they have the spinner’s measure as we near stumps. Root doesn’t let him settle, immediately taking two through a reverse sweep. He finishes the over with that same unorthodox stroke, but he plays it so well. 12 minutes to go.
“Following the OBO in snowy Sweden, keep the sunshine coming.” Thanks for being part of it, Julian Menz. “First of all, I imagine I speak for all us Poms when I say that we send our best wishes to those in your country affected by the fires. The closest I have been to Australia is working in a pub in Earl’s Court, but, despite certain sporting differences, there is a ‘love that dare not speak its name’ between our countries.” There is - well said. And thank you.
“Back on topic, I once faced Corrie Van Zyl (spelling?) as a schoolboy when my father had a contract in SA. Terrifying, just glad it wasn’t Alan Donald.”
If I had a cricket time machine, one of the places I would visit is Edgbaston in the late 1980s to watch Donald in the era before he was playing international cricket.
76th over: England 212-2 (Sibley 85, Root 57) Pretorious not Philander gets the job following Maharaj, who has been given a breather. But he only works if he can dot up an end at 120-125kph, and he hasn’t achieved that in this over with Root cutting two and Sibley steering a couple more behind point. 111 is now the partnership, for those into the old English cricket superstition.
“Everybody spent the first two days of this match saying how the wicket was breaking up and would be well nigh unplayable in the later stages,” writes Chris Young. Good point! There were plenty yesterday. “And now look! How many will England need to be sure of not losing? Will 300 be enough?”
There is no way they will give South Africa any fewer than 400 to chase, if indeed they get into that situation. A long way to go. But, 140 more will take them until roughly the middle of tomorrow. That’d leave a day and a half for ten wickets? Make that five sessions if Buttler and Curran get busy when it is their turn.
75th over: England 207-2 (Sibley 83, Root 54) Nortje continues to charge in hard and attack from round the wicket but the singles are leaking now, which isn’t sustainable. All are through the legside, all without risk. Without wanting to repeat myself, Philander again? He’s only bowled three overs since I took over.
“Good afternoon Adam.” And to you, Ed Smyth. “I know all the trendy chat is about Bairstow, Stokes, Buttler and all, but (were his back not made of cocktail sticks and perished rubber bands) would you include Morgan in this set up? He’s basically Buttler/Bairstow without the keeping or Stokes without the bowling and clearly knows how to captain them with hurting the sensitive egos. Would he work as a captain replacing one of the above and allowing Root to go back to untroubled batter?”
There was a window where this might have been entertained after the World Cup but Morgan made it clear he isn’t interested in returning to the England creams.
Root to 50!
74th over: England 204-2 (Sibley 82, Root 52) Superb from Root, lapping Maharaj one way for two then sweeping the other side of the square leg out to the boundary to bring up his half-century! It also raises the 100 partnership between this pair and the team tally beyond 200. Beautiful numbers for England.
73rd over: England 197-2 (Sibley 82, Root 45) Sibley passes another test and moves into the 80s. Nortje sprung a pacy and potent bouncer on him from around the wicket, the first of those we have seen in a while, just clearing the batsmen then going over de Kock for four byes. Going for the ribs with his next offering, the opener kept his shape to tuck a lovely shot away behind square for four more. Nine off the over all told, advancing the lead to 245. The partnership is 98.
72nd over: England 188-2 (Sibley 78, Root 44) Sibley leans on a drive out to cover for a couple off Majaraj. No risks, no exposures. He’s had a great day.
“I see Joe Root just passed David Boon in the all time list,” notes Michael Meagher in Spain. “My money’s on Boon in a beer drinking contest, mind. Some more numbers from @AndrewDMilligan on twitter, answering the earlier question about Vern. “He averages 20 in first tests, 22 in 2nd and 28 in 3rd. Only ever played one 4th Test.”
Updated
71st over: England 186-2 (Sibley 76, Root 44) Nortje to Root, who once again gets a single from the second ball. He’s in cruise control right now. The short ball comes at Sibley but there isn’t a lot of potency. When full again, he pushes one to cover himself. The opener has now faced more than 200 deliveries in this innings.
“I discover that Rachael Heyhoe Flint’s mother was named Roma Crocker,” reports Kim Thonger. “Such a wonderful monicker I felt compelled to share. Cricketing families everywhere should name their next daughter Roma in tribute.”
You’re saying we should put Roma on our shortlist? I tried to sneak Dermott onto there for a boy, after Hawthorn great Dermott Brereton, but, despite my partner being English, she worked it out pretty quickly and exercised her veto.
70th over: England 184-2 (Sibley 75, Root 43) Much better from Maharaj around the wicket to Sibley, bringing him forward in defence throughout. Maiden.
“Greetings from Joburg where the implementation of the so-called ‘load shedding’, i.e. scheduled electricity cuts to prevent the creaking system from collapsing, prevents us from watching the final couple of hours on TV.” Eva Maaten, that sounds incredibly frustrating. Thanks for joining us on the OBO. “But I digress: I just wanted to say that I read you sentence in over 66 “with this side’s enduring ability to collapse in an hour” at first as ‘endearing ability’ and found that going a bit far. Though, in a way, it is endearing as well as exasperating - and certainly enduring.” Well, it’s certainly endearing to every other group of fans!
69th over: England 184-2 (Sibley 75, Root 43) Just the three overs from Philander, which is surprising. The pace of Nortje again now, Root taking a single early in the over as he has consistently through his innings. A short ball at Sibley gets him in a tangle, inside edge onto pad and not too far from the stumps, but he’s through it safely. He keeps the strike with an easy push to cover. He’s three-quarters of the way to what would be a mighty maiden Test ton. Enough time for it today, too.
68th over: England 182-2 (Sibley 74, Root 42) Maharaj returns from the other end to where he’s bowled so far today and gives Sibley an old-fashioned long-hop to begin the new spell, hammered away through the gap at cover for the easiest four runs he’s made today. “They’re what you want when working towards a first Test century,” says Mark Nicholas. Too right. He defends the rest meditatively.
67th over: England 178-2 (Sibley 70, Root 42) Philander to Root, forcing him to play straight from his perfect line and length. He goes just a fraction shorter in search of some indecision to finish but the skipper is up to the task, playing his best shot - the push through point - along the ground for a couple. The lead is 224.
66th over: England 176-2 (Sibley 70, Root 40) du Plessis continues to trust Pretorious to tie up an end but for the second time in two overs he’s gone for a boundary, flicked around the corner by Root from leg stump to the fine leg rope. That’s not without risk - he wouldn’t want to miss one of those - but the England skipper has been playing beautifully today. He’s into the 40s.
“Afternoon Adam.” Great to have you back with us, Simon McMahon. “Impossible for England to lose this now, right? Though we’ve said that before and been proved wrong. No guarantees. Such is life, I suppose.”
More Such is Life! (Scroll down if you’re just logging on for today). Also Ned Kelly’s final words. To your actual point, if these two can make it to stumps, I’ll sign up to that. But not yet, with this side’s enduring ability to collapse in an hour.
Mac Millings while they have a drink. “One of my best and oldest friends, Andy McDonald, is following the OBO today on his birthday. Could we possibly celebrate it with my all-time Birthday XI?
Prezzie Haynes
Tom “Cogratu” Latham
Inzamam-ul-Haqqy birthday
Derek Candle
Party Patel
Many Happy Chris Cairns
For Reece Topley a Jolly Good Fellow
Norman Giftford
Mike Selveybration
Chris Older
Cake Ball
Party-time Patel! A favourite of mine. Happy birthday to you, Andy.
“Enjoying your OBO here in unsunny Holland.” Thank you, Thomas Paternoster. “If you want to hear KP really giggling, you will probably be delighted by the Talksport podcast tonight. I was listening to them earlier and delightfully KP Darren Gough and a few others were giggling at the word “botty” like a bunch of 4 year olds. It wasn’t quite Aggers and Johnners with Botham’s failed legover, but it was lovely nonetheless.I don’t know if they will include it, but they really should.”
Consider this a public service announcement. I’ve been enjoying both the TS call and the BBC’s Cricket Social (disclaimer: I’m on that sometimes).
More from Pete Salmon on Larwood - sorta! “In answer to Gary Naylor, no idea about Larwood/Lawrence, but I do know that Andre the Giant grew up in the same village as Samuel Beckett, who used to drive him and his siblings to school sometimes.” The stuff we learn on the OBO...
“Am I right that Phillander tends to start a series looking unplayable then tails off as a series progresses?” asks Mike Waters. “There are clues in his wikipedia page which makes several references to 5 fors early in a series. My recall may be hazy and I cant find stats online to back this up, I wonder if anyone else can.”
Not sure, but I was there calling his 6/11 to finish Australia off in the Fourth Test at Jo’Burg in 2018 and I was at Lord’s when he cleaned England up in 2012, in what I’m pretty sure was the final Test too. But it might be that they are outliers?
65th over: England 171-2 (Sibley 70, Root 35) Ooi! Philander stump-to-stump gets one to keep low at Root, the England numero uno quick enough to get his bat down in town. There’s no respite when this bloke is bowling. Excellent. DRINKS!
“Hi Adam.” Hello, Tom Marlow. “Do you think Nasser Hussain will (should) one day be running English cricket? A four day test would be like trying to put a quart into a pint pot. Wouldn’t making teams get a wiggle on to force a result further diminish those virtues of batting time and crease occupation that add to great battle between bat and ball which are part of the awesomeness of Test cricket? We’d then be staring down the barrel of the best game in the world becoming extinct as players with real Test credentials become a rare species. Happy New Year and congratulations by the way.”
Thanks, Tom. Well, I’d have Nasser running the country - I couldn’t be a bigger fan of his measured approach to, well, everything. I don’t see why he would leave his current life as a TV commentator though. It’s a pretty good gig!
64th over: England 170-2 (Sibley 70, Root 34) We now have two seamers in operation, both with the ‘keeper up to the stumps. You don’t see that often these days. Indeed, you’d never see it from Australia. If Philander was from my country it’s unlikely he would have played Test cricket. Pretorious gives Root a bit more length to deal with here and the captain uses it well, steering a square drive through the gap at point - his fifth boundary. He’s right back on it to Sibley to finish, extracting a lot more bounce from short of a length. That’s his spot. We have 20 overs remaining today, or 75 minutes. Probably the latter.
John Starbuck has more on Larwood/Lawrence. “Harold Larwood was born in November 1904 in Nuncargate, not Eastwood itself, for anyone researching the Lawrence connection. Duncan Hamilton’s biography doesn’t specify the street and nor did Harold himself when I met him in 1977. He wasn’t too bothered about that sort of thing in those days.”
63rd over: England 165-2 (Sibley 70, Root 29) Yes, Philander on for Maharaj. He begins with figures of 9-6-7-0. Ohhhh, and he’s so close to castling Sibley! The opener feels safe enough to leave but the delivery hoops back a long way, clearing his off stump by no more than an inch. That’s the different challenge he presents.
62nd over: England 163-2 (Sibley 69, Root 28) Pretorious through an accurate maiden to Root. He’s playing his role, going for two runs in his last three overs.
61st over: England 163-2 (Sibley 69, Root 28) Maharaj goes for another boundary, Root able to help him a poor delivery on its way to the fine leg rope. He’s done that a couple of times now, in addition to those eight byes. I know the spinner should be set-and-forget in the second innings but he needs a breather. Get Vern on!
60th over: England 158-2 (Sibley 69, Root 23) One from the Pretorious over, via Root. There’s nothing wrong at all with this spell but you get the sense that both batsmen are happy just to play it out, knowing there isn’t a lot of risk. It’s a different story when Philaner is on. Between overs, the Supersport director elects to show Bairstow with the binoculars followed by a series of close-up shots of young women in the crowd. Hmm. Yeah. I dunno about that. Very 1990s.
Not very classy from the Supersport director between overs but we should be used to that now. #SAvENG
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) January 5, 2020
59th over: England 157-2 (Sibley 69, Root 22) A big over to take the lead beyond 200. Maharaj overpitched ever so slightly to Root at the start, the captain obliging with a beautiful clip through midwicket to move into the 20s himself. To finish, Sibley rocked back deep in the crease to cut him through the gap for four more. The partnership between these two is now 56 from 91 balls. Perfect batting.
“I’ve half a memory (you’ll know what I mean when the kid arrives) that DH Lawrence grew up on the same street as Harold Larwood,” tweets Gary Naylor. “Can OBOers confirm or deny?”
Oooh, that’s tasty. Anyone? I only know about the lovely story of where Larwood continued - then finished - his life, in the Sydney suburb of Kingsford.
58th over: England 148-2 (Sibley 65, Root 17) Just one from the Pretorious over, Root taking a single off his pads first ball. Sibley shows as much discipline as the bowler, both playing their role as this contest continues to mature.
“Right on Ian Forth,” declares Finbar Anslow. “This heresy of 4 day tests is symptomatic of the “I want it all, I want it now” malaise which sees us fast forwarding through the opening credits of a film, skipping the introductory chapters of a Jame Austen novel and taking the little train to the top of Mount Snowdon. Life is already hurtling along at derailment velocity, please don’t tinker with a rare oasis of serenity.” Well put. Lovely stuff. So much serenity.
57th over: England 147-2 (Sibley 65, Root 16) Nearly a chance! Maharaj gets what he wants - Sibley to have a crack at something outside the leg stump. He also wins the leading edge but it doesn’t quite make it to the man at backward point, Hamza. That would have opened the door. Instead, six are added by the end of the over with another lot of four byes off the spinner, once again down the legside.
Can anyone else hear KP’s distinctive giggle at the end of every over on telly? He’s been in the public eye for the better part of two decades but still remains one of the hardest people in cricket to get a definitive read on, for mine.
56th over: England 141-2 (Sibley 63, Root 16) Pretorious has de Kock up to the stumps to keep Sibley still. He’s not doing a lot wrong in terms of his stump-to-stump line but I do wonder why they aren’t giving Philander a go before Root is completely set with the lead in excess of 200. Sibley pushes one to mid-on.
“Sibley to 50 was runs but also overs,” notes Gary Naylor on twitter of the opener’s milestone. “I am very, very happy with that.” You’re old school and I love it.
55th over: England 140-2 (Sibley 62, Root 16) Byes, four of them! It’s a bad call too. Sibley let the Maharaj delivery go well outside the leg stump and it beat de Kock’s gloves. But the problem is that it flicked the front pad on the way through, which means it should have been a dead ball (not leg byes, not anything). Faf can see that on the big screen and makes representations to the umpire but it’s too late. Three further singles are taken with the blade, all in front of square. The lead is now 186 and almost getting out of hand. Time for Philander? Has to be, right?
“Thanks for that!” replies Peter Salmon. “Really interesting stuff! I’m tootling along with a piece for the Sydney Review of Books atm on D H Lawrence, and am re-reading SIL (to nail one sentence, as you do). It really is an extraordinary book, and reading it with the fire madness going on makes it even more of a thing. Aussie mythmaking etc. It’s the Ulysss of Australia I reckon. Needs to take its place as such.” Time for me to read it again too. Perhaps aloud when the baby arrives!
54th over: England 133-2 (Sibley 60, Root 15) Better from Pretorious. Root is tested by his extra bounce early in the over, content playing the rest watchfully. Maiden. “South Africa doesn’t lose often at Newlands,” says Shaun Pollock on telly.
“Did Furphy morph into five-fer?” That’d be neat! But no, I don’t believe there is much cricket on that side of my family until the last couple of generations.
“Patient, persistent and proficient,” begins Abhijato Sensarma. “Sibley is playing an innings highly similar to that of Elgar’s at the top of the order. If he managed to get out in his eighties too...” Yep, I can see that comparison. He’s a keeper.
53rd over: England 133-2 (Sibley 60, Root 15) Root plays Maharaj with the straight bat this time, to long-off for an ODI-style single. Sibley’s turn, moving into the 60s with a clip. Back to the skipper, who sweeps to keep the strike. Like clockwork.
52nd over: England 130-2 (Sibley 59, Root 13) Sibley is motoring along now, taking the change bowler Pretorious for consecutive boundaries. The first is played off the outside portion of the bat, albeit with soft hands, past gully. No concerns with that. The next is a wonderful stroke, clipping off middle stump away with the rope with outstanding Mark Waugh timing. The Barmy Army are giving it BIG.
“Congrats on the impending arrival, Adam.” Cheers, Ian Forth. We can’t wait. My partner is currently painting a room upstairs and buying a car seat. We are nesting, make no mistake. “From my experience the house is overrun by mothers, mother-in-laws and grandmothers in the first six weeks. Your time comes after they’ve gone. So why not take the opportunity to take paternity leave and write a thriller.”
In theory! I plan to be ready to OBO the Women’s World Cup by the time we get to the end of February with the little boy/girl riding shotgun. Train them young.
51st over: England 122-2 (Sibley 51, Root 13) Root on the reverse again to Maharaj, adding another single to move into the teens. Sibley collects another, more conventionally with a push to cover. The skipper tries to reverse once more later but doesn’t make contact. These two have already put on 21. The lead is 168.
Sibley to 50!
50th over: England 120-2 (Sibley 50, Root 12) There he goes! It has taken four Tests and a handful of promising starts, but Dom Sibley now gets to raise his bat for England with a half-century. Earlier in the Rabada over he moved to 48 with a delightful, Root-esque punch through cover point from the balls of his feet. That’s a much harder shot to play than it looks, especially along the ground. Later in the set he moves to 50 with a couple steered the other side of point. Very well done.
Updated
49th over: England 114-2 (Sibley 44, Root 12) Maharaj is not going to settle when bowling at Root, who is sweeping and shuffling and all the rest. And he makes contact on a poor delivery down the legside, helping it down to the fine leg rope. With those valuable runs in the bank, he kicks the last couple away. Fine work.
“You are the great-great (great?) nephew of Joseph Furphy!!!” says Peter Salmon. “Good lord. Such is Life is one of the greatest novels of all time. Unemployed at last! I spend far too much of my time forcing people to read it, especially in the UK where he’s not so known. I have a shelf next to my desk with all my favourite books and there it is. And your surname is his pseudonym - what is going on there? Surely when Sibley is batting is a perfect time for telling the story?”
Whoa! This is quite flattering. And yes - my dad, when changing his name (from Amezdroz - don’t ask), elected to go with Collins, with it Joseph’s pseudonym. Clever, ay? The reason the author used that was because his brother had the water tank business, which, decades later, led to the expression telling a furphy.
48th over: England 110-2 (Sibley 44, Root 8) Rabada to Root, that’s Box Office. He’s off strike from the first ball of the session, pulling for the third time in his short innings, getting one for it. Sibley is sturdy in defence as he was throughout that middle session, creeping up on a maiden Test half-century.
“I’m sure others have mentioned this, but if not, imagine if this were a 4 day test.” David Lewis, good afternoon to you. “It’d probably be petering out to a draw.
Eng don’t have enough time to build a sufficient lead to make it safe to declare and try to bowl SA out. SA have got to take effectively 8 wickets in a session and a half to then have sufficient time to chase down a target of 250 or so. Again unlikely.
But with a fifth day, all kinds of positive situations are available. But just think of all the extra time for ODIs 4 day tests give us.”
Yes, and the rhythm of it all. Right now, England would need to scamper for quick runs to justify a potential declaration. Instead, we are enjoying this absorbing battle, safe in the knowledge that there is time for it to play out organically.
Oh, the players are back on the field. That went quickly. Root is on strike and Rabada is back into the attack. PLAY!
“On the burning issue of both openers improving their best in each innings,” adds Tom Bowtell to his earlier query. “Warnapura and Wettimuny did it in Sri Lanka’s first Test in 1982, so it’s not unique!” Ah well! But good work digging it out.
“Five catches by a non-wicketkeeper does deserve an honours board mention,” says John Staruck. “But all five-for dismissals should count too, so run-outs are part of the picture.”
Unpopular opinion: honours board chat is a bit overdone? Was this a thing before 1993 at Lord’s with Mark Waugh and the sticky tape? I’m not so sure?
Robert Lewis laments that it wasn’t Wilkie Collins who I was named after. I’ll take what I can get in tangential links to esteemed authors given I have just one book to my name and it was a ghost-written political memoir, so it really wasn’t to my name at all. I best get on that in 2020. But with a new baby soon? Probably not.
“Having comprehensively mockered Denly,” begins Brian Withington (sorry about that), “is it possible that he is trying to become the next standard deviation king by stealing the crown if Greg Matthews (over 40)? If so, could I suggest he pitches his mean about ten-twenty runs higher?”
I’ll crunch the numbers and report back to Joe when he’s back. Dare to dream.
“Having followed you last night before bed and caught you again as I wake here in NE Brazil, I find myself wondering if you ever sleep or are you in training for the upcoming baby?” Cressida Evans, this is a very good point. I managed to fit in a trip across London to watch Dulwich Hamlet pile on six goals between stints yesterday too. Happy days. “Either way, thanks for the OBO and the Final Word. And massive thoughts to all your compatriots in these terrifying fires, am really conflicted about whether cricket should be played under these circs.”
Thanks for the kind words - that’s lovely. You’ll see I’ve popped in a cheeky link to TFW above, Geoff Lemon and my podcast. Give us a go, yeah? And yes - the fires at home, well, it’s all been said. But I’m glad this Test at the SCG has been utilised to raise so much money over the last few days. Guardian sport readers might be interested in the bat auction our old colleague Russell Jackson is running to raise further cash for bushfire relief. A bargin if you ask me - get on board!
Day 3 of the auction now under way. Current leading bid is $2000 from the very generous @anthonysexton - any advance on that would be wonderful. 👍🏏
— Russell Jackson (@rustyjacko) January 5, 2020
NB. Bidding ends 8pm whichever night the SCG Test ends. https://t.co/NbNPH7GTTN
Some clarification on Nortje. “Pronunciation of Nortje is like ‘Gnaw’ with the slightest southerly breeze of an r sound at the end - ever so slight - and then ‘kea’ as in IKEA.” Thanks to @BlackmansReview on twitter for clearing that up.
Ian Forth has some further thoughts on our four-day Test topic from yesterday. “Four day matches may free up days the schedule but deep down I believe administrators think they are more in tune with an era demanding increased gratification. This is wrong on two main counts. One, because it will have the opposite effect: South Africa would start shutting up shop about now and go ultra defensive in a 4 day game. But, secondly, it misunderstands its audience. Many people look to test cricket as an antidote to the pace of modern life (see also the success of yoga). I actually conducted the original research for the ECB back in 2001 which led to 20:20’s introduction. The supposition was that people were getting bored of cricket: the research showed they weren’t. They just wanted to watch a game which didn’t take all day when they should be with their family and they could get to after work. 20:20 was in many ways a necessary compromise for them.”
Great point about yoga and slowing down life in a world resembling a perpetual motion machine. There’s probably a column in that. Mind if I pinch it, mate?
“I hear tell that Sophie Winkleman has been married into the royal family,” reports Petra Dangle. Yes, I’ve seen that. Well played, her. “So quite what Prince Michael of Kent makes of the ribald Peep Show is perhaps anyone’s guess!”
Same applies, I guess, to the Queen when she watches The Crown and realises that Soph is playing her. I’m sure Her Maj is a member of the Dobby Club.
TEA: England 109-2
47th over: England 109-2 (Sibley 44, Root 7) Root stays busy in the final over before the tea break, immediately leaning into a reverse sweep at Maharaj and nailing it to third man for his first boundary. That’s the Joe Root we enjoy so much - brave, bold and classy. He picks off another single to finish his session, Sibley defending the rest. The lead is 155 as they walk off the field. Excellent cricket.
“Greetings from Hanoi where it has been drizzling on and off all day, though it is not cold.” Good to have you with us, Phil Keegan. The OBO community pretty much drafted the itinerary for my Hanoi visit last year. Loved it. “My Vietnamese girlfriend is poorly, my dog is sulking because he has only had one walk today and neither of them are showing the slightest interest in cricket. Such is life.”
My great-great (great?) uncle wrote Such is Life and he is the reason why my surname is Collins. A story for a quieter time, perhaps.
46th over: England 104-2 (Sibley 44, Root 2) Nortje bowls half an over to Sibley over the wicket before du Plessis gives him the all clear to go around the wicket with two catchers in close on the legside. Not quite Jardine clapping his hands, but the brief is clear. Sibley uses his bat in defence the does well to direct a tuck off his thigh pad beyond the leg gully and down to fine leg. Root was off the mark with a pull to start the over and has one more to see off here, du Plessis sending a second man out for the hook. It’s short, of course, and the skipper pulls again, taking another to midwicket. “This is a terrific contest,” concludes Athers. It sure is.
“Surely 5 catches in an innings should go up on the honours board?” suggests Jamie Woodward. “The contribution from Stokes was just as important as that from Anderson in the dismissal of SA.” Quite fair. It’d be a small board, though!
WICKET!
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) January 5, 2020
Oh dear. England well on top but then Denly gives his wicket away, holing out on the hook... A route back in for South Africa?
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45th over: England 101-2 (Sibley 43, Root 0) The game changes for Sibley now, having to take responsibility as the set man in this new partnership as tea approaches. He’s getting well forward to Maharaj, who is coming over the wicket. The spinner gets one to really go out of the footmarks, easily beating the edge.
44th over: England 101-2 (Sibley 43, Root 0) Earlier in the over, Rabada misfielded at mid-on, letting Denly pick up a couple and prompting a massive round of applause from the healthy away support as the board hit 100. As KP said on telly, the body language of the fielders showed how this was drifting. But a well-directed and quick bumper wasn’t resisted, a top edge bringing Denly’s downfall. Speaking of short stuff, Root has one ball to see and it is a rapid bouncer, the captain just getting his helmet out of the way. He shoots a smile Nortje’s way.
“What percentage of the Newlands crowd are English supporters?” asks Rob Nixon. “Is that a factor in raising England’s batting to these dizzying heights?”
Judging by the roar when the England 100 was raised in this over, I’m tipping about half? A wonderful tour to go on, especially the Cape Town and Port Elizabeth legs, with the magnificent Garden Route drive ahead of them this week.
WICKET! Denly c Pretorious b Nortje 31 (England 101-2)
Oh dear, just as England were increasing the pressure with the score moving beyond 100 and the lead nearing 150, Denly has holed out to long leg.
Updated
43rd over: England 99-1 (Sibley 43, Denly 29) Maharaj is sticking with his plan to Denly, over the wicket into the rough outside leg stump. But the Kent veteran is a model of concentration, defending and kicking. When the spinner misses his length, he’s straight onto the pull shot, to the man at deep backward square. du Plessis takes an age to set his field for the one delivery remaining at Sibley as Maharaj goes back over the wicket and the crowd are giving him some grief about it. This is why we can’t have 90 overs in a day, by he way. It’s defended.
“Just diverting briefly from England’s serene progress, did you catch any of the Nasser and Atherton interview segments with Joe Root recently?” I did see some of yesterday’s, Brian Withington. “Somewhat surprisingly candid stuff - and much more honest than the one Nasser did with Kevin ‘they were my mates’ Pietersen. Just saying.” Yep, was interesting telly; it’s impossible to dislike Joe. Whether that means he should remain captain is another question, but we’ll avoid that today.
42nd over: England 98-1 (Sibley 43, Denly 28) Norkje again - maybe that pronunciation is Nork-yeah? That’s what KP just said, which differs from what I was told last week by a South African colleague. Alas, he’s banging in at Sibley from round the wicket now, the opener getting on top of the bounce and working a single behind square first up. What a wonderful opportunity he has created for himself here. Denly wants nothing to do with the bouncer that follows, prompting a change of diretion back to over the wicket and wide of the crease. The No3 defends and defends. He’s now clocked up 100 balls in the middle. To finish, a careful cut shot behind point to the sweeper out there, keeping the strike.
“Morning from a rather pleasant Bogotá Adam.” Lovely, David Baillie. “Sterling stuff this, proper batting and pressing home an advantage - not quite sure I recognise this England side but I’m rather enjoying it. Ps, anyone pin Bogotá where I can catch the Chelsea 6-0 Forest later? Asking as a Forest fan.”
Not my area of expertise but I’m sure someone reading this can give you a steer.
41st over: England 96-1 (Sibley 42, Denly 27) Shot, Dom. Maharaj drops short, but not that short, and Sibley quickly gets into position to cut him away to the rope form the balls of his feet. No risk there. He backs it up easing one down the ground, Denly happy enough defending the rest of the over. Excellent batting.
40th over: England 90-1 (Sibley 37, Denly 27) Nortje (pronounced Nork-yay, if you were wondering) at Denly again and he’s very comfortable on the back foot when the shorter ball comes, once again pulling it to the sweeper. He has an impressive swivvel on him. Sibley does the rest. I haven’t got it to hand, but Denly’s record in Test cricket getting roughly to where he is in this innings is very useful. It reminds me of a brilliant stat about standard deviation. Guess who the batsman in Test history is who was the most consistent, as measured by the group of scores compared to his final batting average? Greg Matthews! The caveat was that the player had to have an average of 30, or something, so to rule out tailenders. I told him this a couple of years back and it is fair to say he was thrilled with this fact.
I see you were talking about University Challenge before I arrived. I trust we all saw Sophie Winkleman (Peep Show’s Big Suze) on the show last week? When doing the overnight OBOs for Australia v New Zealand, as I am this week, I treat myself to an episode during the lunch break each day. This is my life.
39th over: England 89-1 (Sibley 37, Denly 26) Denly continues to build in confidence against Majarah, flicking against the spin to begin, Sibley then following suit. The former makes contact with his sweep this time around too, adding another. Dare I say, it’s drifting for the Proteas. England’s lead is 135.
“Good early afternoon.” And to you, Tom Bowtell. “I note that Crawley and Sibley have both beaten their top score in the first and second innings of this match. This feels like an uncommon occurrence for openers and I’m currently seeking the last instance. Any help from OBO statters much appreciated.”
Stattos, start your engines.
38th over: England 86-1 (Sibley 36, Denly 24) Nortje replaces Rabada, presenting a slightly quicker challenge for the two set England batsmen. What a production line of talented fast bowlers the Proteas have had over the last decade, even with Abbott and Olivier now doing their thing in the county championship as Kolpaks. But it’s another productive over for the visitors, Sibley pushing to point and Denly pulling along the carpet for a couple. This is such an important hour.
“Good question just posed by Mark Nicholas,” says Ian Sargeant. “Is this a hard watch or a fascinating watch. My answer: it’s more the latter now you’ve stopped talking Mark.” Now, now! But yes, this feels on the proverbial knife edge.
Updated
37th over: England 82-1 (Denly 22, Sibley 35) Maharaj is working hard outside Denly’s leg stump from over the wicket, with ample rough to aim at. He has a pop at a sweep when the spinner slightly overpitches but fails to make contact. A proper contest between these two. Nasser makes a great point on telly: imagine this was a four-day Test. It would totally mess with the rhythm of this match.
Amit Ghosh is certain I’ve put the mockers on England with my opening post. “It’s time for me to hide behind the sofa as the inevitable carnage ensues.” You’re right. I’ve made a meal of Mitch Marsh’s career with my positive commentary on him.
36th over: England 82-1 (Denly 22, Sibley 35) Rabada continues and Denly nearly gives him a chance in his follow through. It didn’t quite carry to the big quick’s right hand - and would have taken something very special to complete it even if it did - but something to ooh and aah about for the hosts all the same. The No3 is straight back on the job, pulling with authority to the sweeper at midwicket. Another well-struck drive to finish, stopped by a diving Philander at mid-on
Thanks, Rob. What is this calm at the crease? This careful accumulation? England have added 32 runs in the hour since lunch, advancing their lead to 127. They aren’t going to rock up with a decimated squad and win this, are they? I’m looking forward to your company through the rest of the afternoon. Do drop me a line.
Drinks That’s it from me – Adam Collins will take you through the rest of the day you. You can email him at Adam.Collins.Casual@theguardian.com or tweet @collinsadam.
I’ll leave you with another Mac Millings XI – bye!
“In these increasingly grim times, it’s important to remember the things that can get us through them - booze, cricket, booze, and friends,” he says. “To celebrate two out of the four, I present my all-time Friendship XI, and, if I may, I’d like to dedicate it to one of my oldest and best friends, Carl Jones, who is in the crowd at the Test as we speak, with his lovely wife, Steph. It’s possible they’ve been drinking:
- Inzamam-ul-Haquaintance
- Doug Insoulmate
- Percy Friender
- Alter Trego
- Gavin Ewingman
- Hansie Crony
- Moeen Ally
- Bishan Buddy
- Palan Mullally
- Pat Chummins
- Ryan Sidekickbottom
Updated
34th over: England 81-1 (Sibley 35, Denly 21) Maharaj moves back over the wicket to Sibley, who waves him through the covers for a single. This is now the highest score of his burgeoning Test career, and his longest innings as well. If England aren’t careful, they could end up with a decent top three.
“Good afternoon from Leiden,” says Jaas Maags. “I do not know why Sibley is sometimes critiqued due to the slow scoring. He does not give it away.”
Agreed. He’s exactly what England need.
33rd over: England 79-1 (Sibley 34, Denly 20) Sibley times a Rabada half-volley through extra cover - no, that’s not a misprint - for four to bring up an assured fifty partnership with Denly. Sibley is into the thirties for the second time into the match. Denly then agrees to a slightly dodgy run on a misfield, but he’s home before the throw from mid-off whistles past the stumps. England are going good guns and lead by 125.
33rd over: England 74-1 (Sibley 29, Denly 20) Another over-the-wicket maiden from Maharaj to Denly. England would rather be positive against him, but ultimately they are in control of the match and it’s South Africa who are on the defensive.
32nd over: England 74-1 (Sibley 29, Denly 20) Sibley, withdrawing his bat at the last second, is half beaten by Rabada. Six more dot balls to Sibley, also known in some cultures as a maiden.
“Good day, young Rob,” says Petra Dangle. “There are some wonderful candidates to address the gender disparity on the fictional England cricket University team, but one cannot plump for a finer participant than dear Katherine Helen Brunt, a great ambassador for those of us who brandish the willow!”
I’d like to see her against Paxman as well.
31st over: England 74-1 (Sibley 29, Denly 20) Maharaj bowls over the wicket to Denly, who misses an attempted sweep outside leg stump. Everything else is kicked away, so it’s anotehr maiden. South Africa’s plan is to bore somebody out and then go for Joe Root’s head. England lead by 120.
“At the risk of earning the wrath of the Finedon Massif, it has to be pointed out that the honourable former keyboardist Rev. Richard Coles and his University of Leeds team won the Christmas University Challenge,” says Tim Maitland. “It’’s the Freight Rover Trophy of University Challenges. PS I used to waste 1/4” tape interviewing Gower back in his Leicestershire days and he could be interesting on more topics than any other sports personality I’ve met (other than Brian Clough, but Cloughie didn’t need to know anything about the subject to have an opinion on it). Gower should clearly be captain.”
30th over: England 74-1 (Sibley 29, Denly 20) Kagiso Rabada replaces Vernon Philander, who bowled a spell of 5-4-1-0, at the Wynberg End. A loose, uppish drive from Denly goes between cover and mid-off for a couple, and another single takes him into the tremulous twirties. He’s been dismissed seven times between 20 and 39 in his short Test career.
29th over: England 71-1 (Sibley 29, Denly 17) Maharaj moves over the wicket to Sibley, bowling into the rough outside leg stump. Sibley kicks everything away, and it’s a maiden. That was fun.
28th over: England 71-1 (Sibley 29, Denly 17) Denly has now reached double figures in 20 of his 23 innings, which is extremely good, but only three of those have exceeded 53. He is the cricketer I dreamed of being. I’m serious. Whenever I used to dream about batting for England, usually against Brett Lee for some reason, I always made resourceful 20s and 30s rather than glorious hundreds. You don’t need to be Freud, do you.
“How about Zafar Ansari for University Challenge?” says Matt Emerson. “Everyone mentioned is over the age of 40 so they’ll need a youngster to answer the Taylor Swift questions...”
27th over: England 71-1 (Sibley 29, Denly 17) Maharaj is too straight to Sibley, who flicks him behind square for four. A couple of singles make it another good over for England, who have been noticeably more positive against Maharaj today.
“I’m going to stick my hand up for KP this instance (amongst a very enjoyable cadre on TalkSport),” says Guy Hornsby. “I see a lot of parallels with Warnie too, in that there’s a great cricket brain in there, fighting to get some airtime from its own ego. When it does, it’s fantastic stuff, even if the hyperbole can’t always tone itself down enough. I think the excellent, and surprisingly far less banter-y TalkSport team keeps him in check, too. I certainly have his book on my list, but I’m currently engrossed in the contradictory character of a childhood hero, The Judge.”
Ah, cheers. He’s a good egg.
Updated
26th over: England 65-1 (Sibley 24, Denly 16) Denly likes to bat out of his crease against Philander, so de Kock has come up to the stumps. Intriguing stuff. Philander bowls his third consecutive maiden, which gives him figures of 8-5-7-0.
25th over: England 65-1 (Sibley 24, Denly 16) Denly makes room to chip Maharaj over extra cover for three, another elegant and positive stroke. Sibley, who looks uncomfortable against left-arm spin, gets away with a couple of edges later in the over. The first fell short of du Plessis at slip, the second went wide of him for four.
24th over: England 58-1 (Sibley 20, Denly 13) Sibley gives extremely good dot ball, and there are six more in that Philander over. England desperately need an opener who can bat time, and Sibley is looking a little better with every Test. This is only his fourth, which shows how pathetic it was to suggest he should be dropped for the series.
“Good morning, Rob,” says Bill Hargreaves. “Perennial question: how much do you think is enough?”
I’d say 250 should be enough, 300 would almost certainly be enough, and 400 would be time to dance like nobody’s watching.
23rd over: England 58-1 (Sibley 20, Denly 13) There goes Denly, dancing down the track to drive Maharaj down the ground for four. There’s a man at wide long off, but it was a safe shot provided Denly connected properly. He did.
22nd over: England 53-1 (Sibley 19, Denly 9) “On the University Challenge question, I’ve no specific suggestions,” says Geoff Wignall, “but some surprise that all those mentioned come from the men’s team. Very 1961.”
I don’t really know who are the most erudite women’s cricketers, but I’d argue that’s due to limited exposure rather than me being a big old sexist. Then again, I suppose I would say that.
21st over: England 53-1 (Sibley 19, Denly 9) Maharaj starts at the Less Helpful End with a maiden to Sibley. England will want to get after him, even if it’s just with three or four singles an over, but that’s often easier said than done.
“Morning Rob,” says Robert Blanchard. “Since the Cricketers’ University Challenge event is entirely fictional, shouldn’t players from any era qualify? I would like to nominate Lord Peter Wimsey.”
If we’re going down that road, let’s enliven proceedings with the inclusion of Harry Paget Flashman. I’d like to hear his exchanges with Paxman.
20th over: England 53-1 (Sibley 19, Denly 9) Vernon Philander starts after tea, and Sibley shovels him off the pads for a single. South Africa need quick wickets plural - and they almost get the first one when Denly flicks on the bounce to Elgar at short midwicket.
“I wonder if the stat about increasing slip catches is an anomaly,” says Michael Anderson. “Perhaps 13 cases is too small a sample size to be significant. If we look at catches in a match instead of in an innings, of the 40 who have taken more than six catches, 10 have been in the last decade. That’s only 25% of overall total, instead of 54% for five catches in an innings. This study shows percentage of catches as form of dismissal has remained pretty much constant from 1877-2012. Would be interesting if anyone can find similar stats from 2012 onwards...”
Lunchtime reading
Emma John joins Virat Kohli at the top of the class.
Lunch That was a near-perfect session for England. Jimmy Anderson took the last two South African wickets with the minimum of fuss before England extended their lead to a very useful 98. They lost Zak Crawley for a breezy 25, but that was the only downside. See you in half an hour for the afternoon session.
19th over: England 52-1 (Sibley 18, Denly 9) Maharaj bowls the final over of the session to Denly, who was bowled by an arm ball in the first innings. His defence is much tighter in that over, and it’s a maiden. That’s lunch!
18th over: England 52-1 (Sibley 18, Denly 9) Sibley is beaten by a beauty from Nortje, which straightened sharply after being delivered from wider on the crease. But - baby steps department - he has now faced at least 50 balls in the last three Test innings. He has certainly got the temperament of a Test batsman.
“Hi Rob,” says Gavin Ball. “Re: increasing slip catches, how about DRS inclining more (defensive) shots being played to balls on off stump?”
Yes, that makes sense, certainly against the spinners.
Updated
17th over: England 52-1 (Sibley 18, Denly 9) An attempted yorker from Pretorius is clipped through midwicket for four by Pretorius. As Nasser notes on Sky, South Africa have lost their discipline in the last half hour, so the lunch break will come at a good time. It’s two overs away.
16th over: England 48-1 (Sibley 18, Denly 5) Nortje strays onto the hip of Sibley, who flicks him for four more. He is playing nicely, making South Africa bowl to him. Rabada aside, they have been a bit subdued in the field. England lead by 94.
“Re: the question about University Challenge in the 10th over,” begins Pete Salmon, “can I put in a late vote for C B Fry. His wiki page is a peach, very intelligent, and also ‘He reputedly turned down the throne of Albania. In later life, he suffered mental health problems, but even well into his seventies he claimed he was still able to perform his party trick: leaping from a stationary position backwards onto a mantelpiece’ and ‘He failed to persuade von Ribbentrop that Nazi Germany should take up cricket to Test level.’ Definitely the man for the task.”
I thought we were only talking about live, living cricketers. CB Fry would have been perfect had he not died in 1956. From memory, University Challenge didn’t start until 21 September 1962, so he missed it.
Updated
15th over: England 43-1 (Sibley 14, Denly 4) Pretorius replaces Rabada (7-2-25-1) and has an LBW shout against Sibley turned down. That was extremely optimistic, especially as the ball hit Sibley on the elbow. Sibley gets his second boundary later in the over, muscling a full ball from Pretorius through midwicket.
Updated
14th over: England 39-1 (Sibley 10, Denly 4) “On the list of those with five outfield caches in an innings, seven of the 13 have occurred in the last 10 years. What was so bad about slip fielding before that?”
That’s an excellent spot. I’m quite surprised because slip catching feels like the area of fielding that has improved the least in modern times. Off the top of my head, I can offer only one half-arsed theory: there are fewer slips these days, so you might have a second slip taking a diving catch that would previously have gone to third.
13th over: England 38-1 (Sibley 9, Denly 4) This is the seventh over of Rabada’s spell. I’m sure he would have come off had he not taken that Crawley wicket. His first ball is too straight, allowing Sibley to flick to fine leg for his first boundary, and then Denly gets off the mark with a flowing off-drive for four. England lead by 84.
“I dipped into the radio commentary just before your words about Pietersen and caught the other extreme of his commentating talents,” says Peter Gibbs. “Some of it would not be out of place in the workshop improv stage of a Christopher Guest movie, only to be dismissed by Fred Willard as too surreal even for him. FWIW...it’s probably just me. He might be a batting geek but I could only listen for a moment before my teeth started to grind.”
The evidence of my inbox suggests it’s definitely not just you. I suspect he’ll always be excruciatingly gauche at times, but I do love hearing him talk about the mechanics of batting.
12th over: England 29-1 (Sibley 4, Denly 0) A superb short ball from Nortje raps Sibley on the glove, with the ball looping to safety on the leg side. Sibley, since you asked, has a strike rate of 30.61 in his short Test career, which is 0.01 ahead of Chris Tavare’s. I don’t care, I love it.
Updated
11th over: England 28-1 (Sibley 3, Denly 0) “Hi Rob,” says Ian Forth. “I’ve just had a fossick on Statsguru. It appears Sir Richard Hadlee is the oldest post-war quick to take a Test five-for. He was 39 years and 2 days of age. If anyone could surpass him, you’d think it would be Anderson.”
Indeed. I certainly think Anderson, like Hadlee, will play Test cricket in his forties. I think Cricinfo’s Andrew Miller was the first to compare them a few years back – talented tearaway becomes ageless interrogator - and the observation looks more profound with ever passing year.
Updated
WICKET! England 28-1 (Crawley c de Kock b Rabada 25)
Crawley’s jaunty cameo is over. He was tempted into the drive by a full delivery from Rabada and snicked it to the right of de Kock, who dived in front of first slip to take a good catch. South Africa needed that.
Updated
10th over: England 27-0 (Crawley 25, Sibley 2) Anrich Nortje replaces Philander. Crawley, driving loosely outside off stump, edges his first ball wide of the slips for four. The short ball is coming, everybody knows it, and when it does Crawley pulls crisply through midwicket for a couple.
He’s beaten by the next delivery, wafting outside off stump again. There are rough edges, as with all 21-year-old batsman, but there’s a lot to like about Crawley.
“Good morning Rob,” says Kim Thonger. “As a resident of Finedon can I just say how proud we all are of our very wonderful Rev Richard Coles for bringing the University Challenge trophy home for us, especially as he’s done so with great dignity during his period of mourning for Rev David Coles who shall be greatly missed. Now, who should represent an England cricket University Challenge team? Brearley should clearly be captain, perhaps with Victor Marks by his side? Nominations for two more team members (and a reserve please in case of a nasty virus going round).”
Good question. How about two from David Gower, Mark Butcher, Ed Smith, Mike Selvey and Mike Atherton?
9th over: England 21-0 (Crawley 19, Sibley 2) Rabada rips a lifter past Sibley’s outside edge. It’s another maiden, though that won’t bother Sibley. He has 2 from 26 balls.
8th over: England 21-0 (Crawley 19, Sibley 2) Crawley faces Philander for the first in this innings. After a few confident defensive strokes and leaves, he crashes a full ball through midwicket for four. That’s another excellent shot.
“The catch with the idea in the 4th over is that there is a grey area when it comes to dismissals,” says Abhijato Sensarma. “What will happen if someone is bowled off a no-ball, or caught, or leg before? Surely you can’t give that out. But the delivery will still be a legitimate one in this proposal, so how does that work? Also, who is stopping a pacer running down to the middle of the pitch during his run-up? In the death overs, a single penalty run would be worth it to deliver such a ball.”
Any no-ball that takes a wicket would be delivered again. But your second point, about bowlers doing unpleasant things to the spirit of the law, is a good one. I’d like to think about it a bit more, which is not possible the noo.
7th over: England 17-0 (Crawley 15, Sibley 2) With Crawley expecting more short stuff, Rabada tries to nail him with a sucker yorker. It turns into a low full toss, however, and Crawley flicks it fine for four. Crawley, like Sibley, seems to have an impressively equable temperament.
“Morning Rob,” says David Horn. “The catch to Matt Emerson’s idea is that it’s straightforward, free to implement, and makes zero more dollars for The Man. It doesn’t stand a chance.”
6th over: England 12-0 (Crawley 10, Sibley 2) After a sluggish start, South Africa are starting to threaten. Sibley, offering no stroke, survives an LBW appeal from Philander. It was far too high. Maharaj then save four with a fine diving stop at mid-off.
“I had a dream last night (and I just know you want to hear all about it) that I was playing football with Glenn McGrath and I told him to watch his step for balls,” says Niall Mullen. “If I didn’t know better I’d say my subconscious was trying to tell me I’ve been watching too much sport. But that can’t be right, can it?”
The pedant in me, who is caged by frail and fragile bars, reckons you haven’t been watching enough: McGrath was playing touch-rugby, wasn’t he?
5th over: England 12-0 (Crawley 10, Sibley 2) Crawley misses an attempted pull at Rabada, with ball deflecting off his arm and into the grille. There’s a break in play while the physio gives him the once-over, but he’s fine. Rabada is starting to work him over, however, and later in the over he thumps Crawley on the front arm with another short ball.
Terrific bowling from Rabada, who walks down the track to offer a few observations on Crawley’s technique. “This could be a problem,” says KP of Crawley’s sudden vulnerability to the short ball, “and it’s not the problem you want in international cricket.”
Updated
4th over: England 12-0 (Crawley 10, Sibley 2) Sibley is in the interrogation room, with Philander leading the AC-12 investigation into his off-side technique. He shovels Philander behind square for a couple to get off the mark. These two young England openers have started nicely.
“Morning Rob, morning everyone,” says Matt Emerson. “An easier solution to no balls would be for the fourth umpire (who does very little during play) to monitor and then relay the number of no balls to the umpire at the end of each over. He then signals how many runs are to be added. No extra balls, which saves time, but it still penalises the bowler and changes their behaviour. Now let’s never talk of this again.”
I quite like that idea. What’s the catch? There’s always a catch.
3rd over: England 10-0 (Crawley 10, Sibley 0) “That’s beautiful, that’s really good,” says Kevin Pietersen on commentary as Zak Crawley defends assertively against Kagiso Rabada. “You can still intimidate a bowler and own that space by playing the most amazing defensive shot, where the ball goes straight off the middle of your bat to mid-off.”
For all his foibles, KP is an extremely good analyst. You could never accuse him of just relying on his genius. As he showed in this brilliant book, he’s an unashamed batting geek.
2nd over: England 8-0 (Crawley 8, Sibley 0) Here’s Vern, for the last time on his home ground. His first over is immaculate in its accuracy, but there’s no real movement and Sibley defends comfortably. A maiden.
“A lead, a palpable lead!” weeps Brian Withington. “Giddy stuff from England - what can possibly go wrong from here? In other rhetorical questions, what are the chances of West Ham ignominiously folding at Gillingham this evening?”
Sorry, Ashley Giles has banned all football chat on the OBO.
1st over: England 8-0 (Crawley 8, Sibley 0) Kagiso Rabada takes the first over, presumably so that Vernon Philander can bowl from the favourable Wynberg End. Crawley gets his first boundary in Test cricket with a confident, wristy clip through midwicket, and his second with a lovely drive through mid-off. Two lovely strokes, those, but he gets carried away and tries to drive another off the last delivery. He dragged the ball onto the pad and just wide of the stumps.
Stokes’s five-for equals the Test record for an outfielder. They were all difficult catches, too. He is, in the parlance of our time, gloriously backasswards.
“Good morning,” says John Starbuck. “As has been hinted before, cricket should investigate the tennis Hawkeye system and consider installing a gizmo which records the front foot landing and beeps if it’s over the line. There are, admittedly, problems, in that (a) the field of play is so much larger that opportunities for accidents are increased (e.g. damage by the heavy roller) (b) the beep has to be very loud, especially if the crowd are in singing mood (c) it’s all managed remotely by the fifth umpire. Alternatively, we could ditch the present system and revert to a back-foot rule.”
Oh lord, not a return to Rorke’s Drag. But I agree about technology. I’m sure they’ll find a way in the next few centur- sorry, years.
England lead by 46 runs That was an exceptional bowling performance, led by the inevitable Jimmy Anderson: he ends with figures 19-6-40-5. That’s his 28th five-for in Test cricket. He turns 38 this year.
WICKET! South Africa 223 all out (Nortje c Stokes b Anderson 4)
Five wickets for Anderson - and five catches for Ben Stokes. Nortje, pushed back by a couple of bouncers, edged a big drive and was beautifully taken, goalkeeper-style, by Stokes at second slip.
Updated
88th over: South Africa 222-9 (Philander 16, Nortje 4) A quiet over, one from it. Nortje looks very comfortable.
87th over: South Africa 221-9 (Philander 15, Nortje 4) Pope at gully misses a run-out chance, with Nortje well short of his ground. Nortje survives the remainder of Anderson’s over without much difficulty, flicking a boundary over square leg to get off the mark. South Africa usually bat deep - Adelaide 1998 might be the strongest lower order in Test history - and Nortje is a terrific No11.
86th over: South Africa 216-9 (Philander 14, Nortje 0) Philander decides it’s time to slog, which is slightly surprising given the excellence of Nortje’s batting in the first Test. He misses with swipes at Broad’s first two deliveries before taking a single off the fifth.
“Mike Waters is close,” says Adam Hillmann, “but the real reason umpires have been instructed to ignore no-balls is that the ICC can’t think of any other way to increase the over rate.”
Ha. It’s okay, they’ve cracked that problem – they’re going to increase it to 98.
85th over: South Africa 215-9 (Philander 13, Nortje 0) Jimmy Anderson took an ODI hat-trick 17 years ago, but he hasn’t managed one in Tests. And he still hasn’t: Nortje leaves the hat-trick ball outside off stump. But he does have figures of 17-6-34-4. He probably wouldn’t have played had Jofra Archer been fit.
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WICKET! South Africa 215-9 (Rabada c Buttler b Anderson 0)
Jimmy Anderson is on a two-day hat-trick! Kagiso Rabada goes first ball, thin-edging an immaculate delivery through to Buttler. No looseners here.
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Jimmy Anderson will open the bowling. He has two balls of his 17th over remaining, having taken the wicket of Keshav Maharaj last night.
“Morning Rob,” says Mike Waters. “Could there be any credibility in the theory that the ICC have instructed their umpires to call as few no balls as possible as a way to deter the spot betting market, and by extension the illicit payments to players to bowl them on demand?”
That’s a cracking conspiracy theory, but I suspect there’s approximately 0.00000000000001 per cent chance of it being true.
A bit of pre-play reading
Preamble
Morning. South Africa and England are perfect dance partners. In the last 28 years, since South Africa’s readmission to Test cricket, they have been as evenly matched as any teams in the world: 15 wins to England, 16 to South Africa and four series victories apiece.
Usually, contrasting styles make for the best fights. With these two, it’s the similarities - quality seam bowling, lively pitches, an unusual mixture of toughness and insecurity - that have made the matches so compelling. One team rarely gets away from the other, particularly in the first innings, and that has led to many lowish-scoring minor classics: The Oval 1994, Headingley 1998, Lord’s 2012.
And, perhaps, Cape Town 2020. South Africa will resume on 215 for eight, a deficit of 54, after a terrific bowling performance from England - and an even better catching display from Ben Stokes - on the second day. Not for the last time, the bowlers rescued the batsmen from the stocks.
On a dry wicket, a first-innings lead would make England strongish favourites to level the series. But we should assume the square root of bugger all until those last two wickets are taken. The Ghost of Cape Town past, in this case an apparition of a frog in a blender, is a reminder that an exemplary bowling performance can quickly be undone.
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