New look Adelaide Oval hosts old look tour match

England XI 8/288 dec (78.3 ov, P Collingwood 94, I Bell 61) v South Australia 0/26 (9ov)
Tour match D 1/3 at Adelaide Oval

The new western stand at the Adelaide Oval was opened to SACA members, who have underwritten its construction, for the first time today on Day 1 of the SA - England tour match. There is much to admire about it, not least the elevated viewing and the access options: lifts and escalators supplement the stairs. No doubt this latter will appeal to the less agile members, whose ranks I may eventually join, though having climbed several times from ground level to the upper tier (counting 105 steps on one occasion) without any shortness of breath I'm resisting that classification for now.

There are some unusual features: for example incoming batsmen enter from the centre of the stand while dismissed ones and, at the intervals, each team, leave through separate tunnels.

Now to the match itself. Andrew Strauss won the toss, chose to bat and initially struggled against Peter George before Alistair Cook, a form seeking (but not finding) 32, and Kevin Pietersen, whose 33 showed glimpses of his best (and worst) held things up for a while.

It was a warm, some would say hot, day with temperatures in the low 30s despite cloud cover which may have helped the bowlers. Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood ("Collingwod" as the scoreboard dubbed him) took the initiative in the middle session and gradually got on top of what, George and perhaps Tim Lang (a bowler in the Max Walker style) apart, was essentially a modest attack.

Their 131 for the 5th wicket took England to a modestly respectable position, which could have been stronger given the superiority the bat had over the ball after tea. Collingwood looked set for a century when when at 226 he was caught in the gully for 94/113 b (1x6, 13x4) from a loose stroke while Bell continued in mainly watchful mode before being bowled for 61/117b ((9x4). 6/255.

Three days isn't really enough time to force a result without declarations This happened in the WA tour match . Strauss followed the convention and declared at 8/288, giving his bowlers 9 overs at the Redbacks, whose openers survived until stumps.

Another declaration tomorrow? Very likely I'd say.

Scorecard

England hold on once again for draw : T3 D5

South Africa 293 and 7/447d drew with England 273 and 9/296 (141 ov, I Bell 78, A Cook 55): T3 D5 at Cape Town

I turned in at tea time (ie nudging midnight in these parts) when Paul Collingwood 39* and Ian Bell 68* looked well set and, despite some hostile South African bowling from Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, England 5/230 looked to be heading for a comfortable draw.

Draw it was but comfortable it wasn't. I woke to watch the highlights and to discover that the South Africans had made a final effort which had almost succeeded. For the second time in three Tests England, in the person of Graham Onions, held on for a draw, and the home side were one good (or lucky) ball away from victory. Not that they didn't bowl many good balls, just not one that was good enough. In the last over Morne Morkel appeared to have Onions caught behind but replays showed that it brushed his sleeve not his bat (and vindicated the decision of the recently much maligned umpire Harper)

A 1-0 series lead is not a fair reflection of the merits of the two sides but that's the way Test cricket works. Australia couldn't force a win at Cardiff in T1 of last year's Ashes, and their failure seemed, just as the get out of jail draw at Centurion in T1 did, to inspire England to regroup and win the next Test.

There's a few days before the last Test begins and it will be very interesting to see if and how the South Africans can restore their self-belief. The team that they fielded at Newlands had no major weaknesses, though there will be some pondering about the value of Ashwell Prince and Paul Harris. England are not infallible either, as the large South African second innings showed, and Kevin Pietersen is overdue for a mid-range let alone a big score.


Scorecard

Sunshine transforms Durban and England batting: T2 D3

England 5/386 (123 ov, A Cook 118, P Collingwood 91, M Bell 55*) lead South Africa 343 on first innings by 43 runs with 5 first innings in hand: T1 D3 at Durban.

The sun came out at Durban, helping to change the nature of the pitch and the match. Some doughty batting from Alistair Cook 118/263b (11x4) and Paul Collingwood 91/215b (7x4) put England well on the road to a first innings lead. In the last session Ian Bell overcame some initial discomfort against Morne Morkel to push the total along with a fluent 55*/84b (1x6, 5x4).

Good as the English batting was, the South African bowling contributed to this. Morkel excepted, it looked ordinary for most of the time. On the evidence of the series to date Makhaya Ntini is not worth his place. On D3 he was better than on D2 but rarely looked more than steady. He has an admirable record but there are other considerations which the selectors will bear in mind when the team for the next Test is chosen. Paul Harris also bowled (to continue in damn-with-faint-praise vein) steadily, yet his 1/92 from 23 ov didn't look as impressive as J P Duminy's 1/39 from 13. Most batters can survive against him by watchful waiting, waiting that is for the far from uncommon loose balls.

With three days gone and the England first innings still in progress a draw looks the likeliest result, and the one which South Africa is probably already resigned to. An England win isn't out of the question but its 4-specialist-bowler attack will need to lift against the solid and deep South African batting, not to mention the pitch.

Scorecard