Posted:
38th over: WICKET - Mahmood b Hall 0, Eng 121-8
Right, Terry Rhodes - how d'you want me to describe this? Saj goes for a golden quacker, jabbing down late on another in-dipper and playing on. Sure he's saving his energy to take 7-15 in an hour or so's time. 37th over: Eng 121-7
Maiden from Nel, and Andre is distraught not to get amongst it. 36th over: WICKET - Nixon c Boucher b Hall 1, Eng 121-7
...but not for long - Hall angles one across The Badger, there's a skinny nick and Boucher's throwing it skywards in the blink of an eye. Three wickets to Hall, and England's hopes rest with Ravi, Saj, Monty and Jimmy. 36th over: WICKET - Flintoff b Hall 5, Eng 119-6
Woe, calamity and more woe - Fred is clean-bowled by an in-nipper from Hall. He tried to drive, left an open gate the size of barn door and his middle stump is left at 45 degrees. It's the Nicko and Bopara show again... 35th over: Eng 119-5
England's trumpeter plays a jaunty version of "Is She Really Going Out With Him," as Bopara and Flintoff take a single apiece off the snarling Nel. 34th over: WICKET - Collingwood lbw Hall 30, Eng 115-5
Graeme Smith's wagging his finger like Dennis Taylor at the Crucible in 1985 - another bowling change has done the bizzo. Colly misses a straight one from Hall and England, much like the Knopfler brothers, are in dire straits. 33rd over: WICKET - Strauss c Smith b Kallis 46, Eng 111-4
The break and Nelson do for Strauss - the left-hander tries to cut Kallis but succeeds only in finding Graeme Smith at second slip. Freddie is forced from his slumber in the stands. Can the big man return to form at the most crucial of times? 32nd over: Eng 110-3
Four dabbed singles off Pollock, and England dawdle to the drinks break. 31st over: Eng 106-3
At the current rate, England will make 170. In the Greenidge and Haynes Stand, a man in a checked shirt who looks a little like Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips is fast asleep, his head lolling onto his chest. 30th over: Eng 104-3
Uh-oh - Pollock's back on, and the wheels sink a little deeper. On the England balcony, Andrew Flintoff is laughing at an anecdote told by Stuart Broad. Monty, staring into the middle distance like a Vietnam vet, is impassive. 29th over: Eng 102-3
Single to Strauss off Kallis, and England's wagon wheel are stuck in the South African mud. 28th over: Eng 101-3
Colly loosens the shackles with one of those shovel-flips he invented in Australia - the ball pitches full outside off, and he bottom-hands it past his left hip for a very cheeky four. Gatts has disappeared - probably to knock out a few sit-ups before lunch.
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Right, Terry Rhodes - how d'you want me to describe this? Saj goes for a golden quacker, jabbing down late on another in-dipper and playing on. Sure he's saving his energy to take 7-15 in an hour or so's time. 37th over: Eng 121-7
Maiden from Nel, and Andre is distraught not to get amongst it. 36th over: WICKET - Nixon c Boucher b Hall 1, Eng 121-7
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...but not for long - Hall angles one across The Badger, there's a skinny nick and Boucher's throwing it skywards in the blink of an eye. Three wickets to Hall, and England's hopes rest with Ravi, Saj, Monty and Jimmy. 36th over: WICKET - Flintoff b Hall 5, Eng 119-6
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Woe, calamity and more woe - Fred is clean-bowled by an in-nipper from Hall. He tried to drive, left an open gate the size of barn door and his middle stump is left at 45 degrees. It's the Nicko and Bopara show again... 35th over: Eng 119-5
England's trumpeter plays a jaunty version of "Is She Really Going Out With Him," as Bopara and Flintoff take a single apiece off the snarling Nel. 34th over: WICKET - Collingwood lbw Hall 30, Eng 115-5
| |
Graeme Smith's wagging his finger like Dennis Taylor at the Crucible in 1985 - another bowling change has done the bizzo. Colly misses a straight one from Hall and England, much like the Knopfler brothers, are in dire straits. 33rd over: WICKET - Strauss c Smith b Kallis 46, Eng 111-4
| |
The break and Nelson do for Strauss - the left-hander tries to cut Kallis but succeeds only in finding Graeme Smith at second slip. Freddie is forced from his slumber in the stands. Can the big man return to form at the most crucial of times? 32nd over: Eng 110-3
Four dabbed singles off Pollock, and England dawdle to the drinks break. 31st over: Eng 106-3
At the current rate, England will make 170. In the Greenidge and Haynes Stand, a man in a checked shirt who looks a little like Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips is fast asleep, his head lolling onto his chest. 30th over: Eng 104-3
Uh-oh - Pollock's back on, and the wheels sink a little deeper. On the England balcony, Andrew Flintoff is laughing at an anecdote told by Stuart Broad. Monty, staring into the middle distance like a Vietnam vet, is impassive. 29th over: Eng 102-3
Single to Strauss off Kallis, and England's wagon wheel are stuck in the South African mud. 28th over: Eng 101-3
Colly loosens the shackles with one of those shovel-flips he invented in Australia - the ball pitches full outside off, and he bottom-hands it past his left hip for a very cheeky four. Gatts has disappeared - probably to knock out a few sit-ups before lunch.
27th over: Eng 95-3
Kallis kontinues, and just two singles.
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