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Australia rue missed opportunities as top three squander starts

Alex Malcolm05-Jan-2022Australia’s quest for another Ashes whitewash could well be washed away by Sydney’s weather after just 46.5 overs were bowled on the opening day at the SCG with rain interrupting play four times and ultimately ending the day prematurely.In between times, England put in an improved bowling performance on a good batting surface with Australia’s top three all squandering starts. James Anderson, Mark Wood and Stuart Broad all picked up important scalps with Anderson and Wood producing a superb spell with a changed ball late in the afternoon to shift the momentum of the day.More rain is forecast to fall over the coming days in Sydney. Australia will be left frustrated not only with the weather but the wasted opportunities. Marcus Harris got started for the third consecutive innings in this series and looked completely at ease but now has just one half-century to show for it after nicking Anderson to slip for 38. David Warner also looked in superb touch but fell to a loose drive off Broad, while England finally might have found a weak point in Marnus Labuschagne’s game with Wood finding his outside edge for the second straight innings after he had compiled a composed 28 on one of his most prolific grounds in Test cricket.Rain ruined the opening session of the day. The toss and the first delivery were both delayed by 30 minutes. Once the pitch was unveiled from under the covers a distinct tinge of green did nothing to deter Australia captain Pat Cummins from batting first after winning the toss. England skipper Joe Root said he would have done the same.England didn’t get much of a chance to test out that grass as just 12.3 overs were bowled prior to lunch with rain interrupting play twice. Warner and Harris were untroubled, reaching 30 without loss at the break.Warner looked sharp post-lunch moving to 30 himself with six boundaries. He punished a number of deliveries overpitched as England’s seamers had trouble finding a consistent length. He and Harris combined for their second successive 50-run stand and the pair looked well-positioned to add many more to that tally.But out of nowhere, Warner’s arch-nemesis Broad found a breakthrough in trademark fashion. From around the wicket, he offered up a full enough length to tempt Warner into a drive, but it wasn’t a half-volley and it shaped away late to catch the edge. Zak Crawley held the catch well at second slip. Broad now has Warner 13 times in Test cricket, and given Warner’s contribution in this series to date, England fans may lament that Broad has only played two of four Tests.Another rain delay came just an over later and an early tea was called with Australia 1 for 56 after just 21.6. Harris and Labuschagne then cruised through the first hour of the evening session and England’s bowlers barely threatened as Australia reached 100 for the loss of just one wicket for the third time in the series.But the game changed with a ball change after the original ball went out of shape in the 30th over. Anderson and Wood came on from either end and made back-to-back breakthroughs. Harris was flat-footed nicking a good length away-swinger from over the wicket, having dealt superbly with the now customary around the wicket examination through most of the day.It was the fourth time Harris had faced more than 100 balls in a Test innings and he had rarely looked more comfortable at this level. He was scarcely beaten and played some sensational shots off both feet. But he walked off with only 38 to show for it and the anguish on his face suggested he knew it was a golden opportunity missed.Labuschagne fell in the next over with Wood’s extra pace squaring him up on the back foot in almost exactly the same fashion as at the MCG. This time he nicked to keeper Jos Buttler who held the chance to England’s delight.It created an awkward period of an hour for Steven Smith and Usman Khawaja to negotiate, with Khawaja playing his first Test since 2019. But that hour was reduced to just six overs as rain fell again. There was enough time for Khawaja to unfurl a majestic pull shot, reminiscent of the one he played to get off the mark in his debut Test against England at the SCG 11 years ago.

The Pakistan pacer has suffered another back injury, which comes on the heels of losing his national contract

Umar Farooq in Lahore14-May-2020A back injury to Hasan Ali will potentially keep him out of cricket for a prolonged period, capping off a difficult few months for the pacer who, until 2019, was an essential component of Pakistan’s pace attacks.In part, Ali’s form and injuries resulted him in missing out on a central contract on Wednesday. And now it has emerged that the injury, identified as an intervertebral disc protrusion, could even, in the worst case, lead to surgery.Earlier last season Ali had suffered a back injury during the opening round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in Lahore, following which he underwent a seven-week conservative rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy. He was declared fit for the final round of the tournament, only to suffer a fresh injury – a rib fracture – in November that ruled him out for a further six weeks. He consequently missed Pakistan’s international commitments in the season, but returned after another spell of rehab ahead of the PSL. He didn’t look at his best in the tournament, picking up eight wickets in nine games at an economy rate of 8.59 for Peshawar Zalmi.But continuing pain in his back led to scans which confirmed the problem in the back had flared up again, with symptoms consistent with a lumbar herniated disk. With guidance from the PCB’s medical department, Ali consulted a local neurosurgeon and engaged an Australian physiotherapist for recovery. The PCB had intended to fly the bowler out to Australia, but with globally enforced lockdowns and travel restrictions in place, all consultations are currently being carried out via a video link. Ali, meanwhile, is on medication and is awaiting a decision by his doctors on whether he needs to go for surgery, or whether a more conservative treatment will suffice.The flare-up will lead to questions about whether Ali should have returned to the PSL, though Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan coach and chief selector, insisted that Ali had played only after ticking off all fitness boxes.”He cleared all protocols before playing PSL .. he was declared fit,” Misbah said. “He was fully prepared, bowling 50 overs per week in his rehabilitation and playing practice games as well. Back injuries are always tricky. It can be aggravated at once by even a stumble in the field and in his [Ali’s] case, it didn’t recur (during his fitness tests), which is why he was given the go-ahead. He is being examined and taken care of.”Ali is the latest in a growing list of Pakistani fast bowlers who have seen their careers interrupted – and eventually derailed – by injuries, a trend which is, in private circles, leading to more questions being asked about the capability of the board’s medical department.Injuries aside, however, Ali’s form had dipped considerably even before the injuries, not least at last year’s World Cup where he cut a mere shadow of the figure who was central to Pakistan’s Champions Trophy triumph in the same country in 2017. Misbah, however, still believes in his importance.”We feel for him,” he said. “There is no time limit for this return, but we are determined to bring him back. He is an absolutely great guy, a hard working athlete and fights for the team. This is why we are with him and the Board is giving him full support in every way possible. He was very well taken care of earlier when he got injured and even now we are standing behind him. We will make sure he will get proper treatment, and rehabilitation will be carried out to get him fit as soon as possible.”Over the years, Pakistan have invested significantly in Ali as he became an automatic pick across formats under previous head coach Mickey Arthur. He made a flying start to his international career after making his Test debut in 2017, but suffered a slump in form last year and broke down with injuries. He last played for Pakistan in June 2019 and then missed almost the entire first-class season at home (playing one first-class game only) last year.

Chief selector expects more from the Test side

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Apr-2020They may be defending champions but West Indies won’t be “overwhelming favourites” at the men’s T20 World Cup slated to be held in Australia in October-November according to chairman of selectors Roger Harper.In 2016, Darren Sammy’s West Indies became the first team to win two World T20 titles (they’d previously won in 2012). Over the last four years, their fortunes have plummeted; they’re currently ranked No. 10 in the format.”You have to be realistic here,” Harper told Trinidad-based radio station i9555 fm last week. “We are the defending champions, yes, but at the same time we are not the No. 1-ranked team in the world. That in itself says what has transpired since we won the last World Cup.”West Indies have a ray of hope, though, with new captain Kieron Pollard, who recently played in his 500th T20 game, joining hands with Dwayne Bravo – among the seniors to make a comeback – to chart a revival.Pollard took over the ODI and T20I captaincy from Jason Holder and Carlos Brathwaite respectively last September. As part of their plan to bring in experience to mentor youngsters, Bravo was brought out of retirement.”My memory doesn’t tell me exactly where we were ranked that time but the team [in 2016] we put out for that World Cup was filled with a lot of very experienced T20 specialists,” Harper said. “Now we have a little blend of a few experienced T20 players and some of the young guns coming through.”The rankings notwithstanding, Harper felt West Indies still remain a threat at the T20 World Cup, which is in considerable doubt due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While the ICC and the event organisers remain optimistic, they aren’t in a hurry to make a definitive decision yet.”Don’t get me wrong, I still think we have a good chance of winning the tournament, but I don’t think we would be going into the tournament as overwhelming favourites,” Harper explained. “I think it’s a matter of getting what we think is our best squad, picking our best XI for each game, looking forward to them performing at their best and making smart decisions and winning the critical moments.”In their most-recent tour, just before cricket came to a grinding halt across the globe, West Indies endured mixed results against Sri Lanka. They lost the ODI series 3-0, but bounced back to register thumping wins in the two T20Is. Despite the results evening out, Harper saw some positives, especially in the batting department.”In terms of result, it fluctuated but one thing that has been relatively consistent is the way the team has batted,” he said. “[Of late] we have seen the consistency in batting with the white-ball team, both in 50-over and 20-over games. We identified that bowling at times wasn’t as sharp and as smart as it needed to be.”But with the inclusion of some of the older, wiser heads, we have seen some improvement there as well, especially at the end of the innings. I think generally we have seen some improvement and now it’s just a matter of turning those improvements into consistent, positive results.”Getty Images

Harper feels onus on islands to develop Test talent
Harper also hoped to see West Indies becoming a better Test side, and for that, simply having a “scattering of world class players” wasn’t going to be enough.”[Domestic players] have to start thinking big and raise their standards,” he said. “Our players will have to stop thinking in terms of just trying to make it to the West Indies team and start thinking in terms of developing themselves into world-class players.”We need to have world-class players in the West Indies team. That’s how our cricket and our team will get to the top, if we have a number of world-class players in the team giving us world-class performances on a consistent basis.”If you are just making 30s, and the press is slamming that he deserves a strike… I would like my job to be that I don’t have to pick somebody. If you are making 30, we have a person who is making 31, then I have to decide which one to select.”But if you are averaging in the 60s or 70s, all I have to do is write your name down, you pick yourself. That’s what we have to encourage our players to do: think bigger, aim higher, think of putting in world-class performances and raise their standards to be match-winning world-class players.”What I have found is that at the U-19 level, we can compete with all the teams around the world but then a lot of those players from other teams make a huge jump from U-19 to the Test team and look completely mature and different.”We have to ensure our guys can make that leap as well. A lot of it has to do with their thinking and maturity in terms of cricket. We have to help them along by developing their mental skills and tactical awareness, and help them apply their skills better.”Harper felt it was also the responsibility of the islands to groom their young players instead of doing “buck-passing” to Cricket West Indies (CWI).”My belief is that West Indies stands on the skills of the territories,” he said. “The West Indies team comes from the territories, players will not fall from the sky. We always keep pointing at the West Indies board but I feel the territories have a serious responsibility as well to develop the world-class players. This is what was done in the past.”I think a lot of buck-passing has been done. We are very proud to say when a Brian Lara is breaking all those records that he is from Trinidad but when a player is not doing well, you say what the West Indies cricket board is doing. I think there is some inconsistency and we need to get back what we were doing in the past and take the responsibility of developing quality, world-class players.”

The former legspinner will leave his role as the head coach of Pakistan’s NCA with immediate effect

Umar Farooq25-Oct-20181:39

‘Hopefully, I will make a positive difference to West Indies cricket’ – Mushtaq Ahmed

Former legspinner Mushtaq Ahmed has ended his stint as the head coach of Pakistan’s National Cricket Academy to take up a consultancy role with West Indies. He is set to become the assistant coach and is on a contract that will need him to commit 150 days in a year.He was to begin with the India tour, but couldn’t link up with the squad because of visa glitches – Pakistani nationals have found it hard to obtain work visas for India due to strained political ties. His first assignment will be West Indies’ upcoming tour of Bangladesh, where they are slated to play two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is.Mushtaq’s contract with the NCA was renewed for a year in April after weeks of uncertainty. At the time, he was also contemplating offers from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and West Indies but decided to stay back to put himself in the fray to become Pakistan’s spin bowling coach. However, he signed a month-long contract as spin consultant with Cricket West Indies before rejoining the NCA.Having previously worked with England, Mushtaq was Pakistan’s bowling coach for 18 months being replaced by Azhar Mahmood last year. Since then, he’s been an integral part of the NCA set up in Lahore.

Vani Morea’s maiden List A century and John Reva’s all-round effort led Papua New Guinea to a 21-run win over Kenya in their World Cricket League Championship match on Monday

ESPNcricinfo staff30-May-2016
ScorecardVani Morea held PNG’s innings together with his maiden List A ton•ICC

Vani Morea’s maiden List A century and John Reva’s all-round effort led Papua New Guinea to a 21-run win over Kenya in their World Cricket League Championship match on Monday. PNG’s second consecutive win against Kenya, after their six-wicket triumph on Saturday, lifted them to third on the points table.Morea scored an unbeaten 102, opening the innings, to steer PNG to 249 for 6 in 50 overs after they elected to bat at Amini Park in Port Moresby. In reply, Kenya were on course at 210 for 3 in the 45th over, but medium-pacer Reva’s career-best 4 for 31 led to a collapse and they were bowled out for 228 all out in 47.5 overs.PNG were reduced to 27 for 2 by the seventh over after losing Lega Siaka and Assad Vala. Morea and Sese Bau then combined for a third-wicket stand of 124 to steady the innings. Bau contributed 66 off 78 balls and struck nine fours and two sixes before he was trapped lbw by legspinner Collins Obuya. PNG lost quick wickets after the partnership was broken but Morea held firm and, along with Reva, added 73 unbeaten runs for the seventh wicket to steer PNG to 249. Reva was unbeaten on 43 off 33 balls, having crunched four fours and two sixes.
Obuya was Kenya’s best bowler with figures of 4 for 42 off eight overs.Kenya lost opener Irfan Karim early, while Gurdeep Singh’s opening burst ended on 27 off 19 in the sixth over. The two Patels – Rushab, who top-scored with 95, and Rakep, the captain, stitched together a third-wicket stand of 88. After Rakep’s dismissal, Obuya (38) continued the good work by adding 85 for the fourth wicket with Rushab. Once the duo fell – in the space of eight deliveries in the 45th and 46th overs – Kenya lost their last five wickets for 13 runs.Norman Vanua, the new-ball bowler, took three wickets, but was expensive and leaked 47 in seven overs. Chad Soper and Bau took a wicket apiece.

Eoin Morgan sparkled with an unbeaten 120 off 80 balls but it wasn’t quite enough for Middlesex who tied with Worcestershire at Uxbridge.

05-Aug-2012
ScorecardEoin Morgan made 100 of 73 balls•Getty Images

Eoin Morgan sparkled with an unbeaten 120 off 80 balls but it wasn’t quite enough for Middlesex who tied with Worcestershire at Uxbridge.Middlesex posted 229 for 4 from their 36 overs and Worcestershire needed an unlikely 24 off the final over – but former Middlesex man Ben Scott hit a four and three sixes off Steven Crook to leave the visitors needing two off the last ball.Neil Dexter dived forward at mid-on and spilled a difficult catch – and Scott scrambled through for a single to ensure the spoils were shared.Morgan’s innings was the highlight after they were put in and his 162-run stand with Josh Davey, who made 53 not out, was a record in one-day cricket for Middlesex’s fifth wicket.The hosts did not find the boundary until the sixth over, by which time Dawid Malan had edged Nick Harrison behind.Joe Denly lifted Moeen Ali’s third delivery over midwicket for six, but with Chris Rogers and Denly falling in the space of four balls, Middlesex found themselves 47 for 3. Rogers departed when he top-edged a sweep off Moeen to short fine leg, then Gareth Andrew squared up Denly to have him caught at slip for 27.Four overs later, Dexter called Morgan through for a leg bye, but, having over-committed himself, Dexter was beaten by Vikram Solanki’s throw from backward point. Morgan made amends by adding 162 in 20 overs with Davey.Morgan picked Daryl Mitchell up over midwicket for a maximum and brought the hundred up for the hosts in the 23rd over with a four to wide long-on off Brett D’Oliveira. Three overs later, Morgan posted a 45-ball half-century with a slog-swept six off Ali.With 73 coming off the last six overs, Middlesex were in the ascendancy going into the interval. Morgan pulled Harrison for two successive sixes over wide long-on in the 32nd over. Two overs later, he moved into the nineties with a six over midwicket off Andrew.Morgan needed just 73 balls for his ninth one-day hundred, which he celebrated by lifting Jack Shantry back over his head for a maximum, although not before Davey had moved to his half-century in 53 deliveries.In reply, Worcestershire slipped to 19 for 2 before Phil Hughes and Mitchell put the visitors back in contention with a third wicket stand of 96 in 18 overs. Following a period of consolidation, Hughes came out of his shell in the 17th over by clubbing two successive fours off Davey. He then lifted Gareth Berg over long-on and Tom Smith over straight midwicket prior to bringing up a run-a-ball half-century.Hughes picked Smith up for another six, this time over wide long-on. But, two overs later, Toby Roland-Jones broke through Mitchell’s defences for 35.With Andrew hitting Smith for a straight six, Worcestershire needed 91 off the last 10 overs. The visitors’ push for the line lost appeared to have lost its impetus after Hughes played on to Davey and Andrew skied a catch to Morgan at mid-on. But Scott, who spent five seasons on the Middlesex staff, came back to haunt his former employers.

Ross Taylor has admitted New Zealand missed out by failing to apply themselves on the first day in Wellington

Andrew Fernando at Basin Reserve15-Jan-2011Tests at the Basin Reserve have lately made a cruel habit of exposing the fragility of New Zealand’s batting. In the six most recent matches at the venue, the home side have mustered an average first innings total of 196. Of these, they have lost four and won just one – against Bangladesh in 2008. While they have performed marginally better this time around, 260 for six on day one on a flat Wellington wicket, while the opposition bowlers battled gusts exceeding 80 kph at one end, is not the kind of patience and discipline John Wright would have hoped for from his top order after their farcical collapse in Hamilton.Martin Guptill threw it away flashing at a wide one, James Franklin was needlessly caught behind down the legside and Jesse Ryder collected his second golden duck in a row, prodding lamely at a delivery he could have easily watched through to the keeper. Even Ross Taylor, New Zealand’s top scorer on day one, was out to an injudicious stroke, chasing a wide Wahab Riaz delivery to give Adnan Akmal his fifth scalp of the day. “There were some missed opportunities,” Taylor said. “A couple of players were a bit unlucky and were almost bored out. There were a few wide ones, and myself and Guptill – we did all the hard work and got ourselves out.”Taylor made 78 to steady the New Zealand innings after two early blows, cautiously blocking out Abdur Rehman’s left-arm spin from the Scoreboard End instead of being tempted to unleash his signature slog sweep. “I tried to play as straight as possible. When you are searching for form, you look for other things and forget the basics. But when you play straight you give yourself the best chance. I haven’t felt out of nick, but I just haven’t scored the runs. Today was an opportunity where I should have gone on and got three figures, and I didn’t do that.”Pakistan will feel they have the better of the hosts heading into day two, despite allowing Reece Young and Daniel Vettori to dictate terms to them in the closing stages. The Wellington wind was at its most relentless on day one, and a tired Pakistan fielding unit lapsed repeatedly in the evening session, allowing the New Zealand pair to move the score along smartly. “We are probably [down] one or two wickets too many,” Taylor admitted. “But we saw at the end there with the wind, the bowling side is always going to get tired and Youngy and Dan made the most of that at the end of the day.”With Vettori and Young batting well, a trademark lower-order fight-back could well be on the cards for New Zealand, but they will have to see out the Pakistan seamers in the morning to give their side hope of posting a competitive total. “We just wanted to bat four sessions,” Taylor said. “We’ve batted three so far so hopefully we can bat till after lunch tomorrow. It’s going to be tough for that first five to ten overs with that new ball, but if we can get through that then a score of 300 plus is very much in our reach.”The visitors employed defensive field placements early on and waited for the New Zealand batsmen to make mistakes. A similar ploy might well be enough to account for a Pakistan top order that is no less unstable, if a tad more experienced, than the New Zealand line-up.”Whatever total we end up with, we’ve got to decide where to bowl. Perhaps a touch fuller.” Taylor said. “Maybe almost do what they did to us. The spinner was always going to bowl very flat and they put the sweeper out very quickly when they were bowling from the top end. I wouldn’t say it was negative, but it was almost trying to bore you out. It’s still a very good wicket.”

England have called up 18-year-old batsman for the tour of India as a replacement for wicketkeeper-opener Sarah Taylor

Cricinfo staff21-Feb-2010England have called up 18-year-old batsman Heather Knight for the tour of India as a replacement for wicketkeeper-opener Sarah Taylor who missed the second ODI in Bangalore because of a hip injury. Taylor will return to England to continue rehabilitation.Knight is an attacking batsman who played for England Women’s Academy along with other national squad members Anya Shrubsole, Danielle Hazell and Danielle Wyatt.Clare Connor, the England board’s head of women’s cricket, said the injury to Taylor was a blow to England. The team is already missing their leading batsman Claire Taylor and left-arm spinner Holly Colvin to personal commitments.”She [Taylor] was England’s leading run-scorer against Australia last summer and she is a formidable presence behind the stumps. However this gives us an opportunity to test other players: Kent’s Tammy Beaumont will take the wicketkeeping gloves and Heather Knight will join the tour party as an extra batsman. Heather is a talented cricketer who scores huge runs at county level and I’m sure she will seize this chance to impress.”

Alastair Cook reproduced the calm obduracy of his Durban century to steady England with a vital unbeaten 65, and Ian Bell demonstrated a new-found resilience

The Bulletin by Andrew Miller04-Jan-2010Close England 241 for 7 (Prior 52*, Swann 5*) trail South Africa 291 (Kallis 108, Anderson 5-63) by 50 runs

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMorne Morkel kept England under pressure all day, and claimed three important wickets•Getty Images

Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn hauled South Africa right back into contention in the third Test at Newlands, and the series as a whole, claiming six wickets between them on an extraordinary day that began with a clatter of South African wickets and ended with England’s lower order fighting to avoid a first-innings deficit. Despite clear-blue skies that implied a perfect day for batting, 11 wickets fell in 83.4 overs, including seven in the morning session alone, four of which fell in 17 balls to bring South Africa’s innings to a swift and undignified end.By the close, however, England were the team on the ropes, as Matt Prior struggled to locate his timing in an uncharacteristically gritty half-century, with Graeme Swann alongside him and primed to take on the second new ball in what promises to be a pivotal first session on the third morning. In reply to 291, England’s deficit was a manageable 50 with three wickets still standing, but every run so far in this match has had to be chiselled, as if from Table Mountain itself.After the first 15 minutes of the day, England believed they had stolen all the momentum by reducing their opponents from 279 for 6 to 291 all out, but in reply, the first-over dismissal of Andrew Strauss, courtesy of his nemesis, Morkel, redressed the balance dramatically. Steyn, operating as first-change after an unconvincing comeback match at Kingsmead, then announced his return to strike-bowler status with two wickets in three balls, including Kevin Pietersen for a second-ball duck, and when Morkel pinned Paul Collingwood lbw for 19 after lunch, England were in danger of conceding an insurmountable lead.For the remainder of the afternoon session, South Africa were thwarted by Alastair Cook and Ian Bell, whose fifth-wicket stand of 60 provided further evidence of the pair’s revived confidence, following their twin centuries in last week’s Boxing Day Test. For nearly four hours, Cook was bloodymindedness personified as he hung back in his crease and relied on the bowlers losing patience before he did, as he left outside off time and time again, feeding almost exclusively on tucks through the leg-side whenever they straightened their line of attack.But whereas in Durban, nothing could crack Cook’s concentration, this time the tea interval unhinged his resolve. Once again it was Morkel who struck the mortal blow, in the first over of the resumption, as Cook was caught in two minds for the only time in his innings, and shovelled a half-hearted pull to Ashwell Prince at short midwicket. Bell responded to that dismissal with a classy stamp of authority, easing Steyn for three fours in the very next over, all through backward point, but just when it seemed he was ready and capable to carry the fight for his country, he gave his innings away on 48 with a loose wafted cut.The ball, from Jacques Kallis, was a rank long-hop that was asking to be hit, but Bell’s eager slap flew straight to backward point, and as he departed with a grimace of self-admonishment, England’s innings had slipped back into the mire at 174 for 6. But Prior, playing a shot to almost every delivery but timing next to none, was joined by Stuart Broad, and together they ground out a 51-run stand for the seventh wicket before Steyn popped up with the new ball looming, and nicked Broad’s bails with a perfect delivery that zipped through the gate.Prior, showing great determination in a situation that did not suit his free-flowing style, reached his half-century from the penultimate ball of the day, his 95th, as he and Swann successfully fended off the new ball for 10 deliveries before the close. At that stage, England trailed by 50 with three wickets still in hand, but as England themselves had demonstrated at the start of the day, there’s nothing quite like a new nut for cracking the tail in this series.South Africa had resumed their first innings against a ball that was just 3.2 overs old, with Kallis unbeaten on 108, his 33rd Test century, having added 63 vital and confident runs for the seventh wicket with Steyn. However, Graham Onions’ second delivery of the morning was simply too good – bending in towards off, it pitched, seamed, and nicked Kallis’s outside edge, to send him on his way without addition, and set in motion an extraordinary sequence of events.Next to go was Steyn, who had batted well for his overnight 26, but now fell to James Anderson’s first delivery of the morning – a fat edge to Jonathan Trott at third slip, who made good ground to accept the chance to his right. Three deliveries later, Morkel hung out his bat outside off for Swann at second slip to atone for his first-morning miss with a fine low catch, diving to his right, and one over later, Anderson completed his eighth five-wicket haul as Friedel de Wet was pinned on the front pad by a nip-backer, and sent on his way for a duck despite the futile use of a review.South Africa’s collapse exceeded England’s most optimistic calculations, but the challenge for Strauss and Cook was to capitalise on the chaos. Instead, it was Morkel who struck the next blow, and arguably the biggest of the morning, when his steepling bounce from his awkward round-the-wicket line once again proved too much for England’s captain. Cunningly handed the first over of the innings, Morkel forced Strauss deep into his crease with a series of lifters, before pitching his sixth ball up and finding the edge of an unbalanced drive.Strauss swished his bat in anger as he left the crease with England tottering at 2 for 1, although that scoreline was soon massaged by Cook and Trott, who batted calmly to add 34 for the second wicket in 11.4 overs. Trott provided the aggressive intent, pulling de Wet in front of square before driving Morkel handsomely through the covers, while Cook hung back in his crease and waited for the bowlers to err in line and length. However, it was the belated introduction of Steyn that swung the balance firmly back in South Africa’s favour.After an exploratory start to his spell, Steyn exploded into life in his first over after the drinks break, as Trott paid the price for his aggressive intent and inside-edged a hard-handed drive onto his off stump. Two deliveries later, Pietersen had been and gone as well – the situation was one that he habitually relishes, and the extra bounce in the surface might have suited his attacking instincts. But Steyn drew him into a loose and airy drive, and reached out with his right hand to pluck a vital return catch.At 36 for 3 after 13 overs, South Africa were swarming, and though Collingwood’s cool accumulation allowed England to reach lunch without further loss, he was swiftly extracted after the break for 19, as Morkel found a devastating full length to trap him plumb lbw. At 73 for 4, Bell’s new-found mettle was under the sort of scrutiny he had avoided at Durban. Though he failed to convince all the doubters with another partially formed performance, his contribution may yet prove invaluable in the final analysis. Today, despite the sun on their backs, was no day to be a batsman.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHiral Patel’s heroics with the bat and ball couldn’t save Canada from a four-wicket defeat against Kenya in the Intercontinental Cup. Patel struck a doughty 93 on the fourth day, scoring more than half of his side’s second innings total, as the other batsmen fell to Nehemiah Odhiambo’s pace. Canada folded for 175, leaving Kenya a target of 128 for victory.Kenya’s chase was hardly confident; they lost Irfan Karim in the first over and then Patel made inroads with his left-arm spin. It was left to Tanmay Mishra, who followed his first-innings half-century with a calm, unbeaten 38, to steady the Kenya innings and then guide the side to a win.