KP hits 12 off the first over. 
England did well to get back into contention after last time, which makes for a good build up for the final test. Hopefully the rain stays away.
According to this:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/aug/06/kevin-pietersen-last-test-england
There is a chance that the next Test might be Pietersen’s last. IMO, he’s a divisive presence but FFS, this is the country that had Boycott and Botham in its team. Surely we can put up with someone being an arsehole when he’s our most flair bat?
Don’t look now, but England have got into a good position just before tea on the opening day of the final test. With good weather forecast for the weekend, they need to make the best of the conditions whilst they have them.
Incidentally, Kallis got an absolutely disgusting decision given against him by the third umpire. It certainly didn’t look out to me.
I forgot the game was on.
Kallis- a gentleman when he bats, a bit different when he bowls.
(And for a remark that will probably cause some debate, he must be about the best allrounder of the batting/ bowling variety in around 20 years).
I forgot it was on as well, a good day for England.
As for Kallis you’ll get no dispute from me. He’s without doubt one of the great all rounders of all-time.
I see Prior is now 4th on the list of English wicket keepers for dismissals. I had no idea he was so elevated. He only seems to have been there a dogs watch.
Just trying to work it all out- he seems to have a pretty low rate of stumpings.
Prior has a couple of advantages over the other wicketkeepers for England:
He is probably one of the few guys who held the job down by himself for quite a bit - they tried Tim Ambrose for a bit but otherwise he’s been unbroken in the position for a bit. Jack Russell and Alec Stewart swapped and changed. Didn’t Bob Taylor and Alan Knott as well? That kind of means Prior has had more chances than some of the other guys.
There is also a lot more test cricket nowadays than there used to be - particularly if you look prior to 1970, simply because of the ease of travel and increased number of teams (SL and Bangladesh).
He’s also kept to a bunch of bowlers that are a lot better than the guys that Stewart and Russell (and the hodge podge of mid 90s keepers - Rhodes, Read, Foster, etc) kept to.
He’s definitely come a long way from being someone who was a bit “Cymbals” like when he first started mind you.
On the game, I can’t help but feel we’ve let them off a bit here. With 5 down, we should have been looking to run through and stop them from getting 250. They’re going to get 300 and it means we’ll need a good batting performance to give ourselves a chance.
What you say about keepers is true Cumbrian- there was also some guy nicknamed “Badger” wasn’t there?
The RSA tail is adding quite a proportion of runs. Has the pitch become easier? (I haven’t seen any of the game).
Paul Nixon! The greatest Cumbrian cricketer! But he only kept in limited overs games a couple of years back when we decided that a guy who averages 42 in test cricket wasn’t going to make it in ODIs, so we should cast around for players with less batting ability to keep wicket.
TMS are saying it’s a little flatter than yesterday, though still well grassed. England probably got the better of the conditions on Day 1 - very overcast and a light sprinkling of rain to keep the pitch juiced coincided with the lunch break so no overs were lost. The weather is due to get warm and sunny over the weekend, so maybe it will flatten out some more. Certainly the runs that the SA tail are adding lead me to hope like hell at least one of our top 6 can get a decent score.
In the immortal words of Crash Davis:
Fuck this fucking game.
I’ve got tickets for tomorrow. Do you know, there was a point this morning when I thought I’d see England bat? Ha, it is to laugh.
But let’s not be too pessimistic. Maybe we’re about to see a rookie find his form in a needle match, while an old hand shows his class at the other end. It’s that kind of surprise turn that makes Test cricket so compelling, after all.
Eloquently put. We knock out the Saffers top order quickly, their bottom half adds another 250 and then the roof falls in on our batting. Tradition I know…
In other news, my agreement with the Pietersen decision is being severely tested right now.
You see, it’s stuff like this that makes me want to sing from the rooftops when we win a shit load of gold medals at the Olympics or what have you - you just know that at some point, normal service will be resumed. Given England’s footballers managed to win on Wednesday and the rugby teams aren’t in action until November, it falls to our cricketers to wrap the comforting blanket of mediocrity back around our shoulders.
ETA: Actually, that’s a little disrespectful. This SA side is bloody good. Even if we manage to connive a win in this Test and retain the #1 ranking, it will be a hollow placing. SA are better than us.
Cue rant about 3-Test series: the drama is cut off just as it’s nicely developing; the results are inconclusive and unsatisfactory; teams are denied the chance to excel.
Still, we get to play some one-dayers against Australia next year, so…
England can’t catch a break:
[
](England v South Africa - day two as it happened | South Africa in England 2012 | The Guardian)
Hey…
Anyway, leaving my Australiadom off for the moment, it is intriguing as to the top notch side. Obviously the two playing at the moment are the ones in contention.
I find it difficult to imagine a side getting the domination that Australia had for years, and the Windies before that. Which is probably good for the game. Which is not good for Australian supporters
Well, for what it’s worth, things aren’t as bad as they were, what with a fifty from Bell and another from Bairstow who’s there at the close, and Prior getting a few on the board, and we’re past 200 at any rate. Still not wonderful, but hey, we’ll have to take what we can bet. This should’ve been a five-Test series, though, it’s not like giving a couple of token tests to Bangladesh or whoever. :smack:
Second new ball, second new ball, second new ball. We are nowhere near back in this game just yet. Bell and Bairstow have played well but this was necessary just to make it somewhat of a game. The hard yards will be in the morning.