England run out of luck and ideas

1/2
13 April 2012

Everything went wrong for Michael Vaughan and his England team at their "lucky" ground today as a promising start rapidly disintegrated into a tea score of 173 for six against South Africa.

Desperate to make amends for their Headingley horror show, they were given a solid platform by Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss who shared an opening stand of 68.

But then, in the space of 21 deliveries, England dramatically, and controversially, lost Strauss, Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen to plummet to 74 for three in a match they must win to have any chance of taking this four-match npower series.

Cook looked capable of guiding the side out of trouble. But when he departed for 76 in mid-afternoon, the hosts were under the cosh again.

And the position quickly worsened when Paul Collingwood's latest and almost inevitable flop was followed by Ian Bell's exit for 50.

Strauss trod on his stumps, playing back defensively to Andre Nel, while Vaughan was given out caught behind to the fired-up fast bowler's next ball to continue a sequence of failure that has seen him make just 23 runs in four innings against South Africa.

Despite looking astonished at the decision, TV replays suggested Vaughan's bat did make contact with the delivery.

As for Pietersen, given out caught at point off Jacques Kallis, it was almost certainly the wrong verdict. But England's No4 could easily have been adjudged lbw to the same ball.

With Cook becoming Nel's third victim, caught by Kallis at second slip, the pressure was really on Bell and the recalled Collingwood.

It proved too much for Collingwood. Having taken 16 balls to get off the mark with a boundary, he tried to work his 22nd, from Kallis, through mid-wicket but only edged to slip. Bringing him back here was a huge gamble, and he now has just 96 runs from nine first-class innings this season for England and Durham.

Amid the mayhem, Bell moved to his half-century but then nibbled a catch behind off Makhaya Ntini.

Winning the toss had given Vaughan's team a big chance to make quick amends for what really went wrong at Headingley. Despite all the talk of confusing selections and a lack of unity, it was being bowled out for 203 that really stumped them.

It could have been a short stay at the crease today for both Strauss and Cook, though, as Morne Morkel found some edges and beat the bat.

Still, England's job was to see off the new ball before trying anything remotely fancy so safely negotiating six challenging overs from Morkel represented a first success. At the other end, the openers simply needed to bide their time and wait for something inviting from Ntini, who regularly dropped short on a pitch not made for sharp bounce.

Time for Nel - and his alter ego 'Gunther'.

Called up because of Dale Steyn's thumb injury after being left out at both Lord's and Headingley, he was soon in the thick of the action.

According to the fiery and nicely eccentric Nel, he is not the one who loses his cool and snarls at batsmen; that's bad old Gunther, the Mr Hyde who insists on taking the field with him. It was all Andre for a couple of overs this morning. But when Cook hooked his old Essex team-mate for four, out came Gunther and a mouthful of "advice".

At least England's openers only had one opponent to face at the other end. And when South Africa's fourth seamer, Kallis, overpitched, Cook clipped him through mid-wicket for four to bring up the 50.

Just when everything seemed to be going swimmingly, however, Strauss went back to Nel and played him away confidently enough but his left foot continued towards the stumps and broke the wicket.

Out came Vaughan; and off he trooped again first ball, to the delight of Nel and the dismay of England's dressing room.

From looking good, the hosts were suddenly wobbling. And although Pietersen survived the hat-trick delivery, it was not long before South Africa claimed the wicket they prize above all others, albeit in debatable circumstances.

Pietersen tried to turn a Kallis inswinger to leg, the ball ballooned to Ashwell Prince at point and up went the finger. Pietersen, like Vaughan before him, looked aghast - and with good reason because umpire Steve Davis indicated he was giving him out caught when lbw seemed more plausible. At least Cook did not join the late morning clatter of wickets. And when he settled into a stand of 62 with Bell this afternoon, England's hopes began to rise again.

Despite having gone eight Tests without a century, Cook hasn't really struggled for runs, just found it hard to get past the 60s. Four times this year, against New Zealand and South Africa, his innings have ended on either 60 or 61, so, having advanced to 76 today, surely nothing could stop him.

Except Gunther. A ball that seamed away late squared up Cook, found the outside edge and presented Kallis with a low catch which was made to look ridiculously easy.

Bell went close to becoming Nel's fifth victim when edging just short of Graeme Smith at slip before he and Collingwood went in quick succession.

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