Third Test Match, at Edgbaston (day 4 of 5): England 231 (A N Cook 76, I R Bell 50) & 363 (P D Collingwood 135, K P Pietersen 94, M Morkel 4-97) v South Africa 314 (N D McKenzie 72, J H Kallis 64, A Flintoff 4-89) & 283-5 (G C Smith 154 no). South Africa beat England by 5 wkts.
It was fitting that Graeme Smith hit the winning runs in South Africa’s historic win in Birmingham and even more appropriate that the boundary was hit off Kevin Pietersen, with whom his recent relationship has been prickly.
The previous-highest fourth innings to win a Test here was 211, and the highest fourth innings total was Australia’s 279 three years ago.
Smith is also the only man to score a century in the fourth innings of an Edgbaston Test.
His innings ranks among the great innings played to win a Test, because he had to deal with a variety of problems that are invariably attendant in fourth-innings run-chases.
The tension created by the first definitive target of the match has reduced seasoned men to gibbering wrecks. The wearing nature of the pitch is a big enough factor anyway, but left-handed Smith also had to deal with the severe rough outside his off-stump created by the follow-through of many bowlers. His technique against Monty Panesar was a delight to watch.
In addition, Smith had to remain calm and keep his side focused after the laughable dismissals of Neil McKenzie and Jacques Kallis.
Laughable unlesss you were a member of the South African party or the two batsmen concerned. The height of the sightscreen at the Pavilion end was low enough to enable Andrew Flintoff to deliver yorkers that were unsightable to right-handers, although Smith was never in trouble during a stay of over six hours.
It was not just Andrew Flintoff’s own height, either; no England batsman was ever troubled, even by Morne Morkel - the tallest bowler in the match.
The South Africans asked for the offending area in front of the committee windows to be changed after the end of both sides’ first innings, but both captains had to agree to what they decreed was a change in playing conditions.
Vaughan, naturally, stood his ground.
The ground authorities say that there has never been a problem before this Test, but it cannot be good for the game that one of the best batsmen in world cricket in Kallis and one of the game’s best opening batsmen, McKenzie, ducked instinctively once Flintoff’s right arm came over. They never saw the ball at all and did not know whether they might be hit on the head or the toe.
McKenzie was hit on the foot, Kallis above knee height. Both were plumb lbw, but the game was done a disservice by the manner of their dismissals. Visiting coach Mickey Arthur was reported to have barged into the Match Referee’s room to lodge a protest.
That is when Smith’s massive influence on the game came in to play. His side had slumped from 66 without loss to 93 for four in 12 overs and the Barmy Army raised the rest of a capacity crowd into an uproarious support of a rampaging Flintoff.
Smith had only AB de Villiers and Mark Boucher to prevent the tail trying to scrape a win and it was game on as Flintoff and Panesar thundered and wheeeled away as England’s most likely wicket-takers.
When Vaughan decided he did not trust a bowler to deliver for him, he was then in trouble with only a four-man attack. Ryan Sidebottom was clearly below par and bowled mostly at around 80mph compared with 85 in the last 18 months. James Anderson had one of those days when direction was wayward and there are too many of those nowadays for a man who has taken 99 Test wickets.
That is why a workload of 80 overs in a long day was split 53-23 in favour of Panesar and Flintoff with Pietersen lobbing in the remainder. De Villiers was determination personified and, geed up by his marvellous captain, contributed towards a match-turning fifth-wicket partnership of 78 that convinced his dressing room that the impossible dream could be a reality.
Panesar turned the ball off the straight to the right-handers and netted his man when de Villiers pushed at one on middle and off that turned and was caught by Paul Collingwood at slip. Boucher has not earned his repuutation as a toughie for nothing, and Smith welcomed him to the heat of the battle, knowing he had a partner to whom the love of a fight is everything.
The only surprise was not the result of the match, but that the final unbroken partnership of 112 came off only 28 overs. Had the England attack all bowled well, the game would probably have gone into a fifth day when the batsmen would have to start again and against a second new ball.
A fifth day would have been more certain but for Pietersen’s dismissal on 94 which distinguished former cricketers such as Alec Stewart, Michael Atherton, Derek Pringle and Geoffrey Boycott all described as possibly handing the match to South Africa. Sir Ian Botham, not unsurprisingly, does not agree.
Umpire Aleem Dar had a rotten match and Steve Davies got a couple of straightforward decisions wrong. There were also a couple of difficult ones that went South Africa’s way, including a gloved legside catch from Smith to Tim Ambrose off Panesar. The Warwickshire wicketkeeper did little wrong behind the stumps, except to throw the ball on the bounce to Ian Bell at the stumps when a full toss or a direct throw from short range would have brought a run-out.
His batting failed again and today’s squad for the Oval Test on Thursday should see a change of wicketkeeper, as well as a new captain. The bowling also needs re-jigging both in personnel and numbers and at least one new batsman has to be named now that Vaughan has gone.
England’s cricket has been wandering down a cul-de-sac of mediocrity for over 12 months and today’s announcement of the squad for The Oval and the party for the one-day internationals will show everyone just how many lessons have been learned - or ignored.
