|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Latest News |
|
| |
|
|
|
| Yardy, Morgan steer England to victory |
|
| I’m extremely proud to have been nominated for the LG People’s Choice Award - de Villiers |
|
| » more |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Home
::
News |
|
| |
|
Ponting halts Proteas' breakthrough
JOHANNESBURG: IT LOOKED like being business as usual as Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel reduced Australia to 38/3 in 15 overs when the first Castle Test got underway at the Liberty Life Wanderers Stadium on Thursday.
This included superb catches behind the wicket by Neil McKenzie and Jacques Kallis to get rid of Simon Katich and Michael Hussey – the latter giving Morne Morkel his 50th Test match wicket.
But any notion that Australia would give away the advantage they had gained by winning the toss was quickly set aside by the visitors as captain Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke put on 113 for the fourth wicket and then two of the newer members of their side, Brad Haddin and Marcus North, added an unbroken 72 for the sixth.
It enabled the Australians to close the first day on 254/5 in 68 overs with the last 22 overs being lost to the combined effect of rain and bad light.
Steyn, after having 2/5 in his opening spell, finished the day as the most successful bowler with 3/82 with the Proteas being handicapped by a back injury to Jacques Kallis that meant that the all-rounder was only able to bowl four overs. Happily an MRI scan gave him a clean bill of health and there is a good chance that he will return to the attack on the second day.
As has often been the case in the past, Paul Harris was something of an unsung hero, stepping into the breach to keep things tight at the one end, allowing the seamers to attack from the other. His 11 overs cost a miserly 18 runs.
Ponting, who was dropped at first slip by Graeme Smith off Steyn on 40, went on to top score of 83 (188 minutes, 134 balls, 11 fours and a six) before being bowled by a superb late swinging delivery from Makhaya Ntini that deceived the Australian captain into offering no stroke.
Clarke also contributed substantially with 68 (159 minutes, 90 balls, 10 fours) while North must have been happy to finish his first day of Test cricket just three runs short of a maiden half-century.
Steyn said afterwards that he felt the first day had been pretty even. “If we had got another wicket, it would definitely have been an even day and another two wickets would have swung it our way. It was that even a contest.
“If we can break through early in the morning we can restrict Australia to a reasonable total. The new ball is just around the corner and a couple of early wickets would allow us to get into their tail.”
Day one highlights:
# Ricky Ponting (83 off 134 balls) recorded his 45th Test fifty, which is his ninth against South Africa.
# Ponting has amassed 1903 runs (ave. 61.38) in 19 Tests against South Africa.
# Ponting, during the course of his 45th fifty, became the fifth batsman to make 5000 runs or more as skipper - 5012 at an average of 58.27 in 54 Tests. He has joined the four captains - Allan Border (6623), Graeme Smith (5665), Clive Lloyd (5233), and Stephen Fleming (5156).
# Michael Clarke (68 off 90 balls) registered his 13th fifty in Test Cricket - his third fifty against South Africa.
# Three Australians made their debut in the Johannesburg Test - Phil Hughes, Marcus North and Ben Hilfenhaus, providing the first occasion since 1985-86 when more than two players have made their Test debut in the same match for Australia. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Cric Contest Ratings |
|
| |
 Tests
ODIs
T-20
Combined |
| |
First ever Premier Ratings. Who leads whom? A unique formula devised by the criccontest team.  |
| Mohandas Menon |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|