The Hindu : Sport : Thorpe joins the party

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Thursday, Dec 30, 2004

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Thorpe joins the party

By Ted Corbett

DURBAN, DEC.29. Graham Thorpe, consistent, reliable and with a professional awareness of the potential in each of his innings, scored the century England needed to complete its recovery in the second Test at Kingsmead on Wednesday. He is not its greatest batsman but he can jam a weakened opposition into the cracks in the pitch if the chance comes, as 6,500 Test runs and that gnarled face suggest.

For the second day in a row England called the tune and South Africa had no answering whistle. Thorpe put together century stands with Andrew Flintoff at his most restrained— that is only three sixes in 60 — and Geraint Jones who hit a cheeky 73 as England totalled 576 for five declared. That left South Africa to make 378, not as difficult as you might think. It made 340 in the fourth innings to beat Australia — yes, the champion Aussies — in 2002 on this ground. It will be the

fourth highest winning total if South Africa succeed; if it loses the series will be gone.

Geraint Jones dropped Herschelle Gibbs, Smith was lbw to Hoggard for five and at the close South Africa had 21 for one.

Tomorrow may be a nail-biter. Ray Jennings, the South African coach, had said overnight that

his side would fancy any total between 150 and 450 which meant that England, 88 ahead from the labours of Andrew Strauss and Marcus Trescothick on day three, left its batsmen with a day of hard work in what proved to be the hottest of the Test. They made it difficult for themselves too. Strauss — who had time to beat Brian Lara's world record if he could stay at the wicket for two days — failed to capitalise on his big score and went, caught at third slip, by Martin van Jaarsveld two balls after he had been dropped there. Strauss also failed to kick on in Port Elizabeth although it is

hardly a sin to be out after such a good innings as this one.

Eight overs later Michael Vaughan was out for ten, another failure by his standards. Perhaps the solution to the number of batsman given out of their arm guard — as Vaughan appeared to be— is to consider the guard part of the glove and accept the reality; that many batsmen are caught off that piece of protective equipment.

Mark Butcher struggled for a long time before he was also caught at slip driving at a wide ball from Kallis at 314 for four, a lead of 121. Thorpe clearly saw the opportunity to make a few runs on a friendly pitch and knuckled down although he spent almost as much time telling Flintoff to rein in his strokes as he did batting. Flintoff knows a sensible instruction when he hears one and until lunch — when England, having made only 83 in the two and a half hour session — was 171 ahead.

Flintoff applied himself after lunch too but his figures give a clue about his innings which was nearly three hours long.

Two of his sixes hurtled into the crowd as deep midwicket just over the head of Hashim Amla. There were six fours as well, mostly struck through the covers like bullets. Half an hour before tea he played a square cut to Graeme Smith's off spin and was caught behind the wicket to give the capable de Villiers his third catch of the innings. Smith immediately called back Nicky Boje but no more wicket fell before the interval while Jones, briskly, and Thorpe, with his eye on a century, took the score to 459 for five, a lead of 261. Job not done yet.

In the hot evening sunshine Thorpe and Jones completed England's escape from jail. Thorpe reached the 16th hundred of his Test career and his third this year and then essayed a delicate reverse sweep; Jones hit two sixes over Amla's head and was caught by Ntini attempting a third when a century was his for a touch more patience.

Giles, on his sick bed for more than two days, emerged at 560 for six while Thorpe swung his bat and Vaughan declared at 570 for seven which gave South Africa 99 overs to score 378. It was only the third declaration in Vaughan's short captaincy career; tomorrow will tell if it was too bold.

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