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England bowled out for 203

Ted Corbett

Vaughan ‘catch’ controversy flares

LEEDS: Rarely can so few people have made so many mistakes in such a short time. If I did not know better I would suspect that everyone with connections to the second Test had been over-indulging in the local beer, a potent brew known as Tetley Bitter.

Instead we will have to blame a failure of the collective cricket mind or the cloudy skies. Between 9am when the two teams were announced and the close madness encircled Headingley. It made strong men use the language of the street and weak cricketers weep. England, 203 all out in 52.3 overs at tea, was the most tearful.

Graeme Smith put England in to bat for the second time in succession on a corn-coloured pitch that advertised a run feast. Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook eased their way to 26 when umpire Billy Bowden gave Cook out caught behind off a ball that hit his thigh pad. Michael Vaughan received the best ball of the day and was caught at slip for nought and Kevin Pietersen, at his calmest, put on 35 with Strauss before Strauss flicked at a ball moving away and was caught behind. He might have been given out caught at slip but a replay revealed de Villiers dropping the ball.

After lunch Pietersen had a 16-ball purple patch that brought 28 runs but he then groped for a Steyn outswinger and became Smith’s second comfortable catch so that four were out for 106. Many considered that asking Tim Ambrose to bat at as high as No.6 was an error. He lasted only 17 balls and in came Flintoff, slim and smiling, welcomed as if he might be riding a white war horse and off the mark with an edged boundary.

Flintoff celebrated his return with the slip catch that removed Neil McKenzie and the ball that halted Smith close to fifty. What else would you expect of the man the South Africans fear most? Those two wickets sewed the seeds of doubt that brought the wicket of Kallis. At stumps South Africa was 101 for three.

His next over brought madness. A ‘catch’ by Vaughan off Amla was judged by TV to have touched the ground, he was twice no-balled — once wrongly if TV is correct — and all by Bowden. Match-changing errors — and by such a good umpire too.

SCOREBOARD

England — 1st innings: A. Strauss c Boucher b Morkel 27, A. Cook c Boucher b Morkel 18, M. Vaughan c Smith b Steyn 0, K. Pietersen c Smith b Steyn 45, I. Bell b Kallis 31, T. Ambrose c Boucher b Ntini 12, A. Flintoff c Boucher b Steyn 17, S. Broad c de Villiers b Morkel 17, J. Anderson (not out) 11, M. Panesar c de Villiers b Morkel 0, D. Pattinson c Boucher b Steyn 8; Extras (lb-6, w-6, n-5): 17; Total (in 52.3 overs): 203.

Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-27, 3-62, 4-106, 5-123, 6-150, 7-177, 8-181, 9-186.

South Africa bowling: Steyn 18.3-2-76-4, Ntini 11-0-45-1, Morkel 15-4-52-4, Kallis 8-2-24-1.

South Africa — 1st innings: G. Smith c Strauss b Flintoff 44, N. McKenzie c Flintoff b Anderson 15, H. Amla (batting) 18, J. Kallis b Anderson 4, A. Prince (batting) 9; Extras (lb-8, nb-3): 11; Total (for three wkts. in 29 overs): 101.

Fall of wickets: 1-51, 2-69, 3-76.

England bowling: Anderson 12-2-39-2, Pattinson 3-0-16-0, Flintoff 10-1-24-1, Broad 4-1-14-0.

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