The Hindu : Sport : Flintoff keeps England in the hunt

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Flintoff keeps England in the hunt

Ted Corbett

— PHOTO: AFP

Andrew Flintoff.

BIRMINGHAM: Andrew Flintoff snatched his 200th Test wicket when he trapped Neil McKenzie lbw as South Africa struggled for a lead in the third Test but his great moment came when he removed the entrenched Jacques Kallis when South Africa was still behind.

Whenever Flintoff bowled he had the full backing of the crowd who clearly knew they were there to egg on the powerhouse of the England attack.

The Lion of England responded to the chorus of “Freddie, Freddie” every time he picked up the ball. He roared in, the bowled just where the batsman did not want the ball and he forced errors.

The most significant came in the seventh over of the morning when the opening bat Neil McKenzie edged the ball low to Andrew Strauss who got both hands to the ball but as soon as those adjudicators lifted their radios to their lips we knew McKenzie would survive.

McKenzie and Paul Harris carried on, suspicious as kittens offered a toy mouse, until with 77 added to the overnight 38 for one, Sidebottom got Harris to edge the ball to slip. After lunch at 104 for two Hashim Amla went to a tumbling caught and bowled by Anderson and at last McKenzie was lbw to Flintoff for 72.

Tails up

Now, at 135 for four, England’s energy levels picked up as the stodgy Kallis defended and Ashwell Prince fought for a run. The match was, for all the concern about the future of Michael Vaughan and Collingwood, delicately poised. Kallis rode his luck and Prince spent half an hour on nought fifty runs short of the England total.

Kallis was the key wicket but when he edged Collingwood the ball flew too quickly to Ambrose. Vaughan held Panesar back until the 50th over.

Sidebottom could not get close to a mistimed Kallis pull and for the first time England missed Harmison, bowling in a key county game at Trent Bridge. His extreme pace was made for stubborn batsmen.

Kallis, as one-paced as ever and always prepared to leave the ball, had not so much dropped anchor as run the ship to dry land by tea when he had 48 in 88 balls, Prince had 24 off 69 balls and South Africa was 205 for four.

Rain stopped play for more than an hour but Flintoff, responding to the crowd, rushed in, should have had Kallis lbw at 56; his response in the next over was a short ball that almost removed Kalliss nose.

I cannot remember him so angry. The fourth ball of the over careered through Kallis’s defence at 88 miles an hour and ripped out the off stump — a hero’s reply.

He seemed to turn to salute his backing group in the Hollies Stand. They deserved nothing less.

His next victim was AB de Villiers, lofting a pull to long leg where Sidebottom had to wait an eternity with the crowd bellowing. Flintoff had four for 60 from 25 overs; a tour de force fit to compare with to rate alongside all the giants from Ernest Jones to Michael Holding.

When dusk brought play to a close, South Africa led by 25 runs with four wickets in hand and Flintoff strode in to a pavilion of cheers.

SCOREBOARD

England — Ist Innings: 231 in 77 overs

South Africa — Ist Innings: N. McKenzie lbw b Flintoff 72, G. Smith c Strauss b Flintoff 7, P. Harris c Cook b Sidebottom 19, H. Amla c & b Anderson 9, J. Kallis b Flintoff 64, A. Prince (batting) 37, A. de Villiers c Sidebottom b Flintoff 5, M. Boucher (batting) 11, Extras (lb-27, nb-5) 32; Total (for six in 76 overs) 256

Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-94, 3-117, 4-135, 5-226, 6-238.

England bowling: Sidebottom 18-6-60-1, Anderson 23-5-64-1, Flintoff 26-8-68-4, Collingwood 2-0-12-0, Panesar 7-0-25-0.

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