The third Test of the series starts at Newlands in Cape Town on January 2, just three days after the second Test went down to the wire – and the darkness – at Durban
Preview by Andrew Miller at Cape Town07-Sep-2005
Andrew Flintoff: geared up for the first match of 2005© Getty Images
It’s always the same in England-South Africa series. Just when you think you’ve got the script nailed, it gets dispatched off to Hollywood for a glamorous makeover, and all your pre-series plotlines are scattered to the wind.In 1994, South won a famous victory at Lord’s by the not-inconsiderablemargin of 356 runs, and were well set to wrap up the series at The Oval,only for Fanie de Villiers to aim that injudicious bouncer at DevonMalcolm’s head. Two years later at Cape Town, however, Malcolm was thescapegoat, as the last pair of Dave Richardson and Paul Adams belted SouthAfrica to an unassailable lead in a low-scoring decider.And then of course, there was the 1998 series. This time, South Africa were one-up and cruising in the third Test, and, as Tim de Lisle wrote in the following year’s Wisden, it was England who were “clinging to a precipice, in a hurricane, by one finger, while the baddie [took] leisurely aim, from a sheltered vantage-point, with an automatic weapon.” Not only did South Africa muff the shot, they allowed Robert Croft, Darren Gough and the No. 11 Angus Fraser to haul themselves back from the brink and, ultimately, back into a series that they went on to win 2-1.Leaving aside the twist of an altogether more sinister nature at Centurionin 1999-2000, it has been a fair bet that the side in command will relinquish the incentive before the series is up. The difference on this occasion, however, is that no-one is quite sure who took what out of that seesaw draw at Durban.In the immediate aftermath of the match, they was little doubt who wasmore pleased with the result. “South Africa got out of jail,” declaredMichael Vaughan, and Graeme Smith could hardly disagree: “We got a bitlucky at the end there.”Two days and one New Year hangover later, however, there may be somereassessment taking place in both camps. England did remarkably well tohaul themselves back from 139 all out on the first day, but as JacquesKallis demonstrated and Marcus Tresothick and Andrew Strass belatedlyrealised, there was no need for England to have slipped into quite such apredicament in the first place.Though he could hardly be faulted for his batting, the loss of AshleyGiles to a back spasm was a significant factor in England’s conceding afirst-innings lead of 193. Once the shine had gone off the new ball,England had no-one reliable to hold up an end, and so the effectiveness ofthe seamers was more or less halved. Giles did not bowl at his best in thesecond innings at Durban, but in mitigation, it was his first competitiveday of bowling in more than a week, and, spasms permitting, he is sure tohave a big role on a Newlands pitch that is expected to turn.Of greater concern to England, however, is the form of Mark Butcher, andto a lesser extent, Vaughan himself, who has managed just 53 runs in his first four innings of the series. Butcher was recalled after injuryahead of Robert Key, the man who had cashed in with 221 and an unbeaten 93not out against West Indies, but aside from an unflattering 79 at PortElizabeth he has struggled, and the vultures must surely be circling.Butcher himself feels a big score “is just around the corner”, and for themoment he retains the faith of his captain. “Butch played well in PortElizabeth for his 79,” said Vaughan, “although since then he hasn’tgot many runs. But I think we’ve seen over the last few years that he’s been agood player for us and pretty consistent.” Even so, his last Test hundredcame at Trent Bridge in August 2003, 16 matches ago.The issue of back-to-back Tests is sure to raise its ugly head again, especially with England expected to field the same XI for the third match running. But no matter how much of a strain it is for England’s seamers, no-one will be feeling the pinch – quite literally – like Shaun Pollock. In the closing stages at Durban, he suffered two agonising blows in consecutive balls from Steve Harmison, one on each index finger, but he was today passed fit with nothing more drastic than bruising.But even allowing for Pollock’s recovery, South Africa will still not be able to field the same team twice in two matches. Boeta Dippenaar, who struck an obdurate 110 at Port Elizabeth, has recovered from a knee injury, and takes the place of Martin van Jaarsveld, who batted with determination for his second-innings 49. Hashim Amla, who managed 1 and 0 in front of his home fans, earns a reprieve, while there could be a long-awaited debut for Charl Langeveldt, whose seven wickets for South Africa A destroyed England at Potchefstroom.If they are honest with themselves, South Africa might well have accepted this situation at the start of the series, especially now that they believe their great escape has stolen the initiative back from England. “We are the most relaxed we’ve been this series,” claimed Smith after a gentle early-morning workout. “We’ve had a nice practice here – it’s a bit cooler than in Durban – but every time you arrive at the ground you have to be on the button. We hope we can get it together for five days starting tomorrow.”South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Herschelle Gibbs,3 Jacques Rudolph, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Boeta Dippenaar, 6 Hashim Amla, 7AB de Villiers (wk), 8 Shaun Pollock, 9 Nicky Boje, 10 Makhaya Ntini, 11 Dale Steyn.England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 MarkButcher, 4 Michael Vaughan (capt), 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Simon Jones, 10 Matthew Hoggard, 11Steve Harmison.