England Cricket / Ed Hawkins / 03 January 2010 / Leave a Comment

Makhaya Ntini has been dropped by South Africa and Paul Collingwood is fit for England. It's the pivotal third Test from Newlands and Ed Hawkins is on hand with all the trends and tips. Email him your thoughts here

CLOSE 16.00 SA 379-6
That's all folks. We'll be back a little earlier tomorrow to make up for the lost time this evening - probably 10-15 minutes. South Africa [2.36], England [3.80] and the draw [3.15]

BAD LIGHT 14.46 SA 279-6
Frustration for England, relief for South Africa. If they don't come back tonight, undoubtedly it is England's day. When your captain asks you to bowl first in Test cricket it is always a gamble so for England's bowlers to return six wickets is vindication. But tomorrow they must knock these remaining four over for fewer than 320. They have a new ball to help and two 'new' batsmen in Jacques Kallis, who has been his reliable self, and Dale Steyn.

15.32 SA 266-6
England have taken the new ball. Probably a smart decision because it's availability has come at a time when a big mass of cloud has decided to hover above Table Mountain. Ordinarily that increases the likelihood of swing. South Africa [2.40], England [3.40] and the draw [3.25].

15.27 SA 261-6
A century for Jacques Kallis. That is his 33rd Test centiury and his 50th first-class one. The latter stat puts him seventh on the list for most first-class centuries by South Africans.

15.13 SA 244-6
Some people struggle to function in the early morn. Speech, movement or even cognitive thought are obstacles. Not on this blog, though. At the frighteningly immature time of 09.21 we thrusted you firmly in the direction of a wager on Jacques Kallis for top SA bat. He has 91 now. If he gets a ton here it will be his second successive ton on this ground against England.

14.58 SA 236-6
England are getting tremendous reverse swing with this old ball. So sharp and late is it that they may well consider holding off the new ball (which is due in about nine overs) to keep going with this one. If betting in-running is all about trying to work out when wickets might come, then I'll stick my neck out and say we could get a couple in quick succession. England a whopping [3.20] to back.

14.49 SA 225-6
Apologies. Dale Steyn is the new man in. An odd move that.

14.45 SA 217-6
England have a happy knack of picking up wickets at just the right time. Boucher was plumb in front to Broad, who was celebrating without even bothering to appeal to the umpire. That is a not-so-happy knack. He does it consistently and it shows a lack of respect for the officials. More Morkel in now.

WICKET 14.42 SA 216-6
M Boucher lbw b Broad 51. South Africa [2.40], England [2.98] and the draw [3.35].

14.33 SA 213-5
South Africa just need to get something competitive. 300 or 350. They're not going to get a massive first-innings score." Mike Atherton's pearls. Quite agree. 'Could a wicket be in the offing?' I hear you cry. Possibly. England are getting the ball to shape in nicely. A bit of reverse.

14.17 SA 200-5
To add to the debate, South Africa, at [2.28] are now shorter than the [2.38] that were at the finish of day one at Centurion when they were 62 runs and one wicket better off.

14.08 SA 192-5
To borrow a line from Sirloin of Beef, I'm confused. South Africa are favourites at [2.48]. Can someone explain that to me? The reason for the bewilderment is this: I have rarely seen a Betfair match odds market behave in such a way. By that I mean it is being proactive. Ordinarily it is reactive. The match odds market does not factor in what is going to happen in three or fours day's time. It is purely driven by the here and now. So it should follow that with the match situation as it is, England should be favourites. Clearly, however, there is a belief that Kallis and Boucher will get South Africa up to somewhere near 350 and that the pitch will then deteriorate. I'm not so sure.

TEA 13.43 SA 183-5
England have a 2-0 lead as far as sessions are concerned. The key to notching for a second time was the early removal of Graeme Smith, who exposed an ill-disciplined Ab De Villiers and the hopelessly out of form JP Duminy. Graeme Swann is, of course, the hero for England. Nothing new there, then. South Africa [2.50], England [2.92] and the draw [3.80].

13.22 SA 156-5
Surprised to see England hit [2.70] a few moments ago. South Africa, would you believe, were the same price. The market favours England now, but only just. Worth getting with the tourists in my opinion. Even if South Africa scramble to 300 here - still a long way off - they have underperformed and England are in the box seat. Also, there is a hint of reverse swing. Jacques Kallis needs one for 50.

13.03 SA 141-5
Problems for South Africa then. Not just in this innings, but long-term, too. In Ashwell Prince and JP Duminy they have batsmen who are ... well, hopeless. I was trying to think of something more profound but I think that covers it. Prince has only 63 runs in the series. As for Duminy, iIn his last 10 Test innings after his 166 in Aus (13, 16, 17, 29, 73*, 17, 7, 56, 11, 0) he is averaging 26.5 and that's including a red inker to bolster his average. Not good enough. Both were out for ducks today while Duminy has fallen first ball in his last two innings. South Africa are effectively playing with only nine men. Not surprising they're on the brink of a series defeat when you analyse it in those terms.

12.48 SA 131-5
Drama. And not for the first time in his Test career, it is Graeme Swann who is the architect. He got lucky with the first wicket, when AB De Villiers inexplicably clipped into the hands of midwicket but Swann needs only a glimpse of an opportunity. Very next ball he snared JP Duminy to be on a hat-trick. A total turnaround in the prices in the space of two balls. England are well on top with only Kallis and Boucher separating them from the bowlers.

12.43 WICKET SA 127-4
JP Duminy c Prior b Swann 0. South Africa [3.05, England [2.42] and the draw [3.70].

WICKET 12.40 SA 127-4
AB De Villiers c Strauss b Swann 36. South Africa [2.54], England [3.35], the draw [2.94].

12.24 SA 111-3
"There's no hot-spot and you're not getting catches given that the players in the middle know are out." So said Graeme Swann about the referrals. Something of a Nostradamus moment because Swann was convinced he had AB De Villiers caught behind but did not ask for a review. The ironic thing is that if England has asked to go upstairs, they would have got their man ... well, probably. Replays showed De Villiers' foot was in the air as Prior, with that reflex reaction that keepers have, broke the stumps.

12.11 SA 102-3
Jacques Kallis (29) and AB de Villiers (22) have settled South Africa nerves. It has to be said, though, that if they could not steady the ship in such decent batting conditions then there was something seriously wrong. As runscoring gets easier, the draw price will contract. It is a staple of the first day action. It is [2.78[ and closing. We will keep an eye out for the best lay price.

11.50 South Africa 85-3
Four times in this series Graeme Swann has taken a wicket in his first over. So for South Africa to survive his opener here is something of a minor triumph.

11.39 SA 73-3
A good time to have a look at some prices for South Africa's first-innings runs. They are even money for 325 runs or more. That looks skinny given they are three wickets down but the stats are in their favour. The average first-innings total in the last 10 Tests at Cape Town is 346. When South Africa bat first at Newlands, they average 407 in the last five.

11.20 SA 52-3
A significant blow. England had to split the Smith-Kallis axis before batting got too easy. It keeps South Africa under pressure, and as we have seen in this series, they're not too hot. Indeed, there are signs already that their thinking is becoming fractious. Jacques Kallis just took a crazy run and was home only by an inch or so to a direct hit. Still a bit of cloud cover atop Table Mountain by the way, folks.

WICKET 11.16 SA 51-3
G Smith lbw b Anderson 30. South Africa [3.00], England [2.55], and the draw [3.60]

11.10 SA 51-2
An extra half an hour has been added to this session to make up for the lost time this morning due to rain. A key 10 minutes or so here. Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis must start from scratch. If they can survive this opening salvo, then batting could well be a cosy business to be in.

10.33 SA 51-2
The wicket of Amla just before the break has cheered England. They sure needed it. It means they did not waste useful bowling conditions. However, it is doubtful they will still be in place after the break. The cloud covering Table Mountain has slowly been burning off.

10.22 SA 46-2
Amla's fortune has run out. Consistently this morning he has been trying to hit straight balls through midwicket. Eventually he missed one. Amla has been out leg before in more than a quarter of his Test innings. Odd that he is yet to work out why. Instead of that wicket being down to swing, we'll put it in the category of batsman incompetence.

WICKET 10.18 SA 46-2
H Amla lbw b Onions 14. South Africa [2.70, England [3.00] and the draw [3.25].

10.14 SA 45-1
The Betfair match odds market has run out of patience with England this morning. Not enough wickets. South Africa are now favourites at [2.56] with England at [3.65]. It is a surprising move because the amount of swing this morning would normally see the prices transposed. However, the market has been proactive - a rarity that - in reckoning that batting will get easier as the cloud disperses. And it it is right.

10.00 SA 29-1
Hashim Amla gets lucky. He edged behind to Matt Prior off Stuart Broad but the review umpire would not overrule because there was a lack of evidence. I'm not sure about that. There was a noise and a deviation. Broad is furious. He has the look of a six-year-old who is about to burst into tears.

09.50 SA 28-1
Drinks. England are doing okay. But with cloud cover slowly disappearing, they may begin to get anxious, particularly as Hashim Amla is a different player when the ball stops moving. The tourists will rue the missed catch off Graeme Smith by Graeme Swann at second slip. The drop was a consequence of Paul Collingwood's injury, who is unable to field in the slips. England's cordon is all to cock.

09.35 SA 23-1
We are currently being denied one of world cricket's most tear-inducing views. Table Mountain is covered by cloud. Make a note of that. When the rock is covered by cloud, the ball will move around. When it has been burned off and we get to see it in all its glory, the batsmen have the upper hand.

09.21 SA 13-1
Best get some stats posted on top SA bat before another wicket goes down. Graeme Smith, already dropped, is [3.25] for honours. His record is pretty good here but one would probably prefer to be with the superior Jacques Kallis numbers. At [4.70] he has the best technique, too. Forget Hashim Amla at [4.40]. He looks dodgy in the extreme when the ball is moving. Interestingly punters are expecting skittle alley action with Any Other Batsman (from Mark Boucher down) as short as [3.80].

Innings/Average/Centuries at Newlands
Smith 10/53/2
Prince 8/75/2
Kallis 16/65/5
AB de Villiers 8/31/1
JP Duminy 1/7/0
Boucher 14/43/1

09.14 SA 9-1
With a bit of luck, you wouldn't have had time to back Ashwell Prince for top South Africa batsman. You could have made a case for him. He got 150 the last time he played on this ground. And against Australia, too. We'll have a look at the market in a mo.

09.08 SA 1-1
Well, that didn't take too long. Four balls to be precise. England are lethal in these conditions. They may not last long, though. The sun could be out soon so the tourists need to make as much headway as possible. They certainly don't need to drop catches, as Graeme Swann has just done off Graham Onions' first ball. A very simple chance at second slip. It was Graeme Smith, too.

WICKET 09.03 SA 1-1
A Prince c Prior b Anderson 0. South Africa [3.00], England [2.38], the draw [3.90].

08.46 England win the toss and bowl
Andrew Strauss has been charmed by the overcast conditions, opting to bowl first. An attacking move from Strauss. But a smart one? We'll soon find out. South Africa [3.15], England [2.70] and the draw [3.15]

08.22
Rain. Not the most cheery of words to kick off our in-running betting blog with. But it might not be around for long. We could have the toss very soon indeed. When we do we'll have the teams confirmed but the word is that Makhaya Ntini has been dropped for Friedel De Wet and Paul Collingwood is fit.

Post a comment

Name:

Email Address:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Comment: