Betfair | Live Test Match Blog: Eng v South Africa, Day Five

Live Test Match Blog: Eng v South Africa, Day Five

Ed Hawkins is in his Lord's hotseat for the fifth day of the first Test. Can England reclaim the glory, after a tricky time in the field yesterday?

17.00 MATCH DRAWN
If Test cricket is all about momentum, and it probably is, then sure as eggs are eggs South Africa have it going in to the second Test at Headingley on Friday. For all the waffle about how dull these last two days were, it should not be forgotten that South Africa showed tremendous mental resolve to hold on for a draw. They are certainly the happier camp. England looked a weary bunch at the end and it was notable that Paul Collingwood had to take the new ball because the pacemen were too knackered. They have been in the field for three days - a heavy toll which could come to bear with the sides meeting again in back-to-back Tests. Still, they will have some chap called Flintoff (who has just replaced Chris Tremlett in the 12) to fire them up at Leeds. It swings there so expect ball to dominate rather than bat. SA may be well served to replace spinner Paul Harris with Andre Nel, who can swing it. I believe the phrase is 'when in Rome'. It is 18.00 there at the moment.

16.49 MATCH DRAWN
That's yer lot, mates. Relief is tangible that it is all over here at HQ. Stay tuned for a little bit of analysis as to how the series now stands.

16.44 SA 390-3.
Back on again now. What a ridiculous segment of the day that was. Hashim Amla has a ton by the way. It is 21.11 in Yangon.

16.39 SA 390-3 BAD LIGHT STOPPED PLAY
We think SA have been offered the light and, obviosuly, they've taken it. Certainly it is too early for the match to be called a draw because the latest for that absolute certainty is 5.30pm.As usual, the crowd has absolutely no idea what is going on. No announcement. What a shoddy way to treat the paying public.

16.34 SA 390-3
Division Two of the Pro40 is slightly harder to call because of the presence of Kent in the section. They are powerhouses in the one-day stuff at the moment; Twenty20 holders and semi-finalists again plus finalists in the Friends Provident Trophy. However, all that and a bid for County Championship glory may mean they neglect the Pro40, which could let in Northamptonshire. They are [7.00] on Betfair and although that price has shortened over the last few weeks, their real price is probably around [5.00]. They bat all the way down thanks to their South African contingent - Nicky Boje, Andrew Hall and JJ van der Wath are probably good enough to still be playing internationals - while in Hall and Johann Louw they have two of the best death bowlers around.

16.25 SA 384-3
Paul Collingwood has taken the new ball for England. A worrying sign about the fitness of the other pacemen after three days in the field.

16.12 SA 373-3
As promised, I've produced a preview of the two Pro40 campaigns, England's domestic 40-over comp. The Division One campaign begins tomorrow with last year's champs, Worcestershire, taking on Nottinghamshire. Both will have plenty of support, particularly Nottinghamshire who have a well-balanced team and will be feeling buoyant after be re-instated in the Twenty20. But forget both of them. And forget the other six, too. Instead focus on Middlesex and the juicy [10.00] which is on offer on Betfair. For some reason Middlesex are the outsiders of the pack. Why I don't know because they have proved this season they are a talented one-day team with a strong performances in the Twenty20. But really that should have come as no surprise given they were promoted from the bottom rung of the Pro40 last term. Historically, sides coming up from Division Two do well. Indeed Worcestershire won the title last year after promotion in 2006. Middlesex are a great price. Don't miss out. Division Two to follow in a bit...

16.02 SA 372-3
I think I've gone mentally. At tea I plumped for lemon drizzle cake and a coffee. A tremendously poor combination. I don't know what I was thinking. Surprising really to see such an experienced cake eater as myself make such a juvenile error, but that is what five days of hard, attriotional Test cricket do to you. I'm going to go away, learn from my mistakes and get some runs (?) in the county cake shops. It is 09.41 in Winnipeg.

15.38 SA 371-3 TEA
England's field placing smacks of desperation. First slip, third slip, two gullies, point and short extra cover. From my position up high it looks like a flock of brilliant-white swans in perfect V formation. No victory for England, though. It's 09.41 in Bogota.

15.30 SA 368-3
I've returned. Just done a bit of chat with the boys on Betfair Radio. A great time had by all. In the meantine Ryan Sidebottom has made a mess of Jacques Kallis and Alastair Cook dropped Ashwell Prince off Stuart Broad. Typical. All day I've been sat here waiting for something exciting to happen and as soon as I turn my back it all kicks off. SA lead by 24 runs and there are a potential 31 overs left. We still need something remarkable to happen for a result chaps.

14.56 SA 355-2
By the way, before things are called off here I will be posting a preview of the two Pro40 divisions. The first division begins tomorrow with Worcestershire taking on Nottinghamshire in a day-night match. Mindful that we haven't had much betting banter today, I reckon I've sniffed out some tremendous value so make sure you don't miss out. It's 06.57 in Tegucigalpa.

14.47 SA 353-2
The definition of boredom is looking at the world clock and finding it interesting. It's 01.57 on Tuesday in Anadyr. I don't even know where Anadyr is. It's 17.57 in Tashkent. Is Tashkent considered the garden of Uzbekistan?

14.24 SA 337-2
Breaking news...Neil McKenzie has a groin strain. That's the interesting bit. The dull part is that he will be fit for the next Test at Headingley, which starts on Friday.

14.08 SA 329-2
Blimey, it's all happening. Potential births of players' children and now a wicket. What next? Hashim Amla to start hitting hit to all parts of the ground instead of the popping crease. The draw is till at [1.02], however. SA trail by 16.

13.57 SA 327-1
Excitement. Something to celebrate. Well, maybe. Andrew Strauss has dashed off the field leading to rumours that his wife has gone into labour. She had been ready top drop since the Test began apparently and Strauss had said he wouldn't leave the match to be present for the birth. Clearly with the game heading towards stalemate, he is in need of some thrills. Of course if he just needed the toilet it would be a case of premature joculation - the act of celebrating an event before it has been fully resolved. Sometimes quickly followed by an embarrassing retraction when things turn out differently. This has nothing to do with making babies, unlike premature ejaculation, which, of course, could probably be blamed for about half of the world's population.

13.45 SA 322-1
http://tinyurl.com/6bwc2j
That is brilliant! I'll be amusing myself with this for hours.

13.40 SA 313-1
Unfortunately the players are back out after the break. Apparently play could be curtailed as early as 5.30pm if no result is possible. In the meantime the lovely Louise has been in touch to let me know that if I want to shorten a web address - the link I pasted below to South Africa's ginger cricketers looks like a chapter from War and Peace - I should go to www.tinyurl.com. I'll do that now.

13.00 SA 312-1LUNCH
Lunchtime.And some blessed light relief. Looking at what's on offer at the buffet will be considerably more interesting.

12.51 SA 308-1
Something almost exciting happened just then. We had an appeal for a leg before decision against Neil McKenzie. It wasn't given, though. That would be expecting too much. Some breaking news here ... the 73 people that fell into a coma during yesterday's play have all made a full recovery, apart from the three people who accidentally switched on this morning's 'action' on Sky Sports and immediately suffered a relapse. Get well soon.

12.39 SA 298-1
I've done a little bit of research into the question about has there ever been a Test side with three or more ginger-haired players in it. Rather brilliantly, England are not the first. They have actually been trumped. Judging by the pix of Lance Klusener and Jonty Rhodes in this link below - gosh it's a long one - with Shaun Pollock and Nantie Hayward, who was a notorious redhead, South Africa fielded three gingers in the second Test against England in Port Elizabeth in 1999
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.rediff.com/worldcup99/southafrica/stats/culin1a.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.rediff.com/worldcup99/southafrica/stats.htm&h=130&w=100&sz=5&hl=en&start=39&sig2=JQsfR4M_QYzvGylFv3MGZQ&tbnid=OX-0F5tgPKkroM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=70&ei=ljh7SO7wOJ2Q0QTG67wN&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddaryll%2Bcullinan%26start%3D20%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

12.17 SA 286-1
Shall I tell you something that annoys me? Ian Bell. Not specifically him but the fact that he has ginger hair and is ashamed of it. Stop dying your locks Ian, you look like a boy band member. In other words, ludicrous. If you don't believe me, I've sourced this picture of a young Ian Bell http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1515000/images/_1515634_bell150.jpg
So, now we know that Bell smells like carrots and wet bus stops, we can ask this very pertinent question: has there ever been a Test team with three gingers in it? Ryan Sidebottom and Paul Collingwood are bracketed in the same hair category if you were getting confused. Email me at hawkeyeview@hotmail.co.uk

11.57 SA 272-1
You will be glad to hear that my damp shirt has now dried. Honestly, walking in to the wind down Maida Vale this morning I was colder than a witch's tit. We could do with some sort of witchcraft here to make things more interesting. Nothing like as fancy as turning Kevin Pietersen into a frog (I suppose he could claim to be French next) but a spell cast on the South Africa batsmen to make them play a shot.

11.38 SA 259-1
Oh right, the cricket, yeah. Er, well England remain toothless. They have been reduced to trying to bounce out Hashim Amla with a leg side field of leg slip, short leg, a catching square leg and a short mid wicket. It's almost bodyline stuff. The draw is as short as [1.08] and England are [15.5].

11.28 SA 258-1
Colin Croft is here again today. The former West Indies bowler who has a business card that lists commercial pilot and sports journalist among his skills. But he is not working for anyone in a media capacity. He's just here to network and make contacts and in his words "drink the free tea and coffee and eat the cake". Er, I'm not being funny Colin but that's my f****** job. Get yer own.

11.22 SA 256-1
Lord's is half empty this morning. Or should that be half full. Nah, half empty. Let's be negative because then if something positive happens we can only be pleasantly surprised. It is perhaps not surprising that so few spectators have turned up to watch. Yesterday's fare was boring and today promises more of the same. But do not fret. This will be the place to be for hilarity, japes and general bonhomie. If you're at work or home you can email me at hawkeyeview@hotmail.co.uk . We'll also have a quiz today. A quiz! Fancy that.

11.10 SA 250-1
Morning. I got a little waylaid today.That annoying situation when you've washed a shirt the night before and it hasn't dried in time. The end result was walking to HQ this morning looking as though I was sweating like a kebab shop worker. That may well be how England's players look by the end of today. And it will be real sweat. No early wickets yet. They are desperate for them.

14 July 2008 / About Ed Hawkins