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Live Test Match Blog: England v South Africa

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Ed "The Hawkeye" Hawkins will be keeping us up to date with all the action and betting news from the Fourth and final Test between England and South Africa. It's Kevin Pietersen's first ever Test as England captain and he's not the type to want to get off to a losing start...

18.35 Eng 49-1 CLOSE
England are 145 behind. If they lose an early wicket tomorrow - both Alastair Cook and Ian Bell will have to start afresh to make that more likely - we should consider backing them because despite SA's low total, this is a good batting wicket.

18.23 Eng 42-1
England have started well, which shouldn't be a surprise because the pitch is good. It is a surprise to some, though because they are hovering around the [1.60] mark. We could beack at that price but I'm holding out for a lucky SA wicket.

17.55 Eng 20-1
Ian Bell has survived a run out shout by the thinnest of margins. He was dawdling there and the direct hit threatened his stay. Bell is fancied for runs here by those unaware of his record at No. 3 for two fair reasons. Firstly that he makes it count on flat, road-like wickets. Secondly, he makes it count when the pressure is off. There is nothing riding on this game so it would be typical for Bell to score big in a meaningless game.

17.34 Eng 7-1
Andrew Strauss has edged Ntini to slip for 6, letting me down again. That brings Ian Bell to the crease, who has poor record at No. 3. His career average is 42 but that crashes to 35 batting at first down. Another quick one here and it might be worth backing England.

17.25 Eng 1-0
England's innings has begun. Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook, as usual, are opening. I have been banging on about Strauss for some time now. I reckon he is in good order but just does not have the scores to back that view up. He has been unfortunate with some of the deliveries he has received. And when he doesn't get a good one he stands on his stumps at Edgbaston. Strauss is [5.50] for top England runscorer in this dig. Cook is [5.40]. I do not think his game is in good order, however. His hands and feet are out of sync.

17.09 SA 194
KP must be thinking this captaincy lark is easy. Slaps on the back for ervyone from their new leader. He has been very touchy-feely, by the way, unable to keep his hands off his bowlers most of the day. I can't fathom how SA have managed to be shot out for such a low score. It really does look a belter to bat on. Let's hope they manage some early wickets with the new ball to make the market look more interesting than it does currently. England [1.64], SA [4.5], draw [5.7].

16.50 SA 184-9
This section of the game is a trifle dull. SA aren't scoring runs and England are waiting for the final wicket. Sky have been reduced to looking at faces in the crowd, a sure sign that nothing is happening. Oh look, there's Trevor MacDonald. Don't we see him at every Test? I'll go tens on that if this innings lasts another 10 minutes we'll see a shot of John Major.

16.25 SA 172-9
Stuart Broad has his second wicket. Reward for some hard work for the young lad because he has been a tad expensive. England finishing off the tail nicely. England are available to back at [1.61] at the moment, which doesn't seem short enough.

16.15 SA 168-8
A short and quick ball from Stuart Broad has done for Morne Morkel, who is so disorientated that he has walked off the pitch in completely the wrong direction, heading for the groundsman's shed instead of the pavilion. It rather sums up SA's effort in this first innings.

16.00 SA 158-7
I'm finding it difficult not to find this match situation disappointing. Not because I'm on SA but the fact that there is a very real danger of minimal trading chances for the next four days. SA are about to be skittled and on a good pitch, England's batsmen should be capable of posting a big total. If that happens then the game is as good as done. Hurrumph!

15.43 SA 158-7 TEA
Monty has struck just before tea to remove De Villiers. England well in charge.This may sound bonkers but with the wicket so good, it's hard to see England not winning from here.

15.42 158-6
Portuguese Pirate says: "Just been having a discussion with my mate at work about whether KP will bowl more or less now that he is the man making that decision. He reckons more because he fancies himself to do everything well but I'm not so sure. I reckon he'll bowl more in ODIs than he does now and about the same in Tests". Agreed. KP could be a very useful spinner in ODIs, particularly with spin likely to be crucial in the next World Cup in India. Email me at hawkeyeview@hotmail.co.uk

15.04 SA 131-5
The final concern about KP's captaincy is whether he is smart enough to do the job. It is easily the greatest fear. He has never struck me as someone who has the required brain power to deal with the nuances of the game, fielding positions, technical flaws etc. In the field he reminds me of a sketch in The Simpsons when Homer's face was a picture of concentration only for it to be revealed that inside his head he was away in a fantasy land with music playing.

14.42 SA 118-5
Ashwell Prince gone. That wasn't supposed to happen. I'm at a loss to explain why SA are failing to score runs on this surface. It is excellent to bat on. Prince played fast and loose outside off stump to James Anderson and offered an easy catch to Ian Bell in the covers.

14.34 SA 117-4
I think we should expect a spell of SA dominace now. Runs in the offing. It would be amazing if England continued in the same bowling vein as that three-wicket burst so have a back of SA at [3.40] and we should be able to lay for a nice margin in 50 runs time.

14.20 SA 105-4
SA imploding on a good wicket. Jacques Kallis, on a horrendous run, goes leg before to Anderson. It was almost a yorker. Why can't Kallis pick up these fast and full deliveries? England [2.42], SA [3.85] and the draw [2.96].

14.12 SA 103-3
Two wickets in two balls for Steve Harmison. First he gets Graeme Smith to misjudge a pull to James Anderson, then he cleans up Amla, who missed a straight one. SA into [3.3], which has hardly budged amazingly.

14.00 SA 96-1
Steve Harmison is back on. He may try to rough up Hasim Amla, who has a strike rate of more than 100. Amla should score heavily at The Oval. He has a tremendous record in India and will find this surface similar to the wicket he enjoyed out there.

13.42 SA 71-1
Is KP too selfish to be a captain? Well, the same charge was levelled at Nasser Hussain and he turned out okay. Much has been made of KP's Behaviour when he was at Notts where he upset virtually everyone. That was about eight years ago, though, when he started there so it would be tough to criticise him for something so distant. Indeed, having just seen an interview with KP on Sky, he seems obsessed with loving his team-mates. "It's like a marriage. You love each other. Sometimes you have disagreements but it's like a husband and wife relationship". Cook has just dropped his third catch of the day. I bet KP's not loving that.

13.30 SA 65-1
We're back after lunch.Instead of a sandwich, or pie, Andrew Flintoff munched on a pain killer. Don't worry, it's not his ankle just a sore toe.

12.48 SA 64-1 RAIN STOPPED PLAY
I'm not sure whether the rain that is falling at The Oval was the same rain we had in west London earlier. If it is, they could be off for about an hour. They may as well take lunch, in which case no overs will be lost.

12.38 SA 56-1
Neil McKenzie has edged Andrew Flintoff to Alastair Cook at slip, who this time holds on. Third time lucky for Cook, who had dropped two chances earlier.

12.30 SA 48-0
So the first problem with giving the captaincy to KP is that it could reduce the effectiveness of England's finest batsman. Personally, I don't think it will impact that greatly. KP does not strike me as someone who has a problems stopping a plethora of thoughts running through his head. Michael Vaughan, of course, was a thinker and allowed it to distract him - averaging 50 without the captaincy and 36 with it. There have been instances of the England captaincy improving batsmen, as the table below shows.
Av w/o capt Av with capt
Vaughan 50 36
Flintoff 32 33
Hussain 38 36
Atherton 35 40
Stewart 39.5 39.2
Gooch 35 58
Gatting 32 44
Gower 44 43

12.10 45-0
Don't forget to email me at hawkeyeview@hotmail.co.uk. On that note, Mahavir has been in touch asking weather-related questions. I've posted a forecast below. Incidentally, it has just started raining heavily in west London. I reckon the wind might not blow this south, though.
Day one Showers arriving at 4pm
Day two Light showers
Day three Sunny spells but rain forecast too
Day four Light showers
Day five Cloudy

12.05 SA 33-0
"Come on boys," encourages Pietersen as the drinks come on to the field. Following Michael Vaughan's resignation as skipper, Pietersen's appointment has been met with surprise. The kindest way it has been described is "a gamble". So over the next few hours we'll have a look at the three reaons why. They are: it could affect KP's batting form, he is not seen as a team man and, lastly, he might be a couple of balls short of an over

11.49 SA 15-0
Things are beginning to settle at The Oval now so it is a good time to chew the fat over what could happen over the next five days. Before the toss I had tipped South Africa to win the Test in the Racing Post and I have seen nothing to change my mind. They should post more than 400 on a wicket as good as this, putting tremendous pressure on England's batsmen. The other reason for favouring South Africa is England's record under new captains in their first game in charge is poor; winning one from the last six. Not hugely surprising that when you consider most captains lose a job because the team is not performing.

11.03 SA 0-0
Graeme Smith has been dropped by Alastair Cook at gully from the first ball of the match. An omen for Pietersen's reign? It really should have been taken. KP puts his hands on his head and offers a wry smile.

10.55
Kevin Pietersen has lost the toss, which immediately puts England in the back foot. Only one side that has batted first in the last 10 Tests at The Oval has gone on to lose the game. That was South Africa, however in 2003. Here are the prices: England [5.30], South Africa [3.20] and the draw [1.98]. And here are the teams:
England: AN Cook, AJ Strauss, IR Bell, KP Pietersen, PD Collingwood, A Flintoff, TR Ambrose, SCJ Broad, JM Anderson, SJ Harmison, MS Panesar
SA: *GC Smith, ND McKenzie, HM Amla, JH Kallis, AG Prince, AB de Villiers, MV Boucher, M Morkel, PL Harris, A Nel, M Ntini

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