Eng. v. SA. - 4th. Test

[Donny]

England send for Bicknell at last
Steven Lynch - August 18, 2003

England's selectors have sprung a surprise by recalling Martin Bicknell, the Surrey seamer, into their squad of 13 for the fourth npower Test against South Africa, which starts at Headingley on Thursday. Also called up is Worcestershire's Kabir Ali: Glen Chapple and Gareth Batty, who were both in the squad for the third Test at Trent Bridge but missed out on selection, have been dropped altogether for Headingley.

Bicknell, who's now 34, played two Tests against Australia ten years ago in 1993, taking four wickets at 65.75. Since then, he has been a consistent performer in the strong Surrey side, although ironically this year he has shone less often than usual – so far he has taken 40 wickets at 27.77, including his third five-for of the season in Surrey's most recent victory, over Nottinghamshire at Whitgift School. That haul included his brother, Darren, who now plays for Notts. It will be a surprise for Bicknell, who told Wisden Cricket Monthly recently: "I gave up on England about three years ago. I don't give it a moment's thought."

David Graveney, England's chairman of selectors, explained: ""Bicknell is one of the unluckier players not to be selected before. He's sometimes been injured but Andrew Caddick and Darren Gough have been the mainstay of our attack. Their absence has created opportunities for others."

Meanwhile Kabir Ali, 22, marked his omission from the third-Test side by taking 8 for 53 in Worcestershire's two-day win over Yorkshire at Scarborough. Those were the best figures of the season at the time, beating Kabir's own 8 for 58 against Derbyshire at Worcester, and his overall figures this season are an impressive 57 wickets at 21.19. Contrast that with Chapple's 30 wickets at 37.86 and you begin to understand why there was so much headshaking at New Road last week when the Trent Bridge squad was announced. Chapple, though, has picked up an ankle injury which precluded his selection

At least one of them seems certain to play, as although Steve Harmison retains his place in the squad he is doubtful with the calf injury that hindered him at Trent Bridge. Graveney said that he remained the selectors' first choice, but admitted: "If Harmison's calf was the same as it was yesterday [Sunday] it would be foolhardy for us to send him into a Test match."

If Headingley serves up its usual seam-friendly surface, then both Bicknell and Kabir might be included, although that would be harsh on Ashley Giles, whose batting has improved this season (and don't forget that Anil Kumble took seven wickets at Headingley last year). But both newcomers can bat a bit too. Bicknell has scored two first-class hundreds this season, while Kabir has passed 50 twice as well. England's victory in the exciting third Test at Trent Bridge has set up the series beautifully. England will be looking to replicate the events of 1998 against South Africa, when they lost at Lord's, but came behind to snatch the series with victories at Trent Bridge and Headingley.

England squad Michael Vaughan (capt), Marcus Trescothick, Mark Butcher, Nasser Hussain, Ed Smith, Alec Stewart (wk), Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Martin Bicknell, Kabir Ali, James Kirtley, James Anderson, Steve Harmison.

[Donny]

A bit of info on Kabir Ali:

Born: 24 November 1980, Moseley, Birmingham, Warwickshire
Major Teams: Worcestershire, Worcestershire Cricket Board, England.
Known As: Kabir Ali
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Right Arm Medium Fast

He's played 45 first class matches for 167 wickets @ 25.74 with his best haul being the 8/53 he took two weeks ago.

[couragous cloke]

England bye... 149 runs

[Donny]

England rediscover their optimism
The Wisden Preview
by Freddie Auld - August 20, 2003


After scraping the depths of despair at Lord's, a stirring display on a helpful Trent Bridge track has breathed life back into England's cricketers, who now go to Headingley for the fourth npower Test against South Africa with the series delicately poised at 1-1.

A packed crowd awaits them, anticipating an action-packed thriller like the last Test, and it's a good bet that Headingley will provide one. Since 1980, there have been only two drawn Tests there. One was a rain-affected game with Pakistan in 1996 and the other against South Africa in 1994. South Africa haven't won a Test at Headingley in ten attempts, although they came close in 1998 when they failed to knock off the 34 runs required on the fourth morning, but Graeme Smith isn't one for omens.

What will be more worrying for Smith is the absence of Shaun Pollock, who has flown home for the birth of his first child. Smith hasn't been sleeping much on this tour and the absence of his leading bowler is sure to keep him counting sheep. Pollock took 6 for 39 in the last Test and threatened to turn the game, and the series, in South Africa's favour. "Shaun's a world-class player," Smith said, "but for the first two Tests we missed Jacques Kallis. Now someone else has got to take responsibility." Pollock's stand-in is certain to be Dewald Pretorius. He impressed with four wickets at Edgbaston, but he, like Makhaya Ntini and Andrew Hall, is no Pollock.

Gary Kirsten has recovered from an elbow injury and will replace either Jacques Rudolph (15 and 0 at Nottingham) or Boeta Dippenaar (0 and 1). Neil McKenzie is sure to keep his spot at No. 6 after his rescuing stand with Mark Boucher. England, meanwhile, are waiting on the fitness of Steve Harmison, who yesterday had painkilling injections for a calf injury. If he does not recover, they have a choice of the forgotten man, Martin Bicknell, or the new upstart, Kabir Ali.

Bicknell made his debut 10 years ago against Australia, at Headingley. It didn't go well. He struggled through 50 overs and took 1 for 155 as England went down by an innings and plenty. He played only one more Test after that and if he is selected for his third cap tomorrow, he is under no illusions it will be a similar story. "There are a lot of good cricketers out there, younger and fitter than me, and I know there are a lot of injuries and that is why I have got my chance," Bicknell said. "It could just be a one-off Test and I am under no illusions at all, I am fully prepared for anything."

It has been a while since England last adopted their horses-for-courses policy at Headingley, but it is one that has served them well in the past. Neil Mallender, Steve Watkin and Derek Pringle are just a handful of the old pros who have been wheeled out to exploit its uniquely seam-friendly conditions, and Bicknell would be a worthy successor to the tradition. As he himself said, he will let nobody down.

Kabir, who has taken two eight-wicket hauls for Worcestershire this season, is another whose international debut at Headingley was not everything that it might have been. He was selected for the fourth match of this year's NatWest Series, against Zimbabwe, but the game was washed out after 16 overs of England's innings and hence Kabir didn't get a sniff of action. Bicknell's reliable accuracy and handy lower-order batting may push him ahead in the pecking order, but there could be a spot for both of them if Ashley Giles is left out and England play five seamers.

The Headingley ticket office has been bombarded with phone calls leading up to the Test and the first three days are sold out. There have also been 500 bookings made on the internet. Who says that Headingley and Yorkshiremen are behind the times?

Probable teams
England 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Michael Vaughan (capt), 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Nasser Hussain, 5 Ed Smith, 6 Alec Stewart (wk), 7 Andrew Flintoff, 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Martin Bicknell, 10 James Kirtley, 11 James Anderson.

South Africa 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Gary Kirsten, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Jacques Rudolph, 6 Neil McKenzie, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Andrew Hall, 9 Paul Adams, 10 Dewald Pretorius, 11 Makhaya Ntini.

[London Dave]

Poms made good start...SA 4 for 60 odd, after being 4/27, Smith chased a crap ball, out first over. Gibbs second over.....after SA won toss and batted.

[Donny]

SA are 4/71 after 29 overs. Kirsten is 29 and Rudolph, 26. These two have added 50 after their terrible start of 4/21.

England left out Giles to play 5 seamers. Bicknell has 2/12, Kirtley, 1/20 and Ali, 1/20.

[Donny]

S.A. have moved on to 4/113 with Rudolph just bringing up his half century. Kirsten is 35. Their partnership is 92.

[Donny]

A good fightback was ruined by a rash stroke, just before tea, which saw Boucher (16) out. Flintoff was the bowler.

Kirsten is 44 n.o. S.A. added just 2/71 during the lunch to tea session to be 6/142.

[Donny]

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. What a wonderful innings from Gary Kirsten !! He's on 109 n.o., his 18th. Test century and one of his very best.

You'll see flashier centuries but innings of such quality, such patience and grit, as this one was, was outstanding. It capped a fascinating day of Test cricket.

He came to the crease in the first over, and stood like a rock as 7 wickets tumbled around him. when Boucher departed in the last over before tea and Hall (0) immediately after, it looked like S.A. would perhaps reach 160.

Debutante, Monde Zondeki strode to the crease and it was almost like he said to the veteran, Kirsten, "OK, mate, I'll stick with you. Lets play some shots"

In that last session, Kirsten added 65 and Zondeki, 50. Their partnership stands at a record (S.A. v. Eng.) 118 and the total is 7/260.

S.A were in tatters after Kirtley had dismissed Smith (2) in the first over and Martin Bicknell, recalled after 10 years in the wilderness, snared Gibbs for a duck in his first and then grabbed the prized scalp of Kallis (6) to have 2/2 after 6 overs.

When Kabir Ali, playing his first Test, got McKenzie's wicket in his first over, S.A. had crashed to 4/21 after winning the toss and electing to bat.

I'll certainly be watching tonight.

[Donny]

Flintoff's foot costs England dear
The Wisden Verdict
by Steven Lynch - August 21, 2003

It seemed like a minor inconvenience at the time. Andy Flintoff dug one in to Gary Kirsten just before lunch, but overstepped by a millimetre or two. Kirsten popped up a catch to backward point, but the no-ball call meant that it wasn't out. Kirsten didn't change his shot, although he might just have gone through with it more than if the umpire had kept mum. Instead of being 70 for 5, South Africa went in to lunch only four down.

And Kirsten kept going. He is a barnacle of Trevor Bailey proportions at the crease - he added only 15 between lunch and tea, not that the South Africans were complaining. On South Africa's last tour he made arguably the least-memorable double-century in Test history, at Old Trafford - but he sticks around. To good effect, too: he is the only man, other than Steve Waugh, to have made a Test century against the other nine possible opponents.

Kirsten's batting philosophy is simple: keep out the straight ones, and ignore the others unless there's a chance of square-cutting or driving them for four, or nurdling to fine leg. He's a latter-day John Edrich, with that priceless ability to forget the last ball (or no-ball) and devote his attention to the next one. This Headingley century came nine years after his half-brother Peter, usually a far freer strokemaker, grafted to the one and only Test century of his life there, when he was 39.

With Kirsten at one end South Africa managed to stretch way past the total that looked likely when they were languishing in the first hour. Then, Graeme Smith's decision to bat first looked ludicrous: now it doesn't seem quite so bad.

England paid for a lack of variety in the attack - five fast-medium bowlers of roughly equal pace and size means the batsmen can set themselves comfortably. And the niggling hamstring that restricted Martin Bicknell's bowling was worrying and frustrating in equal measure, as he had dropped immediately into the Glenn McGrath-type trundle that he might have been doing for England throughout the last ten years, instead of for the first time in a decade. England have played 114 Tests since Bicknell's previous one - a record, breaking the previous mark of 104 by Younis Ahmed of Pakistan between 1969-70 and 1986-87. Bicknell's first spell (9-6-12-2) had everyone wondering where he'd been. England missed the boat with Bicknell - and they missed the boat today, too.

[Donny]

"England paid for a lack of variety in the attack - five fast-medium bowlers of roughly equal pace and size means the batsmen can set themselves comfortably"

You've gotta wonder about England's selection committee. OK, it's a seamer's wicket and both teams left our their spinner but S.A. played the extra batsman.

England have Stewart batting at 6 whereas S.A. have Boucher at 7 with Hall and Zondeki to follow.

So, you may say, both teams have 5 seamers but the big difference is The Protea's 5th. bowler - Kallis - has a batting average of 50 and bats at 4 as opposed to Flintoff who bats at 7 and averages 23.

[Donny]

Kirsten and Zondeki are still going.

After 100 overs, S.A. are 7/289 and the partnership moves on to 147.

[Donny]

Anderson got one to outswing and Zondeki (59) had a drive at it and Butcher snapped him up in the gully. The partnership was 150.

Zondeki has done the first part of replacing Shaun Pollock and we'll soon see how he does the more difficult part - opening the bowling with Ntini.

[Donny]

Kirsten finally went for 130, attempting a big hit.

He hit 17 fours from 323 balls and 316 were scored by S.A while he was at the crease.

[Donny]

Vaughan (b. Ntini 15) gone. England are 1/73 after 19 overs.

Zondeki couldn't complete his second over and has left the field. Looked like he strained a muscle.