South Africa vs West Indies

The highly anticipated ODI series between West Indies and South Africa got under way on a Saturday morning at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

The match was monumental for the stadium’s future as it had last hosted a Test match between West Indies and England in 2009, which was abandoned with only 10 balls being bowled. So, North Sound was indeed a happy place to be in, even as South Africa won both the T-20 internationals against the hosts.

And yet again, South Africa didn’t disappoint at all. A comprehensive win by 66 runs was a fitting reply to those critics who questioned Graeme Smith’s captaincy, which was said to be ruining South African cricket. The match began with Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, having won the toss and elected to field first on a damp wicket due to rain before the start of the game. South Africa lost two huge wickets of their captain and Jacques Kallis in a span of 10 overs.

However, Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers had some other ideas. The pair put up a 129-run partnership for the third wicket, in the process registering identical scores of 102. West Indies bowled well in bits and pieces, picking seven wickets with Dwayne Bravo picking 3/40 in 10 overs.

But South Africa was in the driver’s seat after posting 280 runs in 48 overs of batting. During their chase, West Indies didn’t look like a team on a mission to prove that their performance in the World T-20 was a few bad days in the office. They didn’t bat with their hearts out with the team losing Andre Fletcher early.

The captain, Chris Gayle and Bravo, batting at No.3, were on course of winning the match for the hosts until Bravo fell in the 8th over itself, falling to a rash shot rather than good bowling by Ryan McLaren. And worse, Gayle’s dismissal followed in the 13th over, after playing an impatient shot of Morne Morkel.

Ramnaresh Sarwan and Narsingh Deonarine put up a 4th wicket partnership, which was slow enough to allow the rest of the batting line-up to crumble under pressure in the last over. Charismatic all-rounder Kieron Pollard hit a quick-fire 44, but the team succumbed to some good South African bowling as they were bundled out for 215 in a mere 44.1 overs, with Morne Morkel picking up 3/40 in 8 overs which included the wicket of the West Indian captain.

Hashim Amla was the man-of-the match for his fine 102 which led the foundation of a big total to post for the South Africa.

It was the same old story again in the 2nd ODI at the same venue. This time, South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first. Captain Graeme Smith was looking to finally get back into form, until he was bowled by West Indies spinner Nikita Miller.

However, that didn’t demoralize the South Africans as it was once again, the wall of South Africa, Hashim Amla who played well for his 92 at an impressive strike-rate of 96.84. South Africa had good, quick partnerships to get exactly 300 runs in 50 overs. Kallis, also with a half-century alongside AB de Villiers and David Miller took advantage of Amla’s foundation innings to put South Africa in a winning position at the innings break.

West Indies didn’t learn from their poor chase in the last match and faltered again. It was a slow start from the West Indies with Gayle getting out first in the 11th over. And it looked like it was all over at 236/7 in 44 overs, when Bravo fell for a well-deserved 74. However, Darren Sammy put up a brave fight which made even the critics of the West Indies believe that they could win from a precarious position, with just 6 overs to go!

A flurry of outstandingly-struck sixes helped Sammy score 58 runs of only 24 balls. This is the only positive that West Indies can take from this match which they narrowly lost by 17 runs, and as a result 0-2 down in a 5 match series, which means that they have to win all of the next 3 matches to win the series.

Hashim Amla was yet again the man-of-the-match, but West Indies have certainly found a third all-rounder in the team in Darren Sammy who scored the fastest fifty for the West Indies in ODI cricket, ahead of greats such as Brian Lara, Vivian Richards and his captain, Chris Gayle! No matter whether the first 2 ODIS have been bad for the hosts, yet the increasing quality of cricket played in this series makes the last three matches a lot more exciting.

Yet again, Kevin Pietersen was the chief architect of the triumph. He smashed a scintillating 53 from 33 balls and also featured in a 94-run stand with Craig Kieswetter, as England put up a challenging total of 168 for 7, batting first. The bowlers then did the rest, bowling out South Africa for a measly 129, to romp home by a comfortable 39-run margin.

Spin did the trick for the bowling side as Graeme Swann picked up three crucial wickets and Michael Yardy. Ryan Sidebottom then demolished the tail in no time to cap an extremely impressive performance by England.

Pietersen, who will be returning back home to be with his wife for the birth of their first child, played an impactful knock that took the sting out of South Africa’s bowling. The Proetas depended heavily on their paces, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, but both came a cropper on this day.

The duo was torn apart by Pietersen and Kieswetter’s, in a partnership which perceptibly hurt the psyche of the bowling side. Steyn was smashed for three boundaries in his very first over while Morkel gave away two free hits in his opening over.

The momentum was with England, though South Africa had a chance when Pietersen edge one of Morkel, but neither Mark Boucher nor Jacques Kallis went for the catch.

Charl Langeveldt’s introduction only made matters worse. He conceded wides, sprayed the ball all over and was taken for plenty as England hit their way to 65 for 1 at the of the Powerplay. If South were able to restrict England to well below 200, which looked eminently possible at one stage, it was due to the efforts of experienced hands like Johan Botha and Kallis.

While the former conceded a stingy 15 runs in his quota of overs, Kallis ensured he bowled a tight line as well. But, Botha it was who ended Pietersen’s whirlwind knock, having him caught at short fine-leg.

Kieswetter also fell soon trying to up the ante. Wickets kept falling in the pursuit of runs as Paul Collingwood and Luke Wright also perished. Langeveldt came back well in the death overs, his yorker length deliveries came in handy in resisting England’s charge.

Slog over specialist Eoin Morgan also couldn’t provide the requisite finishing touches to the innings as the Proteas recovered reasonably well from an unimpressive start.

South Africa should have been buoyed by the comeback by their bowlers. But, it hardly reflected in their batting effort. Opening with Graeme Smith and Kallis chose to play it safe in the Powerplay overs, a ploy which backfired big time. As the pressure built up, Kallis miscued a drive to mid off. And when, England introduced spin, the match turned even more in their favour.

Herschelle Gibbs missed his chance to stand up being the senior pro, as Yardy removed him with his first ball; a mention has to be made of Sidebottom, who took a stunning catch running backwards.

If Yardy put in a notable effort, Swann was lethal. After troubling Smith on a number of occasions, he had him caught off an attempted sweep that was top-edged. Swann also got rid of the dangerous AB de Villiers cheaply as a pull shot was lapped up skipper Collingwood. South Africa were not helped by the fact that Albie Morkel could not repeat the heroics of his previous match.

He was cleaned up Yardy and soon the South Africans were struggling at 53 for 5. Sidebottom’s aggressive mop-up job meant, England were well on their way to secure a semi-final birth. Speaking of birth, the Englishmen would also hope that Pietersen returns in time for the semis, following his wife’s delivery.

Kieron Pollard

Kieron Pollard proved why he was the most expensive buy during the auction for IPL 3. He put in a magnificent all-round performance against the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the first semi-final as Mumbai sealed their place in the final with an emphatic 35-run win.

The fiery West Indian first slammed a sizzling, unbeaten 33 and in the company of Saurabh Tiwary (52 not out) enabled Mumbai to recover from a dicey position and post an imposing 184 for 5. Such was the brutality of the duo’s attack in the last five overs that as many as 77 runs were scored and the total skyrocketed from 107 for the loss of 4 wickets in the 15th over as roar at D Y Patil got bigger.

In reply, Bangalore never quite got going during the chase. The pressure of the semi-final clearly got even to the strong batting line-up. In the big game, Bangalore opened their reply Rahul Dravid joining Jacques Kallis at the top of the order. But, the move failed to work. While Kallis (11) was consumed by a brilliant outswinger from Lasith Malinga early in the innings, Dravid fell victim to a mix-up between him and Ross Taylor.

His hard-earned 22 did not do much to help the team’s cause. In between, a dangerous looking Kevin Pietersen (19), who was rightly sent in one down, was brilliantly stumped down the leg side by Ambati Rayudu off Harbhajan Singh’s bowling. In what appeared to be a well-planned move, the off-spinner fired one down the leg-side and Rayudu completed the smart stumping as Pietersen blindly charged down the track.

It was wide delivery, but Mumbai would have happily exchanged an extra run and delivery to see the back of the England’s world-class player.

With the top guns gone, all hopes were now pinned on Robin Uthappa. Could he turn batman again? Unfortunately not, for Bangalore even though he shone briefly. Uthappa lofted Harbhajan’s for two massive sixes. The 18-run over gave Bangalore some hope. But, with the run-rate always on the ascendancy, Uthappa had to keep on going for the big ones consistently.

One such stroke led to him downfall. Pollard chipped in with a smart slower ball. It was one of the rare occasions when Uthappa failed to time one and, as a result, holed out in the deep for 26. In walked Taylor, but out walked Dravid the very next ball, confused over taking a quick single. At 81 for 4, Bangalore needed something miraculous from the woefully struggling Taylor.

He did chip in with 31*. However, with wickets falling at the other end, he was deprived of the strike during the most crucial occasions. For Mumbai, Pollard and Malinga complemented each other perfectly – one slowing things up and causing trouble and other beating the batsmen with pace.

Mumbai’s batsmen played an equally significant part in the victory, earlier in the evening. Sachin Tendulkar fell early courtesy and the next three also departed with only 77 on the board. It was only Rayudu, who kept the runs flowing from one end, throwing his bat wherever and gathering a number of boundaries. He eventually fell for 40, but his dismissal put Mumbai back in trouble. It was here though that the game changed drastically.

Tiwary and Pollard put in a special exhibition of power-hitting. Tiwary began by slamming a wayward Kallis all over the park in the 16th over. The home team never looked back from then. Even Anil Kumble was taken for plenty in his final spell by the left-hander. Pollard took no time to get his eye in. He took care of Vinay Kumar and Dale Steyn as Mumbai were rollicking away. Bangalore could not recover from the brutal assault.

Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis had taken Bangalore to 74 with ease after the loss of an early wicket. At that stage, the game seemed headed for a one-sided finish. But, once Dravid was dismissed by Andrew Symonds, caught in the deep one short of his half-century, things turned dramatically.

As wickets fell, it was only Robin Uthappa who kept his team in the hunt. But, after having played batman for so many games this season, he was bound to end up on the losing side someday. Painfully, it was this day.

Even as Bangalore faltered, no praise can be too high for Deccan’s bowlers. Right from the start, they were focussed. Ryan Harris, in an endeavour to bowl fast, ran in hard and was rewarded with his first ball itself. Manish Pandey was too late on an outswinger and only managed to edge it to a thrilled Adam Gilchrist.

And, while Dravid and Kallis batted like true veterans reading the game perfectly, Deccan did well to ensure that neither blazed away. Dravid was the more aggressive of the two, with some fluent strikes all round the wicket. His 49 was punctuated with eight boundaries, but his dismissal punctured what was until then a fluent chase.

Following Dravid’s departure, Kallis needed to take on the responsibility of guiding the team home. But, while he managed to reclaim the orange cap from Sachin Tendulkar, he wasn’t able to translate his start into a match-winning knock. He was deceived in the air by Pragyan Ojha and returned with 27 to his name.

Still, at 95 for 3, Bangalore remained favourites, but some splendid bowling from the unpredictable R P Singh turned the tide. Ross Taylor was castled by a yorker and Cameron White holed out. At the other end, Ojha got rid of Virat Kolhi and the chase had lost steam. Uthappa struck two magnificent sixes off Ryan Harris’ bowling, but Harmeet Singh got him for 34 with a well-directed straight delivery. That clinched it for Deccan.

No one would have given the ‘home’ side a chance after the disastrous start they were off to. Steyn ran in as fast as he could and knocked over the top three in no time. Adam Gilchrist was done in by one that left him, but not before taking the edge, T. Suman could not handle his short snorter while Herschelle Gibbs had no answer to his country-mate’s outswinger that beat him all ends up and crashed into the stumps.

In the third over, Deccan were gasping for breath at 14 for 3 and Anil Kumble’s decision to bowl first was justified. Steyn could have had another victim in his kitty, but for an edge falling short of slip. It was just the stroke of luck Deccan needed.

Mishra and Rohit Sharma took up the mantle of rebuilding with a sense of responsibility. The former played the aggressor between rotating the strike while Sharma timed the ball sweetly, just as he has being doing in his recent outings. The two took the score close to 100. And, with some help from Symonds and Harris, they managed to cross 150, enough for their charged up bowlers.

Jacques Kallis was finally dismissed after having made a rather streaky 19, on a day he surprisingly seemed off colour. Manish Pandey and Rahul Dravid, who hadn’t had a hit in the last three games, were accounted for by some wily bowling by the legendary Muttiah Muralitharan.

But, Robin Uthappa, who bided his time by and was dropped more than once, smashed 68 from 38 balls to help Bangalore finish on an impressive 171 for 5. Most of those runs came in the latter part of the innings. He was especially severe on Laxmipathy Balaji, whom he hit for three consecutive sixes in the penultimate over.

The bowler too didn’t do himself any favours by constantly pitch the ball in the same areas. Still, it was an amazing show of power and skill by Uthappa. At one stage it seemed like Bangalore would struggle to reach 150, but with Uthappa in such fine form, they managed to go well beyond that. It has to be said that Uthappa paced his innings beautifully.

When the early wickets fell, things were quite tough. Also, the bounce on the pitch was quite spongy. As such, he did well not to throw his wicket away.

What Uthappa’s knock did was it ensured the momentum was with Bangalore, going into the break. And this facet was evident when they came out to bowl. Praveen Kumar took out Parthiv Patel in the very first over. And though Matthew Hayden threatened to unleash the Mongoose effect once again, this time its impact was rather brief courtesy a smart piece of fielding from Dravid, resulting in his run-out. All this while, the batsman at the other end, George Bailey, was also kept quiet, which meant Hayden’s dismissal was a body blow for the Super Kings.

Skipper Anil Kumble chipped in with yet another remarkable four-over spell during which he leaked just 15 runs. He troubled Bailey bowling his typically nagging line to which the batsman had not answer. Kumble was eventually rewarded with the wicket of Murali Vijay. But, the biggest beneficiary of the pressure built up by Kumble and Kumar was R Vinay Kumar. With the batsmen having no option but to go after him, he ended up claiming four scalps.

He did go for plenty, and S Badrinath, in particular was impressive against him, caressing the ball for a few pleasing boundaries while not trying to hit the cover off the ball. Albie Morkel too joined in the act towards the end with some monstrous hits. Kumar, though, had the last laugh claiming both of them.

After having Bangalore five down for 119 in 17th over, Chennai should never have allowed them to get away. The fact that they did and were ragged in the field as well rubbed on to their batsmen, who also came up with an uninspired showing.

And the second Test against South Africa at Eden Gardens was no exception. India had been humiliated at home in the first Test, a rarity in itself, and two of their main batters weren’t fit for the Kolkata challenge. There was extreme pressure on Harbhajan Singh, in particular, to perform following the team’s miserable bowling effort at Nagpur.

Add to it, there was hardly a few days’ gap between the two Tests and there was plenty of pitch talk, pertaining to the grass on the wicket. Yet, when the moment arrived, Team India stood up to be counted.

The South Africans, who were ruthless in the opening Test, floundered with their batting after winning the toss, and it was just the window of opportunity India needed to comeback into the game.

Zaheer Khan, who unfortunately could not bowl much in the second essay, was brilliant in the first innings and set up the game nicely for India. He has had the knack of grabbing the big fishes, and did exactly that at the Eden Gardens.

For the other experienced bowler Harbhajan, it was almost like a do-or-die game. He hadn’t performed well in the recent past and was severely criticized in the media, some of it was fair and some rather derogatory.

But, the offie took things in this stride and answered the critics in the only way a cricketer can. He must thank his stars that he was playing at Eden Gardens, without doubt his favourite ground. Once he got a wicket, he was a different bowler altogether.

The manner in which he foxed Ashwell Prince and JP Duminy on the final morning reminded one of the carnage the Aussies were subjected to by the Turbanator at the same ground 9 years ago. Of course, he has lost a lot of the zip he possessed in those days, but if he can come up with more such performances, there is no reason why he still can’t remain India’s number one spinner.

Harbhajan’s lack of success has been attributed to the absence of Anil Kumble, who retired two seasons. While that’s a pretty fair assessment, the good news for him is that Amit Mishra proved he can be quite a potent weapon.

I am in no way comparing Mishra to the legendary leg spinner, but the delivery with which he took out Jacques Kallis was hint enough to suggest that he could be the next special thing in Indian cricket. That’s still a long way away though. For starters, he needs to maintain consistency over a reasonable period of time, and provide the requisite support to Harbhajan.

And while it wasn’t surprising that India put up an exceptional batting performance, they still need to be credited for it. After Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar played their part, India still could have been in trouble.

But, VVS Laxman demonstrated why he was so sorely missed at Nagpur. It was his and Dhoni’s ton that buried the Proteas. And though Hashim Alma and the tail kept India at bay till the closing moments, the magic of Eden had the final say.

However, it wasn’t to be and, as sheer bad luck would have it, stand by Rohit Sharma also twisted his ankle, moments before the game. It didn’t cost India the Test, but must have surely dented their psyche severely, as they had no option but to pick Wriddhiman Saha as the seventh batsman. India’s plans completely went for a toss and their performance in the Test reflected it.

Except for the initial half an hour, when Zaheer Khan struck two deadly blows, the Indian bowling look completely insipid. Nothing should be taken away from Hashim Amla, who batted brilliantly as well as Jacques Kallis, who proved that there is still enough fire in his belly to fight tough battles. However, there are no two ways about it that India could and should have definitely done better.

The bowling has been a worry for quite a while now for India and the signs are hardly encouraging. Zaheer Khan is the only quality bowler around, and he too is approaching the dangerous mid-30s. Ishant Sharma may have done well against Bangladesh, but against a quality opponent like South Africa, he was back to his insipid worst. The change in action hasn’t made an inch of difference. Ishant has to do some real soul-searching.

There was a time in Indian cricket was spinners used to run through the best of opponents at home. But, since the retirement of Anil Kumble things have definitely changed, and how. Everyone now seems tired of pointing out that Harbhajan Singh is not the same bowler he was in 2001. He has lost the zip and nip that made him such a force to reckon with.

One can of course give him the benefit of doubt saying, he bowled on the first two days of the Test when the pitch was at its best. However, the fact of the matter remains that such performances have become far too common for comfort from India’s point of view. Unfortunately, he is still the best spinner we have on offer. Speaking of Amit Mishra, he had an impressive debut against Australia, but has done precious little since. The leggie needs to prove sooner rather than later that it wasn’t a one-off.

Despite the disastrous batting performance, one would do well not to read too much into it. Gautam Gambhir’s failure was long overdue. Virender Sehwag could not carry on to make a big hundred and Sachin Tendulkar’s ton wasn’t enough. Also, one cannot replace legends like Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman overnight. The duo has led the Indian fight back on innumerable occasions and was sorely missed. Even so the youngsters need to be given some time to settle down into the scheme of things.

Amidst all the calamitous happenings, there were a few positives. Debutants S Badrinath and Saha did show some spunk, which augurs well for the future. Murali Vijay looked good, but yet again fell in his nervous 30s. At the end of the day, India may have lost embarrassingly, but it wasn’t a bad result considering the long-term targets of the team, as they unwittingly got a peek into the future.

South Africa

AB De Villiers: AB de Villiers did set the world on fire the last time he was here. He played beautifully all round the wicket and was one of the few batsmen on their debut tour to India to perform so well. He announced himself into world cricket with a very timely and aggressive century.

He’s been in pretty good knick in lead up to the series. He’s been getting pretty decent start but how would he love to convert one of ‘em into a century. He is a mainstay in the South African middle order along with Jacques Kallis and the proteas will be heavily reliant on the duo to provide some stability in the middle order. De Villiers is a brilliant fielder and must be kept an eye on—the man pulls out catches from absolute thin air.

Jacques Kallis: He has now turned 34 and with his medium pace is one of the best all rounder’s the game has ever seen. Kallis will be keen after a certain lay off and would love to grind (that’s the sort of character he is, isn’t he?) his way out of India with some runs and wickets under his belt. Now that he has returned to full fitness his bowling will come in handy for South Africa. With his slightly round arm action he should be a handful especially with the old ball where he would be able to reverse swing the ball in these conditions.

Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn: Steyn had a wonderful tour the last time he was here. Both Morkel and Steyn are more than capable of bowling a 150 kmph per hour and a swinging ball at that pace especially with a relatively inexperienced middle order (barring Sachin) against them. The Indian batsmen certainly do have their work cut out.

Morkel earlier mentioned that he would be looking to bowl a quite a few short ones considering the Indian batsmen problems with the bumpers. Steyn said “I’ve said many times before, a 150 or 145 km Yorker is absolutely no different whether you bowl it here in Nagpur, Chennai, Johannesburg, Perth. It’s the skill behind the delivery that is what counts at the end of the day”. The Indians would have to be wary of the duo see of the new ball and take it from there.

India

Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir: The duo are just over 200 runs short of becoming India’s most successful opening combination (in tests) statistically. Often in the recent past its been the opening pair of Sehwag and Gambhir that has given the middle order batsmen the platform to step upon. Their contribution is invaluable and they seem to complement each other pretty well with Sehwag being the aggressor. It wouldn’t be too surprising if they duo do have a good series (been the trend in the recent past) India should be in good stead to take the series from there.

Sachin Tendulkar: The more said about him the less it is. Sachin with his record has already made us expect from him. He being the senior man in the middle order with Dravid and laxman doubtful. He needs to shoulder the innings. The old man should do well and if he does so India goes with him.

Zaheer khan: He’s the only pace bowler who seems guaranteed of a place. His new ball bowling and more importantly his reverse swing will surely be one to deal with. If India has to win they need to come up with a very good bowling performance and if that has to happen Zaheer khan has to be at his best.

It’s India VS South Africa. Its world number 1 VS world number 2. It the clash of the champions—the world championship of cricket— promises to be an enthralling series.

The one common factor in all the three close shaves that England managed to survive has been Paul ‘rock solid’ Collingwood. There have been plenty of times in Collingwood’s career when he has been on the brink of elimination. But, each time he has come back with greater vengeance. And his efforts in recent times stand testimony to his never-say-die spirit and complete commitment to raise the level of England cricket.

The nerve-wracking battle against Dale Steyn on the afternoon of the final day at Cape Town would have undoubtedly been amongst Collingwood’s toughest in his entire career. With each and every moving delivering posing uncomfortable questions in front of him, Collingwood could have nicked any and been back in the pavilion. But, he stayed put, leaving alone the deliveries he could. And there was a divine soul up above who realized that here was man who needed his blessings to survive. Not that Steyn didn’t deserve it, but it was just that Collingwood’s efforts were way too indomitable to be ignored.

It wasn’t just Collingwood whose effort stood out though. Another under fire England batsman stood up to the cause. Ian Bell hasn’t done justice to his potential till date. Hopefully, this series might prove to be the making of Bell. Having already registered a century earlier, Bell had a tougher task on hand after Collingwood’s departure, to see the team through to safety. And boy, did he put up a brave front. If Collingwood had weathered the storm, Bell ensured that the danger bells did not ring in England dressing room, holding his own against Morne Morkel – the first innings hero for the Proteas – and the less effective Jacques Kallis as well as left-arm spinner Paul Harris. Both bowlers tried their level best, but while Kallis’ lack of pace hurt him, Harris’ limitations also came to the fore. He is a trier no doubt, but one can’t see him running through oppositions too often.

In the end, a frustrated Graeme Smith had to turn to JP Duminy. And the magically talented cricketer provided yet another twist in the tale. Following his breakthrough, there was another familiar England lower-order collapse. However, Graham Onions once again stood in the way of victory and South Africa. It was his second fairy tale effort, but it was undoubtedly the Paul and Bell show that saved England’s skin.

However, they have a tendency of blowing away great opportunities and that should inspire the South Africans coupled with the fact that they have an excellent record at Newlands. So it is only fair that we expect a tight contest for the decider.

Most of the pre-match discussions surrounded the poor form of veteran Makhaya Ntini and his possible exclusion. Of course, it will be an extremely tough decision.

But, now that it is clear Friedel de Wet’s omission despite his noteworthy debut at Centurion was a mistake, the decision might be easier. Still, don’t expect de Wet to repeat his debut act. This will be a bigger Test for him as the Proteas will be under greater pressure.

Pace spearhead Dale Steyn too needs to get his act right. He hasn’t had a great time against England. As such a lot will depend on how Morne Morkel performs. He has been the most consistent and threatening of the pacers for South Africa. Meanwhile, Paul Harris has been doing a commendable job as a spinner with good support from JP Duminy.

While the bowling wasn’t at its best at Durban, South Africa also suffered big time due to their uncharacteristically toothless batting effort. Only Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis made valuable contributions before the tail helped the home side get close to 350 in the first innings.

However, in the second innings, the batting was a complete disaster and South Africa crumbed to an ungracious defeat. The batters will have to put the disappointment of last week behind them and start afresh.

England, on the other hand, would look to consolidate on their magnificent effort at Durban. They would be hoping for the in-form Paul Collingwood to be fit else Michael Carberry might have to be drafted it.

That apart, most of their problems seemed sorted out in the second Test. Alastair Cook and Ian Bell struck centuries, which would have delighted the England management no end.

If the seniors like Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen can come up with similar efforts at Cape Town, the visitors would be in with a great chance of achieving a series victory considering their potent bowling attack.

Spinner Graeme Swann has been South Africa’s biggest nemesis in the series so far. His match 9-wicket haul at Durban was a richly-deserved one. Add to it, he has been more than useful with the bat lower down the order.

A decade since his tumultuous exit from international cricket, Swann has truly come of age. The pace trio of Anderson, Onions and Broad has been doing a good job at the start, getting the early breakthroughs. If they can maintain the same intensity and discipline at Cape Town, there is no reason why England can’t pull off another victory.