The Shorter Wisden 2013 (60 page)

Anderson 41–7–116–1; Broad 34–6–118–0; Swann 52–10–151–0; Bresnan 37–2–140–1; Bopara
18–1–78–0; Pietersen 3–0–13–0; Trott 4–0–12–0.

Umpires: Asad Rauf and S. J. Davis. Third umpire: H. D. P. K. Dharmasena.

ENGLAND v SOUTH AFRICA

Second Investec Test

L
AWRENCE
B
OOTH

At Leeds, August 2–6. Drawn. Toss: England. Test debut: J. W. A. Taylor.

An absorbing Test was played out against the weird and not-so-wonderful backdrop of the Kevin Pietersen saga. Or was it the other way round? By the end – as Pietersen followed a typically
dazzling 149 on Saturday afternoon with a Monday evening press conference full of cryptic self-pity – it was hard to say: the distinction between plot and subplot had become hopelessly
blurred. And with the Olympic athletes down in joyful London resembling one big happy family, the dysfunctional England dressing-room felt depressingly out of kilter.

The facts, though, were these: needing victory to stand a chance of extending their sequence of Test series wins at home to a record eight, England could manage only a draw, despite briefly
threatening something extraordinary on the final day, the fifth in succession to be interrupted by rain or bad light. Pietersen then announced that the Third Test at Lord’s – on which
England’s No. 1 ranking now depended – could well be his last, following a breakdown in relations with his team-mates. When it emerged later in the week that he had sent text messages
to the South Africans for which he subsequently felt the need to apologise, he was dropped anyway. Really, you couldn’t make it up.

So much for the scandal. As if in deference to later events, the opening morning of the game itself had a chaotic air. Graeme Swann was omitted after 43 successive Tests, and Finn brought in as
part of an all-pace attack – England’s first since they lost here to South Africa in 2003. If selection was made with a poor weather forecast in mind, then Swann’s absence obliged
Strauss to bowl after winning the toss. And the move might have paid off, had Cook not dropped a straightforward chance at second slip (Swann’s usual position) when Petersen had 29. Then, in
the next over, Finn had Smith caught at first slip on six, only for umpire Steve Davis to signal dead ball because the bowler had disturbed the non-striker’s stumps with his right knee at the
point of delivery.

For Finn, it was a familiar problem, though no one could remember an umpire previously denying him – or indeed anyone else – a wicket by invoking Law 23.4(b)(vi), which relates to
batsmen “distracted by any noise or movement”. Finn had knocked into the stumps at least three times in his first eight deliveries without interesting Davis, but Smith was now in the
umpire’s ear, possibly sensing a chance to unsettle his opponent. Obliged to intervene, Davis did so on Finn’s ninth ball, a split second before Smith edged it low to Strauss. England
were disgruntled, but they might have wondered instead why Finn had not ironed out a long-standing quirk.

Two early wickets could have changed the shape of the game – and the series – but England had to wait until the total reached 120 for their first success: Smith clipped Bresnan to
short backward square, where Bell was lurking as part of an elaborate leg-side field. Amla was carelessly run out, going for a third, by Bresnan on the cover boundary, and when Kallis edged
Anderson to Cook, who this time held on to a tougher chance, South Africa were 157 for three and in danger of surrendering the high ground. But Petersen remained resolute, completing a fourth Test
hundred that – had it been a piece of rhythmic gymnastics – would have scored more highly for difficulty than artistic merit.

Armed with the second new ball on the first evening, England stayed in touch by striking twice: Broad’s first Test wicket in 401 deliveries and nightwatchman Steyn. Pietersen’s first
contribution was suitably unpredictable as he removed Rudolph with his second ball shortly before lunch on day two, a sharp off-break that immediately called into question the omission of Swann.
Petersen, twice reprieved by Hawk-Eye after being given out leg-before on 119 and 124, finally fell for a Test-best 182 after Rod Tucker contrived to miss an edge behind and England asked for a
review.

Eventually facing a total of 419 – around 100 more than they might have hoped after South Africa were put in – England survived unscathed until stumps, then slipped to 173 for four
moments before tea on the third day. Pietersen had 43 but, when Morkel went round the wicket in the fourth over after the interval, it was as if he had woken the Kraken. Missed on 52 by Amla at
short leg, Pietersen pulled the next two balls to the midwicket fence, then drove and carved Steyn for fours. Kallis was pulled for four more, then straight-driven for another. Next over, Pietersen
ticked off 7,000 Test runs; six overs after that, he was celebrating his 21st century, pointedly waving his bat in the direction of his wife, Jessica, and only cursorily acknowledging those of his
team-mates who had bothered to appear on the dressing-room balcony. His second fifty came from just 52 balls.

He wasn’t finished yet. One murderous lofted straight-drive prompted the bowler, Steyn, to take evasive action, à la Lillee to Botham during the other immortal Headingley innings of
149. Soon after, Pietersen dumped him back over his head for six. This was unmissable: for a while, even the West Stand stopped building beer snakes.

Watching from the other end, defending stoutly, was James Taylor, the thimble-sized 22-year-old making his Test debut in place of Ravi Bopara, who had pulled out for personal reasons. In a
game-turning stand of 147, Taylor added a compact 34. It was the innings of a high-class stooge, quietly doing his bit while handing the punchlines to Pietersen. The discrepancy in the
batsmen’s heights, with Pietersen nearly a foot taller, merely emphasised the effect.

Pietersen completed a hundred runs in an elongated final session, but fell second ball on the fourth morning to the persevering Morkel, before Prior helped carve out a six-run lead. With more
than five sessions to go, anything seemed possible, only for thunder, lightning and rain to limit South Africa’s second innings before stumps to 17 overs.

A draw looked inevitable, even when Pietersen again removed Rudolph – opening because Petersen had a hamstring strain – with his second ball, this time courtesy of a reviewed lbw.
After lunch, Pietersen added Smith and Amla, who smacked a full toss to extra cover, at which point Broad took up the baton. Perhaps because he had spent the previous evening watching a DVD of
England’s miracle win over Sri Lanka at Cardiff in 2011, when the tourists lost eight wickets in a session, and the Test, he was in the mood for a twist: summoning up an extra yard of pace,
Broad embarked on a spell of five wickets in 37 balls. Anderson added Steyn and, when Smith made a second successive surprise declaration, England were set 253 in 39 overs: improbable, but maybe
not by the standards of an extraordinary week.

Promoted to open, Pietersen managed three fours in seven balls before toe-ending to mid-on, and Strauss – after following him to 7,000 Test runs – hit a full toss back to Duminy.
Cook departed for a resourceful 46, and it wasn’t until Prior, mysteriously coming in after Strauss and Trott, was run out that England gave up hope of a win. Trott and Bell blocked for an
hour before hands were shaken shortly after 7.30pm. Had the weather allowed just one more session, we might have had a thriller. In the event, with Pietersen about to face the press, the fun and
games had barely begun.

Man of the Match:
K. P. Pietersen.
Attendance:
54,398.

Anderson 33.2–10–61–2; Broad 35–10–96–3; Finn 32–3–118–2; Bresnan 27–4–98–1; Trott
5–1–9–0; Pietersen 7–0–26–1.
Second innings
—Anderson 19–7–40–1; Broad 16.4–2–69–5; Finn
14–2–55–0; Bresnan 9–2–40–0; Pietersen 9–1–52–3.

Morkel 32–9–96–2; Philander 30–10–72–2; Steyn 28–8–102–2; Kallis 12–3–34–1; Imran Tahir
23.4–0–92–3; Duminy 1–0–5–0.
Second innings
—Morkel 10–4–33–0; Philander 6–1–26–1; Steyn
7–1–26–1; Imran Tahir 4–0–20–0; Duminy 2–0–10–1; Kallis 4–2–7–0.

Umpires: S. J. Davis and R. J. Tucker. Third umpire: Asad Rauf.

ENGLAND v SOUTH AFRICA

Third Investec Test

S
TEVEN
L
YNCH

At Lord’s, August 16–20. South Africa won by 51 runs. Toss: South Africa.

When a brainless run-out reduced England to 45 for four on the last morning, still 300 adrift, embarrassment loomed – and with it the tame surrender of the No. 1 ranking in Test cricket.
They did lose in the end, but only after a thrilling fightback which briefly persuaded an enthralled, engaged crowd that a miracle was possible.

Jonny Bairstow, playing because Kevin Pietersen had been dropped for textual impropriety, lit the blue touchpaper with a 41-ball fifty, Prior and Broad carried on the fight, and Swann swung
freely. After tea, 61 runs cascaded from 41 deliveries, but just as Smith – captaining in a Test for a record 94th time – was beginning to look nervous, Swann was narrowly run out,
after lashing five fours and two sixes. And, despite a manic episode when the swashbuckling Prior was caught in the covers, then reprieved just before reaching the Pavilion because replays showed
Morkel had overstepped, the frolics were about to end. Shortly afterwards, Prior really was out, and Finn went first ball, both victims of the bouncy Philander, who thus added a five-for to two
vital batting contributions.

It had been a spirited retort by England, but victory was always tantalisingly out of reach, mainly because of the sort of self-inflicted wounds – especially run-outs and dropped catches
– which typified their performances. The result meant a first home series defeat since the loss to South Africa in 2008, and their sixth in 11 Test matches anywhere since reaching No. 1
themselves a year previously.

The last day provided a fitting conclusion to an absorbing match, conducted on a blameless pitch which, 17 days previously, had been the domain of Olympic archers. Around a third of the outfield
had been returfed, after temporary stands were removed, with grass grown near Scunthorpe – an Olympian effort of their own from the groundstaff. Away from Lord’s, though, the build-up
was dominated by the omission of Pietersen: many wondered how the 149 runs he had scored in the first innings at Headingley could be adequately replaced. Bairstow provided the answer, duly scoring
149 runs in the match, and batting with character and chutzpah.

The imbroglio clearly affected the tight-lipped England camp, however. Strauss, playing in his 100th Test – and captaining for the 50th time – admitted as much afterwards.
“It’s been a tough week,” he said, before reflecting on England’s poor run in 2012: “We’ve lost a lot more than we would have wanted to. Whether it was because
of a change of mindset – from being the hunters to the ones that are hunted – I don’t know.” Nine days later, he announced his retirement.