The Hindu : Sport : England, South Africa and Lord’s

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England, South Africa and Lord’s — a magnetic attraction

Ted Corbett

Evenly-matched teams and eagerly-awaited series

Pietersen has a phenomenal record at Lord’s
England will be banking on Panesar to turn things in its favour

LONDON: Whether you prefer your Test cricket to be artistic or confrontational, star-studded or artisan, tightly-drawn or expansive, Lord’s for the start of the series between England and South Africa must have a magnetic attraction.

The teams are nicely matched. South Africa has won eight of 12 Tests since October, England has gone five Tests unchanged, threatens to keep the same personnel for a world-record sixth time and has won four of those games.

It may be 13 Tests since England’s top six made 400 in a first innings but all the main batsmen average 50 or more and surely that 400-barrier will fall on what often starts as a batting paradise.

One batsman stands out. Kevin Pietersen, who has an ego to match his physique and his prowess, has made 72.22 an innings at Lord’s and can now boast three centuries there as well as a hundred off every Test team he has faced.

England’s answer

He will also be the lightning conductor for the full force of South Africa’s considerable aggression and, unless his character has changed overnight, he will answer the hurricane of words with a typhoon or two of his own.

They don’t like his flight from South Africa to England; he thinks he has the right to play for any team.

Graeme Smith, the South African captain and almost as big as Pietersen, complained about his conversion loudly; Pietersen called him a muppet. Smith and Michael Vaughan, the England captain, have also exchanged insults.

Pace battery

If Pietersen is England’s Goliath, South Africa has three men ready to catapult pebbles at his head. Its fast-bowling attack compares with any that has been fielded since Tests began:

Dale Steyn, who has 78 wickets at 16.24, including six five-wicket hauls, Makhaya Ntini who is close to 350 Test wickets and Morne Morkel who is even closer to 100 miles an hour.

Steyn was quicker to 100 Test wickets than that other master of fierce pace Allan Donald and only Shaun Pollock has taken more Test wickets for South Africa than Ntini.

Those who are backing Pietersen say that he enjoys fierce pace which carries the ball more quickly to the boundary. We will see.

These three will be the frontline fighters for South Africa but England has more cunning and perhaps an ace in spinner Monty Panesar.

You must cross your fingers tightly if you think James Anderson will be your trump card for he has an alter ego who turns up irregularly and bowls the ball every which way but straight.

Chris Broad is young in body but wise in the head and Ryan Sidebottom, the slowest of the three, is so much an old campaigner that he can undo batsmen who are thinking this is their day.

Exciting prospect

The whole series — second Test at devilish Headingley, the third at Edgbaston, England’s favourite venue because its support is stronger there and the fourth at the Oval — is a mouth-watering prospect.

If England can reach Edgbaston intact it may win the series and greater respect as the Ashes series approaches.

But if Morkel runs amok at Lord’s, South Africa could win a series in England for the first time since it returned from international isolation.

The teams (likely):

England: Michael Vaughan (captain), Andrew Strauss. Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Tim Ambrose, Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom, Monty Panesar and James Anderson.

South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Neil McKenzie, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, A.B. de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Paul Harris, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini.

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