The Hindu : Sport : Bell calls the shots on day two

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Bell calls the shots on day two

Ted Corbett

Play called off due to rain just as the South African innings begins

LONDON: On day one, Kevin Pietersen stormed to a century with all the decorum of a runaway bull elephant. On day two, rain forced abandonment of play, with South Africa on seven for no loss, after England declared at 593 for eight on the back of 199 from Ian Bell, the mouse that roared. He is the first England batsman to be out a single from 200.Bell, caught and bowled from the shot he must have been sure would bring his second double hundred in a week is a man from the shadows. It is difficult to get him to speak and this natural diffidence has led to cricket people misreading the steel in his spine.Mickey Arthur, the South African coach, said on the day before the first Test at Lord’s that Bell had never made a hundred unless another batsman had made one first. This startling fact has no merit mainly because it is totally untrue although it is fair to say that he has taken a long time to reach his full potential since Bob Woolmer predicted a big future.

Woolmer’s vision

Today we saw just what Woolmer meant as Bell went from 75 overnight to top score to his highest Test innings. His progress was slow — first to his eighth Test hundred alongside Pietersen who played a load of jaunty strokes on his way to 152 and then, after lunch and once his record third wicket partnership of 286 with Pietersen was finished, to a century stand with Stuart Broad.He may have a few blond streaks in his hair but Bell will never be a KP, who has gone the full gamut of black dyed hair, streaks, by way of a Mohican to his present fully restrained hair-do. In another era he would have had a short back and sides, cropped as if for military service; a dandy he is not.But valuable; you had better believe it. Most of his innings have been appropriate to England’s situation but this one had the extra ingredient, the wish to make the opposition pay in full for the error of pitch analysis that made Graeme Smith ask England to bat.

England did wobble when Pietersen was surprisingly given out caught behind off a Morne Morkel bouncer. In the next 18 runs, Paul Collingwood was caught at short leg and Tim Ambrose became Morkel’s fourth victim of the innings. Collingwood and Ambrose are so far out of form that runs are an ambition rather than an achievement and when the dust from this Test settles they may both find they see a lot more of their counties than the England dressing room. Once again, Broad showed he is much older than his 22 years. He is an uncomplicated batsman who goes in with the intention of scoring briskly but on his way to an impressive fifty he helped Bell take the score beyond 500, which came up with an overthrow. He was bowled for 76, his highest Test score, by Paul Harris, whose slow left arm spin has been mocked as below international level. The one that defeated Broad after two and a half hours at the crease was apparently innocent but it was good enough.

None of the South Africans had much to boast about. I hesitate to write off a team which has been so dedicated, so tough and so combative but there are tales of poor preparation, lack of training and a slip in standards that makes me wonder if South Africa is going to be less than the team which has won six out of its last seven series.

SCOREBOARD

England — 1st Innings: A. Strauss lbw b Morkel 44, A. Cook c de Villiers b Morkel 60, M. Vaughan b Steyn 2, K. Pietersen c Boucher b Morkel 152, I. Bell c & b Harris 199, P. Collingwood c Amla b Harris 7, T. Ambrose c Smith b Morkel 4, S. Broad b Harris 76, R. Sidebottom (not out) 1, Extras (b-14, lb-12, w-7, nb-15) 48.

Total (for eight declared in 156.2 overs) 593.

Fall of wickets: 1-114, 2-117, 3-117, 4-403, 5-413, 6-422, 7-574, 8-593.

South Africa bowling: Steyn 35-8-117-1; Ntini 29-2-130-0; Morkel 34-3-121-4; Kallis 20-3-70-0; Harris 38.2-8-129-3.

South Africa — 1st Innings: G. Smith (batting) 2, N. McKenzie (batting) 5, Extras 0, Total (for no loss in 3.2 overs) 7.

England bowling: Sidebottom 2-0-5-0; Anderson 1.2-0-2-0.

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