da imperador bet： When Nasser Hussain was captain and his players had an off-day in the field(contrary to rose-tinted opinion, this tended to happen once every otherinnings), his great lament was that English bowlers lack “mystery”
The Wisden Verdict by Andrew Miller05-Sep-2003When Nasser Hussain was captain and his players had an off-day in the field(contrary to rose-tinted opinion, this tended to happen once every otherinnings), his great lament was that English bowlers lack “mystery”. Hard aswe might dig, he would argue, Harbhajans and Saqlains are the exception, notthe rule. And until one is unearthed, England are sure to be subjected tothe odd day of toil.
Marcus Trescothick: took an eternity to get off the mark, but reached 64 not out by the close
That had palpably been the case on the first day here, when the lack of mysteryhad extended even to the captaincy. “England are bowling for run-outs,” itwas suggested by one observer. Today, for want of an alternative, thatsnide aside became a definitive game-plan. And you know what? It worked.On the face of it, South Africa blew it. Until Shaun Pollock and MakhayaNtini added 52 bullish runs after lunch, seven prime middle-order wicketshad gone down for 87. On a good wicket, and in prime conditions, even Englandwould have been hard-pressed to slump to such spectacular effect. Had theydone so, however, they surely wouldn’t have owed quite so much to sheer badluck.Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Pollock – South Africa’s three middle-orderveterans – were all sawn off one way or another. Kallis was cruelly run outby the tips of Ashley Giles’s fingers; Boucher, who clipped his pad with hisbat, was unfortunate that umpire Venkat missed Martin Bicknell’s initiallook of disappointment. All of which, and more, left Pollock high and dry -and flying – on 66 not out. Another 100 runs between them (a conservativeask on past form) and the series would have been secured.It’s one thing to give a sucker an even break. It’s another thing entirelyfor that sucker to respond to the gesture. But in Marcus Trescothick andGraham Thorpe, England found two batsmen with tentacles on their wickets.Not coincidentally, they were also the two batsmen with the most to prove inthis match.Their cases are also very different. At the age of 34, Thorpe is returningto the side for the first time in a year, and is understandably eager toimpress. Trescothick, on the other hand, has never been dropped, but for allthe stick he’s received lately, he might as well have been. With everythingto prove, his innings was a throwback to his debut at Old Trafford in 2000when, perversely enough, his awareness of his off stump was the definingaspect of his game.On that occasion, Trescothick took an eternity to get off the mark, battlingthrough an exemplary opening spell from Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose,en route to a hugely composed 66. And today, once again, he allowed himselfno jiggery-pokery as Pollock and Ntini teased his outside edge, and thecheer of the day was reserved for his first scoring stroke, after 23 dot-balls.The boo of the day, on the other hand, was reserved for the moment when heand Thorpe accepted the umpire’s offer of bad light. But unlike thatdreadful defining moment at Headingley, the catcalls were largely in jest. The crowd knew, as Trescothick knew, that his day’s work was very much complete.Wisden Day 2 Bulletin: England fight back