Four points out of six. Can't argue with that, Shakes. But in a nation famous for striking...

Strike out: Ndulula against Nigeria last night

SHAKES MASHABA. Four points out of six. That's not a bad return for the resurrected national head coach, after a tricky trip to Sudan followed by a tough home start against African Champions Nigeria.

Last night Sudan lost 2-0 in the Congo before Bafana Bafana produced a performance of pure passion in front of 32,412 to hold Nigeria 0-0 and they currently fill the second qualifying spot in Group A for AFCON in Morocco next year.

Tower Mothoho's off-the-line clearance late in the second half might have been the decisive moment; an early chance for Oupa Manyisa, playing wide on the left, was the best South Africa could show for a sparkling first half.

Though Nigeria had eight shots to Bafana's three and 53-47% possession, Shakes argued: "We created more chances, we had more than seven. We should have scored one."

And in post-match patter reminiscent of Gordon Igersund and Pitso Mosimane's worst, he added: "This was a walk in the park, we should have slaughtered these people. We were all over them, should have scored at least."

It's easy to get carried away - Mashaba's passion and enthusiasm are undeniable - but in truth 0-0 was a fair result. And not a bad one considering that, in 9 previous games between the two nations, South Africa had won just ONCE.

In the space of a week, after successfully getting his beloved Under 20 AmaJitas past Cameroon to their African Youth Championship in Senegal next year, Mashaba appears to have produced a revamped, younger South Africa despite the obstacles thrown carelessly in front of him by the footballing gods.

Ayanda Patosi missed to flights from Europe to South Africa, allegedly ending up in tears somewhere in an airport departure lounge.

Resident goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune - with his captaincy under threat - crocked his ankle in the opening camp sparking all kinds of utterly unfair rumors.

Kermit Erasmus and Leohonolo Majoro, the in-form Orlando Pirates strikers, came in to form just too late for Shakes while FC Twente's Kamohelo Motkotjo (like May Mahlangu, Siyanda Xulu and Thulani Serero, our other top flight Europeans) didn't earn a single second on the park in Khartoum or Cape Town.

To add to the general discomfort, Bafana remain without a proper strip (Nike insist on launching in November, nobody really knows why), without a National Technical Director (a month later than Danny Jordaan promised) and without a recognized international striker (PSL top scorer Bernard Parker has only just returned for Kaizer Chiefs after ankle surgery).

And for all that, if South African can beat Congo in Brazzaville on October 10, they'll be top of Group A against all expectations. Having said that, if Bafana lost that one and Nigeria, as expected, win in Sudan, second place will become a battle to the death with Bafana finishing their campaign in Nigeria on November 15.

There was this too from Shakes in the post-match press conference: "Bongani Ndulula, we would't have pulled him out, he suffered a hamstring. I think one of the chances that we got – now don't say Tokelo Rantie couldn't – Ndulula with the composure and the skill to score goals, he would have done something."

There was no evidence of that. Ndulula shows little of the composure showed by Erasmus or Majoro this season, and the goal-getting headache Pitso and Gordon regularly highlighted remains apparent.

Elsewhere, with the old wood cleared out, man of the match Andile Jali and Dean Furman gave Chelsea's Jon Obi Mikel a torrid night in midfield. Thulani "Tyson" Hlatshwayo showed he can trade punches with the best and captain Senzo Meyiwa survived with his goal intact after his unexpected elevation to leadership 180 minutes ago.

Shakes had taken a deep breath before his parting words: "I wouldn't leave this mic without saying to the people, thanks very much.

"You could see they gave the boys the strength that they needed. We never had the armchair critics, everybody was positive, they were supporting the boys and it gave the boys the energy they needed. We say to them once more, thank you for coming, we appreciate it."

Crucially, at a time when SAFA are pushing something called Vision2022 (Shakes will be 71 by then) Shakes has kept hope alive for 2015. And for that alone, we say to you once more, thank you for coming back Shakes, we appreciate it.

SOCCERBALLZ! my innovative football show on www.ballz.co.za with Mark Fish airs every Thursday from 9am-11am. See Ballz' Youtube channel for our growing library of fascinating football interviews with the big names.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday in www.thenewage.co.za.

La 3e Orange Championnat d’Afrique des Nations 2014: Will CHAN be a four-letter word for Gordon Igesund

Under pressure: Bafana Head Coach Gordon Igesund

CHAN. A year ago nobody knew what those four letters meant. Now they spell danger for South Africa coach Gordon Igesund.

Officially, CHAN is a shortening of “La 3e Orange Championnat d’Afrique des Nations 2014” an African Championship for home-based players – no of those highly-paid stars from Europe allowed.

On the surface of it, the tournament sounds a great idea and for the long-suffering Igesund, fresh from that earth-shaking win over FIFA’s No1 Spain.

Who could ask for more: Orlando Pirates have just reached the final of the African Champions League, our glittering PSL is considered the richest league in Africa and Bafana get to play at the magnificent Cape Town Stadium, where fans turn up to watch paint dry.

But the chance of an international football tournament being won on home soil for the first time since 1996 has been shaken by that unseemly spat between SAFA, the PSL and our greatest footballing franchise, Kaizer Chiefs.

We all know the details. The PSL dumped the top-of-the-table clash between Mamelodi Sundowns and Chiefs slap bang in the middle of the CHAN tournament and despite an agreement forged with SAFA, Bobby Motaung (and quietly, Jose Ferreira) threatened to withdraw their stars.

But following Saturday’s sparkling statement of patriotic fervour from SAFA, all 23 members of the squad were present and correct before the opening CHAN clash against Mozambique on January 11. Kaizer over-ruled Bobby. Hooray!

But wait. The fact is Igesund now finds himself under huge pressure to emerge from Group A (Mali and AFCON champions Nigeria complete the group) before surging to CHAN silverware. It feels like South Africa has bent over backwards for SAFA and the nation is demanding the ultimate result.

But the truth is, this is not a great Bafana squad. Orlando Pirates? Their African crusaders weren’t even considered. Our talented foreign contingent, as per the rules, are absent.

Igesund, rather than turn to the Amajita who recently won the COSAFA Under 20 tournament under Ephraim Shakes Mashaba in Lesotho, finds himself trying to persuade his aging squad to overcome all obstacles. Anything less and the calls for his head will rise to a crescendo despite THAT glorious triumph over Spain (which has actually seen Bafana slip one place to 62 in the FIFA rankings).

Igesund himself is full of platitudes: “At the end of the day this is our national team; it’s the national team for the people. We want to do well, try and get as many players as we can to compete and win things.

“We are trying to change the mentality of the people out there. We want to start having a winning mentality.”

The truth is, Gordon, it’s win or bust. Selecting the old favourites and forcing them to play in the middle of an already chaotic PSL season without drafting in a few promising youngsters could spell trouble. Serious trouble. 


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From Russia with love: All you ever wanted to know about Siyanda Xulu, but were afraid to ask

KwaMashu Kid: Bafana's Siyanda Xulu

Siyanda Xulu came Russian back home to South Africa yesterday, significantly encouraged by the news that BOTH of Bafana Bafana’s incumbent central defenders are now OUT of Saturday’s crucial World Cup qualifier.

Xulu moved to Rostov in Russia during the January transfer window – at R6m his move from Mamelodi Sundowns makes him the most expensive player in Gordon Igesund’s current squad – and was left out of the African Cup of Nations 23 after attending the gathering for the game against Malawi in a pre-AFCON friendly.

But with captain Bongani Khumalo and Orlando Pirates’ goal-scoring rock Siyabonga Sangweni both now out of contention, there is every chance Xulu, still just 21, will start at the Cape Town stadium.

Both Khumalo and Sangweni carry fascinating tales. Khumalo was backed to the hilt by Igesund when he was accused of being too good at English and even better at ball-watching during AFCON. But last Friday Igesund dismissed him thus: “Bongani is not even in the team at PAOK in Greece – and I hear he’s carrying a slight injury. So I didn’t pick him.”

But he DID pick Sangweni, who clearly played in the Soweto derby carrying the knee injury that was supposed to put him out for six weeks. Roger de Sa clearly felt gambling in front of 90,000 was the right thing to do – and his side duly managed to keep a cleansheet in a 0-0 draw with their arch-rivals. Sangweni’s leadership – if not his mobility – clearly made that possible.

Before the squad announcement, we had been told that both Sangweni and his former team-mate Tokelo Rantie, now at Malmo in Sweden, were unavailable. But Gordon picked them both. Was this an effort to keep Buccaneering fans happy? Was he worried that, by naming Tower Mathoho and Morgan Gould in central-defence – it Amakhosi goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune assuming the captain’s armband – we might face a footballing civil war?

None of this politicking bothers Xulu. A calm, older-than-his-years sort of guy, I got hold of Xulu in Rostov last week, a few days after he had been named Man of the Match after a 0-0 draw against Alaniya in front of an audience spanning the length of the world’s largest nation.

Just how excited was he to have found a place back in the squad so soon after his AFCON disappointment? “No look,” he said between the crackles and delays of the international telephone network, “Whenever I get picked, it’s an honour. I have always believed it is important to play for South Africa. I am so proud.”

Of course, those may just be words. But for my money, Xulu appears to put patriotism before cash.

The very mention of the sprawling township of KwaZulu outside Durban brings out a whole new Siyanda: “I grew up in KwaMashu,” he recalls, “It will always be home. I live here in Russia on my own in an apartment.

“At first I missed my family, my friends, all my loved ones soooo much. But now I am starting to get used to living alone. I’m going to fly a friend out after the World Cup game for company.

“And it’s great to be asked to come home for this game. But I have travelled a lot.

“Two years ago I went to Barcelona on trial but just as they said they were going to sign me to their academy, they restructured (Joan Laporta was deposed as club president) and it all fell through.

“I also went to Arsenal and trained with them for two weeks. Arsene Wenger had some very nice things to say but then Atletico Madrid made a bid for me – they heard what happened at Barca – but that fell through too.

“So I came back and played in Mamelodi before Rostov made their bid. It was a long story, the price kept going up, but eventually I made the move."

The busy town of Rostov is no stranger to South African imports. Matthew Booth, Tony Coyle, Rowan Hendricks, Bennett Mnguni and Japhet Zwane all played for the mid-table Russian Premier League outfit, which has undergone a number of name changes since the club's creation in 1930. The town itself is around the size of Durban, a port on the banks of the River Don.

They currently lie 12th in the RPL, way behind leaders CSKA Moscow, big-spending Anzhi and St Petersburg glamour club Zenit. But with a fair wind and a couple more wins, they should survive in the 16-team table with a four-point cushion currently keeping them clear of the relegation zone.

With nine games left this season, Xulu accepts: “It was tough, but now I'm quite happy in Russia. It’s just the weather. And the language. The only things I can say in Russian are “left”, “right” and “hi”. I am learning the language but it’s very difficult – even the letters are different!

“That’s why I am so happy to come home for this game. A chance to see everyone again. If I am picked to start the game, that’s great. I will do what I can. The World Cup in Brazil next year is very important, I would love to be there.

“But whatever happens, playing for South Africa has always been, will always be my No 1 dream.”

THIS article also appears tomorrow as my "Neal and Pray" column in www.thenewage.co.za.

Blow for Bafana: Thulani Serero out until Christmas

Double Dutch : Thulani Serero scored twice for Ajax against Herenveen

These two bleak paragraphs about Thulani Serero, translated from the original Dutch on the official Ajax Amsterdam website, came as a major blow to Bafana Bafana boss Gordon Igesund yesterday.

“The groin injury that Thulani Serero sustained in the match against ADO Den Haag is Monday investigated. An MRI scan a tear in the groin muscle shows.

“The midfielder is therefore not usable until the winter break. His recovery in the coming months through rehabilitation at Ajax will take place.”

In effect, though it sounds like the rantings of Star Wars Jedi Master Yoda, this means 22-year-old Serero is now a serious doubt for South Africa’s AFCON2013 kick-off at Soccer City on January 19 – on the very day tickets for the African Cup of Nations went on sale in the host nation.

Serero, the PSL’s Player of the Season in 2011 before he was plucked from Cape Town to Amsterdam by Ajax management, played a major role in Igesund’s new South Africa during the gallant 1-0 defeat against Brazil in Sao Paulo, and the subsequent 2-0 win over Mozambique in Mbombela.

If he is sidelined until Holland’s midweek break – as Ajax’s headline “Serero tot winterstop uitgeschakeld" suggests – Serero is unlikely to be fit for the big kick-off.

Though another former Ajax product Steven Pienaar – denied a part in Igesund’s baptism when Everton announced he had a thigh injury – may be considered Bafana’s senior professional, Serero is the next big thing in Holland and South Africa. He scored twice against Herenveen last month and is becoming a major favourite at the 52,000-capacity Amsterdam Arena.

The Ere Divisie winter break takes place from December 23 to January 17.

My old World Cup pal Ed Aarons spoke to Serero after the Ajax announcement and was told: “We're still going for more tests, so it's not confirmed how long I will be out for at the moment.

“The doctors will tell me what they think and I will just have to do my best to get back as soon as possible. Of course it is frustrating because I was just starting to play regularly and was feeling comfortable in the team. But that's football … it happens.”

Serero will now miss South Africa’s warm-ups against Poland and Kenya in October.

Despite an apparent chaotic last-minute turnaround in his fixture list, SAFA have decided to face the Poles despite Igesund saying: “We have the African Nations Cup coming up, so I wanted to play against African opponents, not European teams.

“Playing against Poland would not be great benefit when we’ve got to get used to playing against African teams.”

But with tickets for the game already sold and still advertised on the Polish FA website, SAFA insist Bafana MUST play in Poland on October 12 despite Igesund’s misgivings… without Serero.

Axe Kallis? No, just give him a kick up the bum. And recognise the need for #axekallis

On Tuesday, when South Africa's 36-year-old all-rounder Jacques Kallis was out for a duck at Kingsmead, I cheekily tweeted: "Some all-rounder. Can't bat, can't bowl, sluggish in the field."
It was, as Cricket South Africa's general manager Niels Momberg so quickly spotted, an effort to stir debate rather than the death knell for a legend.
Sheez. The abuse I got. Had to go down to the beach on holiday here in Stil Baai to cool off.
Many of the Kallis fans were, rightly, indignant. He's had a great career, has the man from Pinelands in Cape Town. The sixteen years since his Test debut against England in December 1995 have featured a record 147 Tests with just over 12,000 runs at an average of nearly 57, plus the small matter of 317 ODI's with 11,000 runs at 45. A recored forty Test tons topped by that long-awaited double century against India at Centurion last year.
With the ball, he's taken well over 500 wickets in all formats, averaging just over 30. He has dominated the world's best all-rounder rankings for a decade, laughing at the efforts of England's over-hyped and over-the-hill Andrew Flintoff, a full year younger and long since retired to Dubai.
King Kalllis is not for the axe, tweeted the Rainbow Nation. South Africa's highest-scoring ODI and Test batsman must be left alone. And of course, they have a right to defend their talisman.
But sadly, he was born on 16 October 1975. That means he will be nearly 40 at the next cricket World Cup. Too old. Like the wobbling wicketkeeper Mark Boucher, 35.
So the subject has to be raised. Is Kallis, worrying floored by a nasty bouncer in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Centurion, losing it?
Tuesday's duck was followed by a wicketless bowling spell on Wednesday. Mention that and they come back with all sorts of stats about the pace he still musters with that creaking body. In two innings in Durban, Kallis bowled nine overs, 0-24 and 11 over 0-41.
But today, as South Africa battled to survive chasing a nonsensical 450 to win at cursed Kingsmead, he ducked out again. A first ever Test pair. Twenty unthreatening overs of seam-up dobblers. I crept back to the #axekallis trend. Kallis and Boucher have kept the all-rounder and wicketkeeper berths their own for so long, nobody can remember when they were challenged.
Like too many of the current Proteas, they are comfortable, complacent. No critisism in the press, no successors being groomed in the wings. It used to be like this in England. Then along came the critical former Test stars, the tabloid hacks, the harsh criticism, the penchant for using the ODI and T20 side to blood youngsters... and they're top of the pile now, the Souties.
Nobody is safe in English cricket. Ask Owais Shah, the talented all-rounder currently helping the Cobras win ever domestic trophy in South Africa. Or pace bowler Graeme Onions, who twice saved England from defeat as a tail-ender on tour here two years ago. Gone. Axed in their prime for being just short of the mark.
That's the point I was trying to make. But back come the insults, many of them unprintable here.
A fairly new factor in the life of the dedicated sports journalist is this personal abuse on twitter. That much is part of the job description now. You learn to take it, pretend it doesn't matter.
You dedicate your life to writing about sport, you take risks to stimulate debate, you know you're going to get it in the neck with today's social networks allowing everyone to wield an electronic pen that is mightier than the old hand-written swords.
Sometimes you're wrong. Kallis might have got a second innings ton. Boucher might have made more than seven. As I write, Dale Steyn may yet bat on for another day and a bit. I may even have to run naked along the beach if the Proteas do the unthinkable and win. You expect the odd embarrassment if you're a real sports journalist.
What you don't expect is to get abuse from your fellow hacks, comfortably drinking the former sponsor's product in the press box and writing about their freebies, their friends, their life rather than exploring the options, shaking things up.
Their response to the original suggestion that Kallis may soon be for the axe was as vitroilic as the Protea fans. One, who shall remain nameless, wrote: "**** rubbish. Kallis can play for South Africa for as long as he wants. He's a legend."
And really, that's what this blog is all about. The problem with cricket in this country may well be the cricket writers. No, Kallis can't carry on forever. No, he can't just expect to be picked until he's 104.
These are old-fashioned sycophants. Old-school South Africans who stick to cricket and rugby, ridicule local soccer. Scared to have a go at captain Graeme Smith last year when he failed to go for the throat against India. They all get on with Biff and his dad, don't want to upset the great man. Not too keen on replacing Mark Boucher, Kallis's next-door neighbour, in case they upset the applecart.
I've been there. Toured this wonderful country with England three times. It's tempting to take the easy option, to choose your allies and stick with them come what may.
But this lot go too far. Yes, they'll all have a go at Gerald Majola, the Cricket South Africa CEO, for his R1.9m bonus after the IPL - but nobody really minds if former boss Ali Bacher took R5m for his "retirement fund" after the 2003 World Cup. Not a word from the big papers when that little nugget emerged. And Bacher was the man who led the Proteas through the Hansie Cronje scandal without drawing a questioning glance. Who happily went from running rebel tours under Apartheid to running the show when South Africa returned to the international fold in 1991.
And these are the same guys who called for black armbands when cricket writer Peter Roebuck threw himself out of the window in Cape Town when confronted, finally, with policemen bringing charges of sexual abuse.
When I dared to warn one particular writer against eulogising a man with criminal convictions against three South African teenagers, it was ignored. So I wrote the truth. The abuse was rich and varied on that occasion too. Just have a look further down the blogs.
There are times as a sports journalist you have to stick your neck out, be the first to spot the fading talents of a superstar, to write about the grime when others prefer the lazy path of the status quo.
Like their cricket side, some of these cricketing hacks have been around too long. Complacent, lazy, unreconstructed, they have never broken a story, started a trend, in case they offend the legends of the game.
Legends? They can't even beat a Sri Lanka side struggling for their wages and without the sublime unorthodox genius of Muttiah Muralitharan or Lasith Malinga.
New Proteas coach Gary Kirsten, a World Cup winner with India earlier this year after the current South African legends collapsed against New Zealand, will doubtless do his work before the New Year Test, make the changes and kick the bottoms. He may even bring back the sensational Vernon Philander - who can bat a bit - to play with the dynamic debutant Marchant de Lange, opting to let AB De Villiers take the gloves at Newlands.
Or he may find out what happened to Ryan Canning, the Cobras wicketkeeper batsman now playing club cricket somewhere near Cape Town at the tender age of 26.
I don't expect Kallis to be axed. But I do expect a frank exchange between coach and King Kallis. And a few younger all-rounders to be checked out.
And less thoughtless invective when the right questions are asked. #axekallis. It had to be said.

 

McCarthy in no rush to secure a new club as Musona's German move nears completion

Benni McCarthy appears to be in no rush to secure a new club as he flew to Cape Town “to get keep fit and get his touch of the ball back” this week.

The 33-year-old, who has scored more international goals than any other South African, arrives in the Mother City in no apparent hurry to refute the “fat and lazy” slurs which followed him out of the exit door after 18 goalless months at West Ham United in April.

Even his agent, Rob Moore, appears relaxed about McCarthy’s laid-back attitude. He told my colleague Ed Aarons last week: “Benni has just got back from Disneyland.”

Aarons, now working for Sky Sports after his World Cup stint with the Citizen in Johannesburg, spoke to Moore again yesterday when news of Benni’s jaunt to Cape Town broke on Twitter. This time Moore said: “The bottom line is Benni is planning on coming to Cape Town for a holiday and he asked me to ask Ajax if they mind if he trains there to keep fit.

“We haven’t planned anything yet because he has been on holiday for the start of June so it just a matter of starting things up and seeing what direction we move.

“He’s on holiday visiting friends and you can’t spend 24/7 doing that so he wants to have somewhere he can go and get his touch of the ball back and that type of thing.

“Obviously certain clubs have certain targets in mind at this point in time so maybe a decision will only be taken in August. It’s still early days.”

Moore claims interest from clubs in America’s MLS and the lucrative middle-east, where Qatar and the United Arab Emirates offer big money to professionals looking for a retirement package.

McCarthy, so sharp during his days with Jose Mourinho’s Porto and Sam Allardyce’s Blackburn Rovers in his heyday, will train next week with new Ajax coach Maarten Stekelenburg to get himself back in some sort of shape, but both Moore and McCarthy’s twittering brother Jerome reckons no discussions have been held about a permanent move.

Ajax Cape Town CEO George Comitis, who saw his side go so close to the South African Premier League title last season, said simply: “No, he is not joining us. He is just coming to train with us while he is in Cape Town.”

McCarthy’s brother Jerome, who also works as a player agent, twittered: “My brother is coming to Cape Town tomorrow, but I do not know anything about him signing for Ajax.

“Maybe somebody found out he was travelling to Cape Town and made up their own conclusions, but he has not said anything to me about it.”

Jerome also mentioned Benni had elicited interest from Qatar and the MLS, but concluded: “That is all I know.”

As I told SABC’s excellent football commentator Sizwe Mabena on MetroFM’s Discovery Sport Centre on Thursday night, McCarthy can do better than that. Long derided by Bafana Bafana fans for his on-off attitude towards the national squad, this is when McCarthy should consider giving something back to the nation of his birth, confirming his reputation as South Africa’s finest modern striker.

Mr Moore rarely appreciates my views, but McCarthy is being presented with the perfect opportunity to end his career with a bang in the city of his birth. If he trains hard and impresses Stekelenburg, then Ajax are bound to make a bid for a man cast out of West Ham four months ago after twice being fined for being overweight.

Failing Ajax, he could even consider a move to Kaiser Chiefs if Knowledge Musona goes to the Bundesliga, as appears increasingly likely.

Chiefs general manager Bobby Motaung told the Sowetan: “It was a successful trip for the player who flew to Germany on Sunday and joined the team for the pre-season in Austria.”

Motaung confirmed TSG Hoffenheim have offered Chiefs R15m for Musona and that Amazulu’s Lehlohonolo Majoro is being lined up along with FC Twente’s unsettled Bernard Parker to replace Musona. But surely a fit, hungry McCarthy could do the job?

Moore admits: “One doesn’t rule anything out at this stage because we haven’t sat down so we will just have to see what happens.

“I’m sure there are a few clubs that would like to sign him. I think he needs to get all his holidays and visits completed and then at that point he can see what the right choice should be.”

Exactly.

Careless defending, Carles scores: Spain 1 Germany 0 and we're in for a first-time World Cup winner on Sunday

In the end, amid all the hair gel, the untidy locks of Carles Puyol decided things at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. But mark my words, this was a bad result for this World Cup. Spain survive by strangling the life out of their opponents. Germany would have been far worthier final opponents.

While the sleek thoroughbreds knocked the ball backwards and forwards, it was left to the long-haired lover from Le Poblo de Segur to give Spain the 73^rd-minute edge over Germany in a dreadfully tight World Cup semi-final.

He’s only 5ft 10in, but Carles loves careless marking in the opposition penalty area. After endless pontificating in Durban, it took a decisive head to put the European Champions through to their first ever World Cup final against the Netherlands at Soccer City on Sunday.

Without Thomas Mueller, Germany simply didn’t look capable of breaking down the well-organised (and dare I say boring) Spaniards. One Lucas Podolski chance, well saved by Iker Casillas in the 68^th minute, was all they had to offer in a game dominated by the luvvies from La Liga.

Spain should have won it comfortably. Shot after shot flew wide as La Rojas painstakingly pulled the young Germans apart. And whatever happens now, we will have brand new World Cup winners – neither the Dutch nor the Spanish have ever lifted the Jules Rimet trophy before.

In fact, Spain had never got beyond five quarter-finals before this crusade, which started with the curious blip against lowly Switzerland nearly a month ago.

Puyol, who moved from his village club to Barcelona in 1997, had won 89 caps and scored just three goals before last night’s effort. In 331 games for his beloved Barca he has managed just six goals.

But statistics mean nothing when there’s a World Cup to be won, history to be made.

The man who started his footballing career as a goalkeeper was a striker when he came to Barcelona. He got his big chance under Louis van Gaal as a right back but by 2005 he was voted best centre-back in Europe.

By then he had spent five years playing internationally for La Rojas and, with Barca team-mate Gerard Pique, he has made this Spanish side difficult to break down.

Up front, David Villa – ear-marked for the golden boot with five goals so far – was so quiet, boss Vincente Del Bosque turned to the out-of-form Fernando Torres in an attempt to open things up. But he always had Puyol. The poodle among the greyhounds, he ended German dreams.

Now we can sit back and prepare to witness the first European win on a foreign continent in the history of the World Cup.

Curiously, an octopus called Paul has been predicting these things in his aquarium throughout the tournament. Germany certainly ran out of legs in Durban. I’ll put five squid on Holland to win the final though.

Neal Collins is in South Africa to witness the greatest World Cup of all and promote his first novel, A GAME APART, which predicts so much of what has happened at South Africa 2010. For more information see www.nealcollins.co.uk.

World champions Italy 1, Paraguay 1... and the reign may soon be over

Italy clawed their way to a point against underdogs Paraguay – but the world champions’ reign looked uncertain in the rain of Cape Town.

The South Americans, ranked 31 in the world, were the stronger side for an hour. After 39 minutes Aureliano Torres swung in a free-kick and Antolin Alacaraz rose above Fabio Cannavaro and Daniele de Rossi to head home beautifully.

With an upset on the cards against the holders, ranked fifth in the world, looked to have no way back until Paraguan goalkeeper Justo Villar produced an error very bit as bad as Robert Green’s in its own way.

He came out to slap at Simone Pepe’s 63^rd minute corner, missed completely, and Daniele De Rossi prodded home the equaliser. For the rest of the game, Italy piled on the pressure – but were unable to produce the first come-from-behind victory of this World Cup.

In Bloemfontein, Japan beat Cameroon 1-0 in Group E with CSKA Moscow’s KeisukeHonda engineering the only goal after 39 minutes.

Cameroon, Africa’s highest-ranked side here at 19, had never lost their opening game and reached the quarter-finals in 1990 – the continent’s best-ever performance.

French coach Paul Le Guen, the former Rangers boss, inexplicably left Arsenal’s Alex Song on the bench and appeared to be playing the great Barcelona and Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto’o as a right midfielder.

Cameroon were lacklustre throughout, though they awoke in the last five minutes to hit a post in the last minute through Stephane M’Bia. Le Guen lamented: Le Guensaid: "I’m upset that we have lost - our attitude was wrong. We were tense and nervous, especially in the first half. We did not show what we are capable of. We were not at our level and kept losing possession.”

Should have started with Song then, surely? Japan boss Takeshe Okad, who saw his side lose all five of their World Cup warm-up games, said: “I don’t think it was a great success – what’s important is the next game.”

That’s against Holland in Durban on June 19. The Dutch remain favourites to win Group C after a comfortable 2-0 win over Denmark. They didn’t sparkle at Soccer City in the opening game on day four, but an own goal by Danish defender Daniel Agger and a tap-in from Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt proved too much for the not-so-great Danes.

Dutch boss Bert van Marwijk was going orange in the face at time and growled: "I have said 100,000 times that sometimes we are arrogant and that might backfire on us, and I have told my players from day one and we must not fall into that trap."

Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba is awaiting permission from FIFA to play with as cast on his broken arm before their opening clash against Portugal in Port Elizabeth tomorrow.

France 0, Uruguay 0 but at least now we know: There is a footballing god. And he has a delicious sense of irony

FRANCE’S dreadful 0-0 draw against Uruguay proved just one thing. There is a footballing God. And He has an acute sense of irony.

The second game of the World Cup at Green Point in Cape Town – another great stadium, another great surface – did little to warm the heart of the 64,000 fans.

But there was a delicious moment late in the game when Thierry Henry was denied a penalty for handball. Yes, that’s the Hand of Gaul Henry, who used his arm like a basketball player to put the Republic of Ireland out of this World Cup.

As an Arsenal fan, that moment ruined a hero for me, I dubbed it the Hand of Frog which obviously I'd never repeat. It's rude. But as a third-generation Irishman I was furious.

Was it only last November? The party-loving Irish would have brought so much to this tournament but with 17 minutes to go in the second leg of the qualifying play-off, there was Henry, controlling the ball with his arm and playing it across goal for William Gallas to equalise for the home side in Paris.

The arguments, the appeals to FIFA, the demands for a replay, a petition of a million Irishman in a paddy. They even asked at parliamentary level if they could be the 33rd side at South Africa 2010.

But FIFA, as always, refused to do what the public demanded, what justice demanded. France were through after winning at Croke Park. And Henry? He admitted culpability immediately afterwards and apologised... but was never given any kind of punishment.

At the very least, video evidence should have been used to ban him from the first couple of games of this tournament for deliberate hand-ball.

But nothing happened. And here's the wonderful irony. After an interminable 81 minutes, Uruguay substitute Nicolas Lodeiro was sent off. Already booked, his studs-up challenge on Arsenal full-back Bacary Sagna left the referee with no choice.

That opened the game up for the French and in the 88^th minute their chance to end this stultifying stale mate appeared to have dawned. Henry picked up the ball on the far post and Mauricio Victorino used his hand to keep the ball and the 32-year-old at bay. But Japanese referee Nishimura saw nothing. Just as Swedish whistler Hanssen saw nothing last November.

And that was it. Henry had a late free-kick but his aura is gone. It bobbled off the wall. The Jabulani ball is doing nobody any favours. Diego Forlan had the best chance for Uruguay but it ballooned wide, just as every free-kick on day one did.

Gavin Hunt, the watching Supersports United manager who has won the last three South African Premier League titles, told me: “We’ve played with the World Cup ball for six months. I told them it was too light, far too light. It bobbles, it swerves. I told them we prefer the heavier Mitre ball, especially at altitude. But by then it was too late, they were in production.”

A balls-up then. And a dull draw in Cape Town after the excitement of the opening 1-1 deadlock between the hosts and Mexico at Soccer City. But Hunt was smiling for once: “This is a good result for South Africa. I can’t see either of those sides presenting any real problems for Carlos Alberto Parreira.”

In summary then, 162,000 fans, mostly vuvuzela-blowing South Africans, witnessed a flawless opening ceremony and two draws. No bloodbaths in evidence, no earthquakes, muggings or deadly snakes. Just a few traffic jams and handbags being thrown in the second half of the Green Point grind. Not a bad opening day for the nation they said could never host a World Cup.

Neal Collins (nealcol on Twitter) is in South Africa promoting his book A GAME APART. For more details see www.nealcollins.co.uk. To see video of the World Cup's breathtaking first goal, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEJwrVHR06I

Putting things straight... just written this for a South African magazine while watching Andy Murray struggle in Australia

STRANGE being a sports writer in London as we gear up to the World Cup in South Africa in June. You read all these stories about a country you know so well and think... how can these guys be writing that? How can they pretend to know what's going on, what's gone on? Where's their perspective? But you have no choice.

This week Martin Samuel - the best-paid sportswriter in England, and something of a heavyweight in my world (left, with yet another trophy for his writing) - wrote a piece in the heavily conservative Daily Mail talking about how dangerous the Rainbow Nation is, about how nobody would dare walk down the road to a restaurant. Oh, and he complained about the shanties on the way to the airport and had a go at "PC journalists" who held a different view.

He's a bright lad Martin, but he'd just joined 'let's knock Africa' brigade led by the snobbish private school types in London who dominate the media and push it towards the fascist fringes.

The BBC's Andrew Harding does little better in his scare-mongering piece, which includes a visit to Hillbrow in Johannesburg http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8479845.stm. Still, at least there's a positive closing sequence. But all this talk of flak jackets and videos of violence. What about London, with the Olympics coming up in two years? No stabbings in our capital? Couldn't foreign journalists do the same kind of muck raking.

Then there's Uli Hoeness, the arrogant German saying he never liked the idea of a World Cup in South Africa. How about flying him out there Rich? Let me take him around the country, see the stadia, witness the miracle?

I'm fuming. I've just spent six weeks in South Africa covering the absorbing Test series from which England escaped with a highly-fortunate draw. Martin had been here a week. I had a long chat to him while we watched England warm up for the last Test at the Wanderers. Didn't seem right or fair to produce a piece like that.

I'd told him my experiences. Centurion, Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg... I walked everywhere, didn't hire a car. Wandered along the beach front in Durban, celebrated with the masses on Long Street as the New Year dawned in Cape Town, drank with old friends at the Radium Beer Hall in Orange Grove. Never a problem. The country improves every time I visit.

But the international media - apparently even the bright ones like Sammy - prefer to focus on the crime figures, African poverty, political corruption... even the tragic shootings in Cabinda, where Togo's team bus was attacked before the African Cup of Nations. But Cabinda, I keep telling everyone, is further from Johannesburg than Moscow to London. It's always been a troubled area.

I've been on 702, Sky News and opened lines of communication to Rich Mkhondo, my old university mate, at the World Cup communications office. Somebody has to redress the balance. Somebody with a knowledge of South Africa, a feeling for the country. But somebody offering enough detachment to come up with an objective view. And having an English accent helps too.

If you look at my blog, www.nealcollins.co.uk/blog, you'll see my arguments, my musings on the subject - and my visit to England's hidden training camp in Rustenburg with exclusive pictures. You may also read about where the other big European teams are staying - the German hotel in Erasmia has only just got around the building their training ground while the Italians will be preparing on a local high school pitch specially re-surfaced for their billionaire footballers. It's my way of helping fans find their feet when they get to South Africa in June.

And perhaps you'll find my first novel, A GAME APART, of use too. It's based largely on what I witnessed myself as a student, footballer and very junior sports journalist from 1979 to 1985.

But it takes us right up to date with current events, to the point when England are about to kick off against the USA at the Bafokeng Sports Palace on June 12.

Since leaving the country in something of a hurry during the Apartheid years, I have made numerous return visits to South Africa to cover the Lions rugby tour (1997), the cricket World Cup (2003) as well as a three-month England cricket tour (1999/2000) before the most recent Test series. My father still lives there and we visit, as a family, at least once a year, travelling widely and without fear other than when we come across big cats and rogue elephants in the game parks.

These frequent trips have, I hope, given me a special insight into a fascinating nation, so unique in Africa… and the world, when you consider how quickly it has changed.

In all my years resident there from 1970 to 1985, and on over two dozen subsequent visits, I never been mugged or car-jacked, or even rudely spoken to by a black man, though my university days were marked by constant conflict with the police, which reflects itself in the book I guess.

Some of my South Africa friends are outraged by it. One, my old head boy from school in Verwoerdburg (now Centurion) suggested I mentioned the betrayal of the Boers and said his wife couldn't finish the book, it was too vitriolic. But that's what journalists are isn't it? Vitriol is our merchandise.

And the events detailed in the book are largely factual, but condensed... names and places have been altered, some may feel they recognise themselves in certain of the characters, but in truth the characters are a compilation of the people I have met, the life I experienced. It's not just about football. It's about women, beaches, resettlement camps, brutality, national service. The whole gamut.

I judge nobody who lived in South Africa at that time, where so many were forced into certain roles by the incredible pressures of a violent, divisive society. A lot of the publicity surrounding the upcoming World Cup has been negative, with the focus on crime and corruption in South Africa since democracy arrived in 1994.

My perception is very different to that... I believe the country has changed massively for the better in 16 short years. I’ve waited all that time to let my memories loose, and the World Cup seems an appropriate time to produce a novel which will help people to remember exactly what the Rainbow Nation has been through in the last 20 years. My memories, my distortions in terms of time and emphasis, will annoy some, please others.

All I ask is that the reader recognizes this is how a young Englishman might have viewed the South Africa I grew up in. A strange but beautiful country riven by cruelty and mistrust and headed for a bloody revolution… until the release of a certain Nelson Mandela in 1990.

That South Africa is now in a position to bid for a major sports event, let alone host an operation of this scale, is little short of a miracle given what I lived through there. And that really is the point. For those who visit the country, for those who view it on a television screen, for those who read about it in the newspapers, I hope to offer some perspective.

Apartheid, like the Holocaust, should never be forgotten, swept under the carpet. Otherwise somebody will simply repeat the process. And that must never be allowed to happen.

Flower blooms at 7am the morning after... and issues a warning to South Africa

ENGLAND boss Andrew Flower issued a clear warning to South Africa before Thursday’s final Test in Johannesburg, insisting: “We aren’t going to The Wanderers to draw the series, we’re going there to win this thing 2-0”

After yesterday’s miraculous draw in the third Test at Newlands, Flower (and Ian Bell, right) emerged before 7am London time at the team’s plush new headquarters on Cape Town’s waterfront to say: “We showed a lot of fight to save two Tests here and we won in Durban.

“Fight is something we like to have in our dressing room. It’s integral to what we want. But every England side inherently has fight because the players are representing their country.

“We want to go on to bigger, better things with this team.”

Flower, talking as a “table cloth” of cloud drifted over the magnificent Table Mountain behind him, praised the fantastic four-hour partnership between Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell which provided the platform for England’s great escape yesterday – and he had kind words for No11 bat Graham Onions, who stood firm for the last over, just as he had at Centurion in the first Test.

Flower said: “Colly is a typical British bulldog, he’s great in the dressing room and he has lots of energy. Now he is using his experience and he is battle-hardened to play against the best sides in the world.

“Belly followed his big 100 (140) which helped win the match in Durban with a match-saving innings (78) yesterday It’s good to see him playing with confidence.”

Described as “a legend” by captain Andrew Strauss yesterday, “Bunny” Onions came in for further praise from Flower as he followed his 19-ball last-man-standing epic at Centurion with 17 balls of desperate defiance yesterday. Flower said: “Bunny’s been in some difficult situations and he’s come through it. He’s had very little luck with his bowling on this tour but he’s proved he can bat when it matters.

“That’s testament to him and the thousands of balls he’s had thrown down at him Phil Neal and our coaching staff. Battling our way to two draws, refusing to lose, that has to be great for English cricket.”

The only slight blemish? The form of Kevin Pietersen, who scored 0 and 6 in front of booing fans at Newlands. Flower said: “Everybody has blips in Test cricket. I’m confident he’ll come back. But he contributed to this draw in the field and in the dressing room.

“I wouldn’t say he’s a special case, everybody is a special case in our squad, in the nicest sense of the word. They all have their unique problems but we deal with everybody the same way. I have every confidence in Kevin.”

Of the ball-tampering allegations against Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson, repeated over two days by the South Africans, Flower said: “Our bowlers did nothing wrong. They have great talent at bowling reverse swing on coarse tracks here. We shall continue to do exactly what we always do.

“Has this changed the relationship between the two sides? There’s always a little bit to say to eachother in a series as close as this. But it’s fine. Was it an attempt to unsettle England? You’ll have to ask them that.”

Boycott furious as Kevin Pietersen sings "My Way"

AND now, the time is near, England have to face the final curtain... eek. Not Frank Sinatra, not now at the climax of the crucial third Test at Newlands, where England face defeat on the final day.

No, if it’s “My Way” echoing through the stands as the table cloth of cloud creeps over Table Mountain, it has to be sung by Kevin Pietersen, who got out last night just when his adopted nation needed him most.

The old batting sage “Sir” Geoffrey Boycott is tired of KP’s eternal anthem. When he got out last night, taking any gloss off a stirring opening partnership of 100 between captain Andrew Strauss (46) and Alastair Cook (55), the chase for 466 in 146 overs was rendered hopeless.

England resumed on 132-3 and nightwatchman Jimmy Anderson lasted for a long-than-expected 45 minutes before he was brilliantly caught off his boot by Ashwell Prince off the eternally fortunate South African spinner Paul Harris.

Capetonian Englishman Jonathan Trott is on 36 and has been joined by Paul Collingwood, who knows a thing or two about stubborn resistance. England are 153-4 with Collingwood surviving a dodgy catch on review off his first ball. Phew. But this will be over by tea-time and we'll go to The Wanderers on Thursday for the decider with the four-match series locked at 1-1.

This is what former Test batsman Boycott had to say about petulant Pietersen’s problems after scores of 0 and 6 at Newlands: “He’s walking at the ball instead of taking a big stride. By the time he plays at the ball, he’s lunging at it, falling over. If you watch carefully, it makes him play across the line. His right side comes round. His right arm comes round.

“I can explain it but he’ll probably take no notice of anybody. He just says: ‘That’s the way I play,’ and then carries on. It’s nonsense. If you’re 6ft 4in and as talented as him, you have to use that stride properly, you don't shuffle. He stands up with a stiff left leg, walking all over it. It’s a very poor defensive shot.

“Getting booed is no excuse for not playing forward. Coming back after his operation is no excuse. If he’d listen, it would help. I love him to bits. He has all the talent in the world. But he never listens to anybody. That’s all I’ve got to say.”

Boycott got in a real stew on the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s television coverage when Pietersen was out lbw last night. “No, no, no,” he shouted, furious after KP had survived one lbw dismissal on a review only to be rapped plum in front a couple of balls later by a delirious Dale Steyn.

As Collingwood and Trott fiddle while England’s 1-0 series lead burns after the heavy roller was on this morning (above), Pietersen sits in the dressing room with no role to play. The Sun said he threw beer on the fans after his first innings failure. England deny emphatically that he did anything of the sort. But the pressure is on. It’s not as if he isn’t our best batsman, our highest ranked Test run-getter.

At Centurion, where he ran himself out suicidally on 81 and nearly cost England the draw, he looked comfortable when all about him were jumpy in both innings. At Kingsmead, he looked supremely confident but never produced the big one as England won by an innings and 98 runs.

In the field, he is the least competent of England’s fielders. And with Paul Collingwood suffering with his bad back and dislocated finger, he’s been thrown the ball for a couple of overs of off-spin but never looks like the change bowler he was as a youngster in Durban, where they considered him a bit of an all-rounder.

Anybody else showing his apparent lack of focus, his ability to get out to bad shots, his lacklustre performance in the field, would be in the firing line, the sacrificial lamb before the decider at The Wanderers next Thursday. But not KP. Not against the land of his birth.

As Boycott says, we love him to bits. But please KP, offer us hope for Johannesburg, or this series is going down the u-bend.

England battle against the inevitable as Broad puts his foot in it

ENGLAND refused to accept the inevitable in Cape Town today, getting rid of two major South African obstacles on the fourth morning of the crucial third Test.

But Andrew Strauss's weary men are still staring defeat in the face as the hosts, despite the loss of Graeme Smith (183) and Jacques Kallis (46) moved on to 397-4 at lunch, a crushing lead of 415.

Though it may be impossible to rule out anything after Australia's unbelievable victory over Pakistan in Sydney this morning, England need something pretty spectacular to escape a series-levelling defeat here.

The highest winning fourth innings score at this ground on the slopes of Table Mountain is 334-6, made when Australia beat South Africa in 2002... though the West Indies managed 354-5 when they held on for a draw at Newlands in 2004.

Still, considering their hopeless position, England's seamers - pilloried on the front page of the local Cape Times for causing a "BALL TAMPERING FURORE" this morning - plugged away.

The morning session saw just 85 runs off 24 overs as South Africa failed to produce the expected pre-declaration acceleration.

England's first success came with the departure of captain Graeme Smith for a magnificent 183. And his final denouement came courtesy of what was later revealed to be a Graham Onions no ball.

Smith chose the perfect time to produce his best of the series so far, hitting 25 fours in a six-and-a-half hour match-turning knock which lasted from 11.14am yesterday to 11.13am today before he skied one to the reliable Paul Collingwood at fine leg. Of course, if he'd risked a review, the Onions over-step would have been spotted, and he would probably have batted all day.

But such slices of good fortune were rare for England, who had to wait a further ten overs before removing the obdurate first innings centurion Kallis for 46. This time it was Anderson who claimed the scalp, caught behind by Matt Prior to make it 376-4, a lead of nearly 400.

AB De Villiers and Ashwell Prince stuck together until lunch without the expected fireworks. Clearly the South Africans think they will only need four sessions to get rid of England and level the series at 1-1 before the final Test at the Wanderers in Johannesburg next Sunday.

You can't blame the batsman formerly known as Prince for his reticence. He had been scuppered for golden ducks in his last two innings against England and scrambled to lunch with a tip-toed five off 11 balls while De Villiers did the job with more aplomb, scoring 32 off 45.

The only England seamer without a wicket so far is Stuart Broad. Ironic really. It was his foot (see above) which caused the so-called furore this morning.

He chose to stop a drive with his studded boot just after lunch yesterday, saying afterwards he was too tired to bend over and retrieve it in temperatures approaching 40 degrees.
The South Africans saw it differently. They replayed footage of the incident on television again and again, added a bit of Jimmy Anderson ball-picking and came up with screaming allegations of ball tampering, which they referred to match referee Roshan Mahanama.

South African coach Mickey Arthur said after the last Test - which England won by an innings and 98 runs - he couldn't work out how Broad had produced the reverse swing which saw his side capitulate. He clearly thinks he knows now, and as I speak, the South African Broadcasting Association are apparently searching for footage from Kingsmead to prove further tampering.

But as England boss Andy Flower said when told of the allegations: "This amazing amount of reverse swing gained from Broadie standing on the ball clearly hasn't worked."

The ICC are set to release a statement saying they will not take any action over South Africa's concerns and Geoff Boycott's exclusive assessment in the loo downstairs? "Ball tampering? There's nothing going on at all. The umpires looked at the ball and found nothing. It's just a media thing."

The heat is on... and England lose their grip in Cape Town

ENGLAND were brutally batted out of the third Test at Newlands today as South African captain Graeme Smith produced his first century of the series in the Cape Town heat.

Backed-up in a record second wicket partnership by Hashim Amla, who scored a ton in the opening Test at Centurion, South Africa had no trouble building a lead of nearly 250 as they attempt to level the series at 1-1 with one to play.
The tourists, struggling to stay in the game for two days, started this morning 50 runs behind as they attempted to engineer a win that would seal a series victory.
But hopes of building a first innings lead were soon dashed when paceman Morne Morkel struck in the first over of the day to remove Graeme Swann and James Anderson in consecutive balls.
Despite the defiance of Matt Prior, who top-scored for England with 76 off 118 deliveries, the tourists were still 18 runs shy of South Africa’s total when their first innings ended.
Swann claimed the early wicket of struggling opener Ashwell Prince (15) but Smith (103 off 170) and Amla (89 off 133) guided South Africa to 224-1 midway through the final session as England wilted in the sun.

It might be difficult to appreciate on television in freezing Britain, but the 40 degree heat here is a serious factor. Ryan Sidebottom, the unselected seamer sweating in the nets (above) behind the main stand, has just told me: “This is the hottest we have ever known. Durban gets humid, but the heat here is unbelievable today.”

And former South African paceman Fanie De Villiers agreed: “It’s dangerous. Ten minutes in the sun here is like two hours in the British summer sun. I really worry about the Barmy Army out there with their shirts off. We could see plenty of them in hospital tonight. That’s how bad it is.”

Swann, forced to sweat through over after over in England's four-man attack, was second only to Australia’s Mitchell Johnson in the Test wicket-taking stakes last year with 54 victims and showed his value again here today.

The Nottinghamshire spinner made it 17 wickets in the series when he trapped Prince (15) lbw. He tried a desperate referral to third umpire Aleem Dar claiming he may have got a touch, but he was soon on his way, with England’s hot and bothered fielders offering some choice advice as he departed with the score 31 — that’s South Africa’s best opening partnership of the series so far, by four runs.
Resuming on 241-7 England lost Swann after three balls before Jimmy Anderson suffered his first ever golden duck, both falling to the superb Morkel, who ended with five for 75 off 22 overs.
But wicketkeeper Matt Prior, on 52 overnight, refused to buckle and — with Durham’s Graham ‘Bunny’ Onions at the other end — eventually fell for 76 when he edged Dale Steyn, the world’s top-ranked Test bowler, onto his stumps.
By then, he and Onions had reduced the lead from 50 to 18, and it was still anybody’s game.
Meanwhile, England have strongly denied allegations that Kevin Pietersen threw beer over a fan, who abused him.
England’s media manager Andrew Walpole said: “Neither Kevin Pietersen nor any of the other England players were involved in any kind of incident.
“There was no beer thrown from our balcony. There was absolutely no truth in the story. We are very angry and we are in contact with the ECB lawyers in London over this story. It is complete rubbish.”

Should England not win the match then it is set up for a series decider with the fourth Test starting in Johannesburg next Thursday.