Swann's underpants get South Africa in a twist

ENGLAND’S unexpected resurgence at the end of day three became a real fightback at the start of day four today at the first Test in Centurion, where the sun always shines.

Out of the game at lunch-time yesterday, the visitors fought back in the heat with a record 106-run partnership between Graeme Swann and Jimmy Anderson plus the wicket of Ashwell Prince last night, leaving the hosts with a lead of 71.

By lunch-time, they had South Africa 80-4, a lead of just 142 with six wickets in hand. If England are left to chase around 250 on the final day, anything could happen.

This morning they needed just two overs to make their first strike when nightwatchman Paul Harris was caught with his knickers in a twist. Well, not literally.

Jimmy Anderson’s delivery was shaping just wide of his leg stump when the ball caught in his trousers and was dragged back onto the wicket. Bowled for 11, South Africa 20-2.

What was it Swannie (above) said last night: “We’ll get the non-batsman out in the morning and go from there!” And that was with his arch-rival Harris standing at the back of the room, waiting to talk to the media!

South Africa lost their second of the morning, third of the innings, when Graeme Onions produced a corker which might have bent back a bit and captain Graeme Smith was gone for 12, a rare double failure for the man who ducked out so early in the first innings. South Africa 34-3.

But it was the wicket of Kallis which England really wanted and it came in unexpected fashion. The veteran South African all-rounder, who scored a magnificent 120 in the first innings, lost patience with the grinding defence and sweltering heat.

He had scored just four off 32 balls when he rocked back in an attempt to smack Stuart Broad high over the fence. He didn’t quite get hold of it and there was Alastair Cook to pouch a well-judged catch on the mid-wicket boundary and silence the roar of a growing crowd at Centurion. That left South Africa 4-64 and it was game on.

These vital early wickets may have something to do with the garb worn by yesterday’s batting hero Swann, who scored a Test-best 85 to keep England in the game.

He issued this Twitter before play: “I am wearing my lucky pants again today, despite them being a trifle crusty. Let's hope for wickets this morning."

Swann, who took 5-110 in the first innings, was unlucky not to join the wicket-takers when he had a good LBW appeal against Hashim Amla turned down on review. It was out, apparently, but no out enough. Outside the zone of certainty is the term they seem to be using.

Stuart Broad has defended his behaviour after being given LBW on review despite a not out decision from umpire Aleem Dar, a decision which may just have inspired Swann. Broad was unhappy about the 34-second delay between the ball hitting his pads and the South Africans asking for a review.

He said: "I did not see any signal from the South Africa management. I was merely saying to the umpires that the amount of time the whole process took was wrong and would provide an opportunity for the system to be manipulated. There was no suggestion that I was querying the decision. Replays showed that I was absolutely dead in front - it was just the time it took to get there."

On his meeting with match referee Roshan Mahanama in the television room, which looked a bit lively from where I was sitting, Broad said: "It was completely calm and civilised and the referee was very understanding. He said the whole process was trial and error and that hopefully any teething problems would be sorted out.

"There was no suggestion from the referee that I am facing any disciplinary action and I don't see any reason why there should be. I wasn't rude and I haven't done anything wrong."

Broadside for South Africa on a chilly summer's morning

ON an incredibly chilly mid-summer’s morning in Pretoria, England’s Stuart Broad has turned up the heat on South Africa before the first Test starts in neighbouring Centurion on Wednesday.

Broad, breaking off from a lively practice session the morning after they had been made the BBC's Sports Team of the Year for their Ashes-winning exploits last summer, warned the hosts: “This is a big opportunity for us. South Africa are a bit rusty, they haven’t played Test cricket for three months and we are feeling good as a team.

“We have to make sure we go into the first day at Centurion and hit them hard. We’re pretty confident we can.”

With England still deliberating over whether to go on the attack and play just four bowlers, Broad added: “The beauty of this England side is that we have that option. Obviously if we go in with six batters it will put pressure on the bowlers, but Jimmy Anderson and I have been opening the bowling for quite a while and we are ready to step up and take responsibility.

“I’d be happy to bat at seven if we choose that option. I’ve gone in there in three or four Tests and I have been working on my technique. I just have to get in there and get a few runs.

“What’s good about this England team is that there are players ready to step up in all situations. We just have to make sure we get off to a good start on Wednesday. That’s so important in a four-match series.”

Broad also explained why he has decided to opt out of the Indian Premier League for another season. Struggling with a shoulder injury earlier in the tour, he said: “It’s been a tough schedule. We’ve got four Tests over the next five weeks and then there’s the Bangladesh tour.

“You have to listen to your body. I’m not ruling out the IPL in the future but for now England comes first. It was always my boyhood dream to play for my country and that is my priority.

“I’ve done a lot of thinking and a lot of talking. I have to think about my body.”

While South Africa sweat over the fitness of all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who has been having oxygen chamber treatment for his broken rib, their captain Graeme Smith issued this warning to England’s Pietermaritzburg-born batsman Kevin Pietersen.

“He's made a lot of remarks about the country that I don't think he's ever apologised for.

"It's hard for people just to wash away those things and that's why people will give him a hard time. "

Pietersen (pictured) appeared undaunted in the nets yesterday at Pretoria University’s High Performance Centre, which will house Diego Maradona’s Argentina at next year’s World Cup.

He enjoyed a high-octane net with selector and former England spinner Ashley Giles and was running through his full repertoire of shots, including a “Dilshan” scoop over his own head and plenty of left-handed switch hitting.

With Anderson and Ryan Sidebottom both fit and bowling out in the middle today before the rain came down – as it has nearly every day on this tour so far - England must now decide whether to go on the offensive with the No 7 slot going to Broad or all-rounder Luke Wright.

But the indications are England are leaning towards the six batsmen option, which means Ian Bell would keep his place. Broad said simply: “We’ll leave it to the management to decide on Wednesday. It’s just great that we have that option.”

Probable team: Strauss, Cook, Pietersen, Trott, Bell, Collingwood, Prior, Broad, Swann, Anderson, Sidebottom. Possible changes: Wright for Bell, Onions for Sidebottom.

England named team of the year by the BBC as their new challenge gets underway

ENGLAND were named team of the year at the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year awards last night for their epic Ashes triumph last summer.

The players, watching a satellite feed of the ceremony from their hotel in Sandton near Johannesburg, roared when they were handed the accolade for beating Australia, then the world's top ranked Test nation.

Captain Andrew Strauss said: "It's a truly great honour for us and the lads are chuffed to bits. It has been a long and arduous 12 months with lots of ups and downs, and we have stuck together through some pretty tough times. That, ultimately, is what got us over the line in the Ashes."

But this morning attention turns to the Test series against South Africa which starts in Centurion on Wednesday.

Two days before the first Test they are already 2-0 up – in the injury stakes.

While South Africa's wounded warriors Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn continue to struggle, England's stricken seamers Jimmy Anderson (right) and Ryan Sidebottom both arrived back at high altitude yesterday with real match time under their belts.

Coach Andy Flower's men head to the nearby University of Pretoria today for an in-the-middle training session where both Anderson and Sidebottom will be given the final all-clear to start a series which has captured the imagination here after England's shock 2-1 win in the one-day series, South Africa's first defeat on home soil since 2002.

With his baffling knee injury easing, Anderson bowled 15 overs on Saturday and took a wicket against the South African invitation eleven in East London while Sidebottom took a highly encouraging 5-42. Strauss said: "I'm not overly concerned. There is an element of risk with Jimmy, but it's a small one. Even when his knee has been hurting quite a lot, it still hasn't prevented him from bowling.

"I don't think you can be totally sure how Jimmy feels until we see how his knee settles down this week. On Saturday he bowled three spells and he didn't seem like he had any ill-effects. That is encouraging, and all the way through this tour that knee has gradually been getting better.

"We've obviously got to be confident he can up that workload even more for the Test match. We'll have to judge it pretty carefully. But at the moment, we're quite confident."

Strauss added: "Jimmy, Ryan and Graeme Swann are all bowling well but we've got to put in a bit of work in the next two days at altitude before the Test starts.

"We will have to wait to see what the conditions are like at Centurion. If it looks like there will be help for the bowlers we'll probably go in with four bowlers. We shall see.

"This first Test in crucial in a four-Test series. We've got to win this first one."

South Africa's key all-rounder Kallis, who suffered a broken rib in October, was only able to have a "gentle net" at the hosts' pre-series camp in Potchefstroom yesterday after two days in a oxygen chamber while their quickest bowler Steyn was bowling at "80 percent".

South African coach Mickey Arthur said: "There are still concerns about Dale's hamstring and Jacques’ problem. The conservative option would be to play Ryan McLaren as our all-rounder. We don't want to be in a position where the guys are uncertain on the morning of the game."

The inexperienced McLaren is no like-for-like replacement for Kallis though and with England’s top-order batsmen Alastair Cook, Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Paul Collingwood all in form heading into the Tests, the locals fear England may have the edge on batting depth.

Former England coach Duncan Fletcher spent most of yesterday in the nets with Morne Morkel, clearly trying to improve the paceman’s durability as a late order batsman. As he wrestles over the length of his tail, Arthur admitted he could even give a debut to Alviro Petersen. Arthur said: "We have pretty much covered all bases and ultimately it will be up to us to make the right decision. First prize is a fit Jacques Kallis.

"By Wednesday we will have a very good indication of where he is. It has felt a lot better, but we won't know until we put it through proper training, bowling for spells and batting, and only then will we be able to make a decision. He spent two days in the oxygen camber and we just hope that speeds up the recovery."

South Africa need to win the series 2-0 to retake their position at the top of the world Test rankings from India but they haven’t played Test cricket for four months with Arthur lamenting: "It's about time, I'm really looking forward to getting back into Test match mode. It's where we are really challenged as a team. Fighting and attritional qualities comes through. Test cricket is still the ultimate in our dressing room."

Without Kallis though, the locals are seriously worried about a Test series they expected to win when England and their four locally-born tourists first landed for the wham-bang early stages of this tour. With the Ashes and the one-day series neatly tucked under the belts, England – ranked fifth in the world as opposed to South Africa in second – are 33-10 with the bookmakers while the hosts are 13-10 favourites.

But the way it’s rained in South Africa so far this summer – England have spent nearly half their tour watching the summer downpours – you’d have to consider the 14-10 on a draw with the sides heading to Durban on Boxing Day all square.