England shot out for 180 and South Africa survive the rain and floodlights without loss

ANDREW STRAUSS fell to the first ball at The Wanderers this morning and England were shot out for 180 on a disastrous opening day of the “must-draw” final Test in Johannesburg.

South Africa, needing a win to tie the series at 1-1 and retain the Basil D’Oliviera trophy, were 29-0 with openers Graeme Smith(12) and Ashwell Prince (15) surviving 12 overs, a 95-minute rain delay (pictured right) and a bonus late session under floodlights.

When the umpires finally took them off for bad light, Strauss was furious. It was the end of a very, very bad day at the office.

Strauss’s first diamond duck was quickly followed by the loss of Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook as England found themselves 39-4 after 9.4 overs. South Africa’s opening pair, Morne Morkel (3-39) and the world’s top ranked Test bowler Dale Steyn (5-51) were almost unplayable in their opening barrage.

It was left to Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell to restore sanity – they added 76 for the fifth wicket before Collingwood departed for 47 and Bell followed for 35 soon after lunch.

And then the gormless procession resumed. Matt Prior, Stuart Broad and Ryan Sidebottom offered little resistance as England – Graeme Swann excepted - caved in. Yes, Sidebottom – a surprise choice to replace Graham Onions before play this morning. Onions, the legendary No11 bat the South Africans never managed to remove. Just another silly decision on a day of poor choices from England.

The most remarkable of the lot? Strauss deciding to bat when he’d won the toss. Did nobody tell him about 1999 when we were shot out for 122 on the opening day and lost by an innings?

There’s one reason this lot might do a tad better. Collingwood. Oh, for 11 Durham Determinators. Described by coach Andy Flower as “Our typical British Bulldog” he is carrying four separate injuries to his shoulder, back, hand and groin. But he celebrated the end of a fascinating first session by slapping Jacques Kallis for six over square leg and calmly walking off for lunch.

It couldn’t last. In the fifth over after lunch Collingwood, looking good for an heroic 50, turned a typical nurdle off his pads into a leading edge to JP Duminy. England were 115-5 and the Bulldog was gone for 47 off 61 balls, McLaren’s first Test victim.

Bell’s two-hour resistance ended when he was bowled by an absolute snorter from Steyn which nipped back and shattered his stumps.

Prior, who admitted earlier this week he was unhappy with his form in the city of his birth, was next. Steyn celebrated with abandon when he touched one to Boucher for 14 off 25 unconvincing balls.

Broad, once an England schools opening bat, produced a couple of nice shots before he went for 13, caught Morkel, bowled by an animated Jacques Kallis. No love lost there. Broad actually got a worse reception that Kevin Pietersen from the locals.

And Broad’s demise was typical of England today, a nothing shot to a nothing ball. While the South Africans are fired up and verbal, England’s batters appeared happy to wander in and out with no apparent fury.

Sidebottom did exactly that, Steyn’s fourth victim, caught behind for a duck off six balls. He waited all this time for the chance to bat in this series, worked so hard in the nets during the first three Tests. Then he nibbled at one outside off just when his country needed him to hang about a bit.

Graeme Swann, competing with Collingwood as England’s man of the series, got stuck in for a run-a-ball 27 before he became Steyn’s fifth victim and Boucher’s third. Innings closed but at least Swanny, the top wicket taker in the series, added 25 with Jimmy Anderson (6).

At 180 all out on a pitch being downgraded from “downright nasty” to “quite lively”, England are in serious trouble, but it could have been ever worse after the opening spell we witnessed this morning. An assault on the senses shared by a crowd of around 8,000 as the press box, packed with former Test stars, went into meltdown.

Steyn got things underway after Strauss – three-out-of-four with the coin on in this series - had won the toss. The England captain’s decision to bat is something he will have to live with for the rest of his career.

There was a hushed silence as Strauss turned the first delivery of the day straight into what the stadium commentator instantly described as “the magic hands of Hashim Amla” at short leg. Great catch, one handed to his right. Uproar.

England’s stunned Barmy Army, who had their traditional chorus of Jerusalem drowned out by the sound system at the “Bull Ring”, were immediately silenced. Strauss had become the 28^th person dismissed on the first ball of a Test, a fate which befell the great Sunil Gavaskar three times. Last time this happened to England? Stan Worthington in Brisbane against the Australians in 1936.

The first over ended with England 3-1, nerves still jangling. Morkel’s first over from the other end was equally fiery. His first ball was edged by Trott for four. His second beat the bat completely. The sixth did for him, plumb LBW, England 7-2. A bizarre five-run, eight-ball innings of swishes and hopeful prods. What was Trott thinking?

Pietersen, on seven runs from 16 balls, did what he has been doing all tour. Made a rash decision just as he was beginning to get comfortable. He went for the big pull, didn’t quite make it and Wayne Parnell took a sharp catch at cover. England were 32-3. It was all so fast, the poor bloke, making his debut, even had a quick shy at the stumps after taking the catch.

Pietersen departed spitting and shaking his head. Now boasting a full beard and a rapidly diminishing Test average, the man from Pietermaritzburg looks an unhappy soul.

Alastair Cook, somehow keeping his sanity at the other end as three South Africa-born English batsmen perished, was next, Morkel’s third victim. His LBW decision went for review with the controversial TV umpire Daryl Harper and though it looked like a no-ball, the decision stood. England coach Andy Flower went to the match referee to complain, but by then it was too late. Far too late. Cook was gone for 21 off 31 balls and England were past shock and into intensive care at 39-4.

England lose four in the first hour... but Collingwood goes to lunch with a six!

ANDREW STRAUSS was out first ball at The Wanderers this morning as the fourth and final Test between England and South Africa got underway amid incredible scenes.

The captain was soon followed by Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook as England found themselves 39-4 after 9.4 overs with Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell required to produce their now-traditional rearguard action within 45 minutes of the start on the opening morning.

South Africa’s opening pair, Morne Morkel (6-1-20-3) and the world’s top ranked Test bowler Dale Steyn (6-0-26-1) were almost unplayable in their opening barrage.

Fortunately, they were replaced by two debutants – Ryan McLaren and Wayne Parnell – and the resilient Collingwood (44) and Bell (19) began the business of resurrecting England’s innings, going to lunch at 100-4, having added 61 for the fifth wicket.

Thank God for Colly (my old netting partner, see picture) is the cry. The hero of Cardiff, Centurion and Newlands, the man described by coach Andy Flower as “Our typical British Bulldog” is carrying four separate injuries. But he celebrated the end of the first session by slapping Jacques Kallis for six over square leg. Some guy.

But what a opening spell we had. An assault on the senses shared by a crowd of around 8,000 as the press box, packed with former Test stars, went into meltdown.

Steyn got things underway after Strauss – near-perfect with the coin on in this series - had done his usual thing and won the toss. The England captain’s decision to bat is something he will have to live with for the rest of his career.

There was a hushed silence for the opening ball of a Test England only have to draw to clinch the series. Then Strauss turned that first delivery of the day straight into what the stadium commentator instantly described as “the magic hands of Hashim Amla” at short leg. Great catch. Uproar.

England’s stunned Barmy Army, who had their traditional chorus of Jerusalem drowned out by the sound system at the “Bull Ring”, were immediately silenced. Strauss had become the 28^th person dismissed on the first ball of a Test, a fate which befell the great Sunil Gavaskar three times. Last time this happened to England? Stan Worthington in Brisbane against the Australians. You won’t remember Stan. He did that back in 1936.

Ball two from Steyn flew inches wide of Jonathan Trott’s off-stump and reports of a bowlers’ paradise had been confirmed in a matter of seconds.

Groundsman Steve Scott was told to prepare a result wicket by South Africa coach Mickey Stewart, whose side need to win here to square the series at 1-1 and retain the Basil D’Oliviera trophy. It worked like a charm, but only because Strauss chose to bat. And he knew all about the South African scheming.

The first over ended with England 3-1, nerves still jangling. Back in 1999, when the Wanderers hosted the first Test between these two sides, the carnage went on all day as England were skittled for 122 and went on to lose by an innings and 21 runs. Yesterday, out on the balcony overlooking this huge arena, I talked to then-captain Nasser Hussain about that epic morning a decade ago. Surely Straussie would have been told about it? Surely he must have known what it can be like here on the first morning?

Morkel’s first over from the other end was equally worrying. His third ball was edged by Trott for four. His second beat the bat completely. The sixth did for him, plumb LBW, England 7-2. Trott, who had swung at everything he could see, almost walked. A bizarre five-run, eight-ball innings of swishes and hopeful prods. What was he thinking?

Pietersen emerged to a reasonable reception given he spent his formative years in South Africa - and he appeared to have settled, hitting the first genuine four of the morning off Morkel as he settled in with Alastair Cook at the other end.

But three balls later, on seven runs from 16 balls, he did what he has been doing all tour. Made a rash decision just as he was beginning to look good. He went for the big pull, didn’t quite make it and Wayne Parnell took a sharp catch at mid-on. England were 32-3. It was all so fast, the poor bloke, making his debut, even thought about a shy at the stumps after taking the catch.

Cook, somehow keeping his sanity at the other end as three South Africa-born English batsmen perished, was next, Morkel’s third victim. His LBW decision went for review and though it looked like a no-ball, the decision stood. England coach Andy Flower went to the match referee to complain, but by then it was too late. Far too late. Cook was gone for 21 off 31 balls and England were past shock and into intensive care at 39-4.

Collingwood and Bell survived the last of the Steyn-Morkel onslaught and they relaxed visibly when two debutants – Ryan McLaren and Wayne Parnell – were handed their first overs in Test cricket. But already this entire 20-day Test series has swung South Africa’s way.

Thing is, Arthur finally has his dream attack here. Right from the start of the series, there was a feeling Makhaya Ntini was past it, but they had to pick him for Centurion and Durban, where he won his 100^th and 101^st caps but took just two wickets for plenty.

Friedel De Wet, the Johannesburg-based paceman who replace him in Cape Town, is 29 and apparently the choice of head of selectors Mike Procter. He did his back in after just five overs at Newlands.

So here, by default, Arthur has Steyn and Morkel on top form plus Parnell – described by Kent team-mate Robert Key as “the new Wasim Akram” – making his debut in place of De Wet and all-rounders McLaren and fit-again Jacques Kallis.

It’s some attack that. And if they want a spinner, they can always turn to JP Duminy, who turns it more than their specialist spinner Paul Harris, axed for McLaren this morning.

England are in trouble here – and they must survive without their best batsman. Yes, Graham Onions, the world’s greatest No11, is out. The legend is no more. Replaced by Ryan Sidebottom, who can swing it a bit. He’ll have to swing it a lot to turn this one around.

Strauss: Now is the time KP. But Smith's not having sleepless nights

ANDREW STRAUSS today backed Kevin Pietersen to make his considerable mark on the decisive fourth and final Test against South Africa which starts at The Wanderers tomorrow.

And the England captain, who has proved an accomplished motivator on this epic tour, reminded his master batsman: “The last Test in Cape Town was one of the most disappointing performances of Kevin’s career. He is due a big one. What happened a Newlands was difficult for him but it means he is due a score.”

Pietersen hit a fine 81 before running himself out in that drawn first Test, failed to join the run fest in the innings win at Durban and then scored a meagre 0 and 6 at Newlands. Statistically, it’s hard to argue against the Pietermaritzburg-born giant being the weakest link in the last Test, where England were left holding on for a draw by a single wicket for the second time in the series.

But Strauss said: “Kevin is the man for the big occasion. He has that quality, so much skill, he hasn’t lost that.”

Pietersen needed surgery on his Achilles tendon during the Ashes series last summer and post-op complications made this his comeback tour after a six month break. Strauss said: “Maybe people are reading too much into Cape Town. Because he’s been out for a long time, it’s easy to focus on the fact he’s had a couple of bad games.

“But his focus has been exactly the same as it always has been on this tour. He has worked hard, he is batting well in the nets. He's the man for the big occasion. He will come back and score runs, make those big performances. Soon. The next couple of Tests. I just hope it’s this one.”

When I asked South Africa captain Graeme Smith – not renowned for his fondness of former schoolboy rival KP (that's them together above, when Pietersen was England captain) - if he feared Pietersen would bounce back on what promises to be a difficult track at The Wanderers, he frowned and said: “I’m not having sleepless nights about that. Any one England’s top six could produce a performance.

“But we have played great cricket in this series, we just haven’t been able to produce the knock-out blow. Does anybody have any advice on how to get Graham Onions out?

“But look, you have to give England credit too. This has been a great series, good for cricket.”

Strauss, who goes into the final showdown 1-0 up in the series, said: “It’s nice to go out there knowing we can’t lose the series.

“But we’ll be going into this Test trying to win it, the same as before. The only time the pressure might affect you is on the fifth day. At this point we’re here to win, not draw.

“If we have the mindset we only need to draw, you get hesitant, you hand the momentum over.”

Strauss puts his side's success in this series down to team spirit. And he really does seem to have a point. Training here has been lively, loud... not like it normally is at the end of a long tour.

He said: “We recognise we’ve got a long way to go as a group. We all understood the challenge coming out here. Our work on this tour has been exceptional.

“We’ve put in some gutsy performances. But it will be judged on what we do in this game. We recognise that.

“I think the team spirit on this tour is tangible. It’s about having the right sort of people around, fostering that feeling, including players, not leaning too heavily on senior players. Five years ago a small group of older players did all the talking, ran all the meetings. I was one of them. I've had to rethink that.

“It’s something you’ve always got to work hard on, team spirit. It would be arrogant to think it will always be this way. You get teams with 11 great players but you can have a side that is greater than the sum of it’s parts if you work hard at it.

“It’s not about how many runs you score, it’s how much they give to the team. It’s something we have to work on in the future as well.

”It has been a long tour but it’s not hard to get up for this match. None of us are feeling tired right now, there’s plenty of energy and motivation around.

“We may feel tired after day five here. But not until then.”

South Africa will give seamer Wayne Parnell his debut here after Friedel De Wet's back gave out in Cape Town - and they may go in without spinner Paul Harris. But Strauss insists: “It hasn’t crossed our minds to play an all-seam attack. Graeme Swann has been brilliant for us. Our seamers have done a good job. Our three seamers can get 20 wickets.

“I think we’re confident we can take 20 wickets, we showed in Durban we can do that. We have to fight hard, as a batting unit we didn’t do ourselves justice in the first innings in Cape Town. But we have to show guts again here like we did in the second innings."

For Smith, this is all or nothing. Like everybody else out here, he believes his side has been the better side in this series but he accepts: "Credit to England for their resilience. This series we haven’t hit the huge highs. It’s been a touch disappointing. Tomorrow we have the chance to retain the Basil D'Oliveira trophy if we win the Test and draw the series.

“In two out of the three Tests, we’ve just lacked the final blow on the last day. When England have been put under pressure they’ve handled it well.

“It’s hard to sit here and complain. We have chats about taking ourselves to a new level. We haven’t reached the heights of 2008, but we have the chance to do that now, in this Test."

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.