Date-stamped : 15 Sep94 - 10:31 South Africa v SAB English XI, First Test Played at Wanderes, Johannesburg, March 12,13,14,15, 1982 The first long-course international match played by a South Afri- can team since the tour by Bill Lawry`s Australians in 1970. Only Graeme Pollock, Barry Richards and Mike Procter remained from that team. Sound batting by the first four men in the Springbok order, espe- cially on the first day, enabled Procter to declare at 400/7 and then force the English team to follow on 250 in arrears. The record books show that no South African has scored a century on his debut in official test cricket - Louis Tancred`s 97 against Australia in 1902-3 was the nearest. But Jimmcy Cook achieved this feat on the first day that he wore the green and gold cap. He scored 114 - all on the first day - taking part in a first wicket stand of 117 with Barry Richards (66) and a second of 161 with Peter Kirsten (88). The 28-year-old Cook, of Transvaal was assisted to his milestone by being missed four times, each catch going to a position behind the wicket. This wasn`t the happiest of days for the tourists` five-man at- tack, for Richards, too, survived some narrow shaves. Howev- er, Kirsten played thoroughly well, scoring confidently on both sides of the wicket in a stay lasting just over three hours. The bal- ance of the Springbok innings belonged mainly to Graeme Pollock - 64 not out of the last 122 runs. Thereafter the match belonged to big Vincent van der Bijl and, to a slightly lesser extent, the gallant Graham Gooch. Van der Bijl took 5/25 and 5/79 as the tourists were dismissed for 150 and 283, and the English second innings mark was achieved only be- cause Gooch scored his second century in only eight days. Van der Bijl became only the third South Africa to take 10 wickets in a match on his international debut, the others being Alf Hall (v England in 1922-23) and Syd Burke (v New Zealand in 1961-62), both of which were at Newlands. All this for Van der Bijl after he had opened the bowling for the Springboks with a wide! Except for Dennis Amiss`s 66 not out and Gooch`s 30, the tour- ists` first innings performance was indifferent, but then, chief- ly through Gooch, they staged a gutsy fightback. Gooch`s innings was one of patience and super-aggression. He hit 18 fours - seven off Alan Kourie and six of them in only three overs. Another seven were taken off Stephen Jefferies. Boycott helped him add 119 for the first wicket and with 169/1 at the close of play on the third day, it seemed that the English XI might ward off de- feat. But Van der Bijl was responsible for a string of break-through bursts. He took the vital wickets of Gooch and Wayne Larkins in the space if only 10 balls. Then soon after the lunch break he had Alan Knott legbefore to begin the final slide which saw the last five wickets adding only 31 runs. Garth le Roux, too, pro- duced accurate pace to claim 4/44, including 3/16 in 32 balls in his final spell. Contributed by Donald (G94P5293@giraffe.ru.ac.za)