Date-stamped : 29 Jan95 - 10:30 South Africa's Record at the Oval The third test at the Oval in London should be a completely different kettle of fish (from Headingely). Having spent some 18 years playing there for Surrey, I have seen the wickets change from being low, slow, dust-heaps in the fifties,sixties and early seventies, to hard in the late seventies and through to the present day. The reason for the change was largely due to the signing of the West Indian Sylvester Clarke, when the whole square went through a transformation that now provides one of the best Test match pitches in the world. Stroke-makers will be free to play their shots, so beware the likes of Graham Gooch and Robin Smith. Scoring will be easier, too, for the bowlers will enjoy less margin for error with the genuine pace bowlers coming into their own. Allan Donald should make the English hop about a bit, as did Devon Malcolm for England against Australia in the final Test of the Ashes series last year. Once again, Fraser will be a threat, not for his pace, but for the fact that he will extract good bounce from his very high action. Depending on the English weather, the Oval can provide a fast- scoring game due to the even bounce of the batting surface and a very fast outfield. Few are aware that the Surrey ground is the biggest arene in the world, some five and a half acres. It is not know whether or not the whole area will be utilised without boundary ropes, but that has been the case in some Test matches played there. Traditionally, the Oval always stages the final Test of a series, and thus often the decider. The fact that the wicket is so good to bat on provides an ideal opportunity to whichever team is more positive in their outlook, should the game need to be won in order to clinch the series. England would in my opinion, have the advantage should this be the case for this, the third and final Test. The two teams are very evenly matched, so there is still lots to play for. South Africa appear to have the edge in the seam bowling department whilst England's top five batsmen are very experienced on their own soil, and will provide formidable opposition. England's spinners will not provide the threat that Warne posed to South Africa, but will have local knowledge on their side, and be a little harder to score off than South Africa's duo of Pat Symcox and Tim Shaw. I say this purely because of the pace of English wickets in comparison to those here in South Africa. Once again, our spinners will need to bowl a slightly fuller length than at home, providing a marginal difference between a half- volley and a good length ball. SAf's record at the Oval: Played 10 Won 0 Drew 7 Lost 3 (Thanks: SAf Sports Illustrated, by Robin Jackman) Contributed by Eitan (G94P5293@giraffe.ru.ac.za)