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Day 1: Maddy saves his best until last

By Charles Randall in Cape Town

DARREN MADDY turned his respectable tour returns into something memorable with a hundred for England A in their final match in the Newlands sunshine yesterday.

The opposition, the UCB President's XI, provided the highest quality opposition to date on England's tour, and Maddy finished the opening skirmish of this five-day match on 122 not out. His innings was slow and not blemish-free, but it gave England a chance to dominate the match.

Maddy missed more runs off his pads than he should have done, accounting for a hundred as slow as 242 balls, but his concentration was impeccable. He said: ``I always felt I was close to a big score, and today, thankfully, it came. One of us had to bat the whole day.''

His relief was obvious after his traumatic summer last year when Leicestershire's championship success withstood the deadweight of his batting failures. A burst of runs in the evening off the second new ball increased England's tempo.

Maddy and Andrew Flintoff put on 142 in their unbroken fourth-wicket partnership. Flintoff, the powerhouse, drove crisply to a 94-ball fifty after one lucky escape on 43, when he arrowed a catch to long-off, the ball squirting out of Greg Smith's hands and trickling over the rope for four.

Smith, a stand-in from Northerns for the injured Mornantau Hayward, spoiled what had been a notable debut at this representative level. His left-arm seamers had given Maddy and company a torrid time in the morning, with Michael Vaughan gloving a lifter.

Mal Loye fell to some clever bowling by Justin Kemp, the Eastern Province all-rounder, padding up to a straight ball when expecting an outswinger.

Matthew Windows batted securely for two hours until he was run out refusing a second run to an insistent Maddy, who had reached 58. There was an ignominious pause while the batsmen waited in the same crease as the umpires debated who should be given out.

Maddy said: ``He was batting really well and unfortunately he misheard my call when I was running to the danger end. I shouted 'yes' and he thought I said 'wait'.''

Flintoff announced himself by smashing a drive back against Derek Crookes's right forearm. The President's XI captain continued to bowl his off-spin in pain, and he eventually tempted Flintoff into his one indiscretion.

Crookes switched to round the wicket and used nine men on the leg side, if he and the wicketkeeper were included, to frustrate Maddy and Flintoff.

Pat Symcox, 38, one of the spinners among South Africa's 19 candidates for the World Cup, announced his retirement from international cricket yesterday.

Day 2: Bowlers seize the initiative

By Charles Randall in Cape Town

DEVIL'S Peak, the crag overlooking Newlands, was shrouded in mist when England A resumed their innings against the UCB President's XI on the second day yesterday, and muggy, moist conditions tilted the balance towards the bowlers.

If England were disappointed with a final total of 350, their bowlers retaliated well to leave the South Africans struggling for parity in this five-day match, a worthy combative climax to the two-month tour.

England's promising overnight position of 259 for three was undermined by a flurry of wickets, including two in the first two overs, starting with Andrew Flintoff, who was dismissed by the lively left-armer Greg Smith off the sixth ball of the morning.

Smith, who had played club cricket in Liverpool for Bootle and in Belfast for South Down, whipped in an occasional big inswinger disconcertingly, and David Townsend, an outswing bowler, gave England as torrid a time as they had the previous morning.

Townsend took the next three wickets as Vikram Solanki edged the sixth ball to second slip, Graeme Swann sliced a very wide half-volley to first slip and Darren Maddy, on 135, slapped a short ball straight to point after a stay lasting almost seven hours.

By the time the enticing odour of the groundsmen's barbequed boerewors sausages had wafted over the outfield, signifying lunch, England were eight wickets down and searching for respectability rather than an intimidating declaration.

England's seam attack stuck to a tight line, and Flintoff, the pick of the bowling, struck an important blow by ridding his team of Hendrik Dippenaar's menace.

The slightly-built Dippenaar, 21, known as Boeta, made his first-class debut against Mike Atherton's England side three years ago and last week he beat Allan Lamb's championship run aggregate record for Free State in a season, set 11 years ago. It was with some relief to England that the Afrikaner hooked at a legside delivery from Flintoff and touched it to Chris Read.

The left-hander Carl Bradfield did not look secure on his way to a three-hour fifty, edging Flintoff over the slips for four twice and Steve Harmison once.

Day 3: England A Poised For Early Triumph

A dramatic collapse in which the President's XI lost their remaining seven wickets in the morning session in Cape Town gave England A a first innings lead of 151.

By the close of the third day of this five-day match, they had extended that to 293 and, having beaten Gauteng at The Wanderers last week, are set for a second victory in two outings on the South African leg of their winter tour.

The President's XI batsmen will have to ask themselves serious questions about the way they threw their wickets away, albeit against highly competent spin bowlers getting assistance from the pitch.

As early as the eighth over of the morning, Carl Bradfield's shaky innings came to an end when he was caught and bowled attempting to drive off-spinner Graeme Swann.

Skipper Derek Crookes took a quick two sixes and a four off Dean Cosker. But after Finley Brooker had foolishly run himself out, the left-arm spinner broke the back of the innings with three wickets in 16 balls.

Justin Kemp and Mark Abrahams were both caught trying to lift Cosker over mid-off, while Lulama Masikazana was taken at slip off another turning, bouncing delivery.

The captain's lonely defiance ended after a 54-ball 50 including four fours and those two sixes. He was ninth out when he popped a catch off Swann to substitute fielder Bobby Key at short leg.

David Townsend showed some belligerence before Greg Smith was lbw to give Swann his third wicket.

There was a lift for the President's XI when Smith had first innings century-maker Darren Maddy caught behind off the first ball of the innings.

However, another 20 overs passed before they tasted further success. England skipper Michael Vaughan had put on 53 with Mal Loye when he was lbw to Justin Kemp.

There were two more England wickets to fall before the close - Matt Windows lbw to Abrahams and top-scorer Loye bowled by Crookes.

But with two stroke-makers like Andrew Flintoff and Vikram Solanki at the wicket and such a substantial lead on a wearing pitch, few would bet against England ending their tour in triumph well before the scheduled close on Monday evening.

Day 4: Flintoff confirms high standing

Charles Randall in Cape Town

Andrew Flintoff smashed 80 at Newlands yesterday to maintain his dominance, physically and metaphorically, of the England A tour.

The hulking all-rounder had hit 70 in England's first innings against the UCB President's XI, and his breezy follow-up effort, containing four sixes, set up a likely win today to round off the tour of southern Africa.

Flintoff finished with 542 runs in five first-class games at an average of 77.4. No other batsmen came within 200 of that aggregate and nobody approached his haul of five fifties and a 145 in eight innings spread through Zimbabwe and South Africa over two months. He bowled his seamers with a miserly accuracy.

If there were any reservations about the standard of opposition on this tour, the President's XI were the genuine article, packed with aspiring Test players under the captaincy of Derek Crookes, a World Cup contender.

In a slow-tempo match, only Crookes - with a 54-ball fifty on Saturday - and Flintoff had managed a consistent onslaught on a sluggish pitch. Each morning had given seam bowlers their moments and yesterday was no exception when Greg Smith, left arm over, struck Vikram Solanki a painful blow on his right arm with the first ball.

Flintoff, however, found the measure of all the bowling, driving David Townsend, a fast-medium seamer, for six and then tucking into the off-spin of Crookes and Shafiek Abrahams for three more. By the time he miscued a full toss for a leg-side boundary catch, England had a huge lead.

Though a classy 72 not out by Martin van Jaarsveld raised the South Africans' hopes of a draw - they were chasing 440 to win - England could take credit for their final performance.

Steve Harmison took two wickets in an over in the afternoon session with lifters. Dean Cosker removed the dangerous Hendrik Dippenaar, lbw nudging a sweep, but it was frustration for England after that, already almost guaranteed of a 29th successive first-class victory.

Day 5: Cosker takes honours

Charles Randall in Cape Town

The floodlights were switched on throughout a cold, blustery day at Newlands yesterday, as though to prepare the England A players for their impending return to colder climes at the end of a successful tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa.

England won their final match, the five-dayer against the UCB President's XI, by 46 runs, and only 8.2 overs remained when Dean Cosker removed the last South African batsman.

That wicket ensured Cosker, the Glamorgan left-arm spinner, finished as the tour's leading wicket-taker in first-class games, his 22 being one more than Graeme Swann, though Cosker remained well ahead in all cricket.

There was no doubt that this was a solid success against a very good side and it extended England A's unbeaten sequence over the years in first-class tour matches to 29, including 16 wins.

Devil's Peak was almost invisible behind a thick mist yesterday, and the wheezing and clanging of the working day at the adjacent Castle brewery was just about the only sound permeating around an empty stadium.

Most Cape Town locals with an interest in professional cricket would probably have watched television yesterday to see Western Province win their provincial championship play-off final against a luckless Border in East London.

England could have expected to wrap up their victory earlier if Martin van Jaarsveld had not played so beautifully for 147, a chanceless innings over six hours.

The Afrikaner, 24, a South African Academy batsman from Northerns, is looking forward to a season with Lowerhouse next summer, and on this evidence it seems inconceivable he will not score a packet of runs in Lancashire.

His power of stroke all round the wicket marked him out as a potential Test player. He reached his hundred with a straight six off Cosker and his only real mistake was to attempt something similar to pass 150, the miscued drive dropping into long-off's hands.

The South Africans' two best batsmen had fallen to Cosker - Hendrik Dippenaar was leg before the previous day - so the spinner deserved his three wickets when beating Greg Smith, the last man, all ends up.

The overnight partnership of van Jaarsveld and Finley Brooker stretched to 120 before Darren Maddy dived to hold a fine catch at midwicket, and Derek Crookes, the captain, helped to add 86 until hooking a catch off Steve Harmison. From then on, an England victory was a matter of time.