By Peter Deeley at Bristol
First day of four: South Africans 337-7 v Gloucestershire
AFTER a week of personal frustrations, South Africa's acting captain, Gary Kirsten, showed an unerring sense of timing yesterday to run into prime form before the first Test.
His 125, the 24th hundred of his career, followed a run of poor scores in the Texaco one-day internationals when the left-hander managed only 25 runs in the three games. This was Kirsten at his most durable and workmanlike, mixing watchfulness with 21 boundaries.
Vice-captain for nearly two years, this is only the third time Kirsten has led the side, with Hansie Cronje resting himself. The two previous occasions were not notable successes, though Kirsten could not be blamed, so his colleagues unkindly nicknamed him ``Captain Chaos''.
His sole blemish here was to arrive late for the Thursday practice session, partly the fault of Allan Donald's map-reading, for which Kirsten incurred a hefty team fine.
No such flaws could be seen in his batting. There was a moment, on 81, when Jonathan Lewis deflected a fierce drive from Jonty Rhodes on to the stumps as Kirsten was backing up. But Kirsten enjoyed the benefit of the doubt.
He was eventually out midway through the last session after batting for 5 hr 20 min. Kirsten square-cut Martyn Ball for a boundary then tried to run the next very fine but was picked up at slip by Gloucestershire captain Mark Alleyne.
Kirsten acknowledged afterwards that ``things do tend to happen when I am captain''. He said of his own form: ``I came here all too aware I had had three bad scores in the Texacos. Sometimes when things are not going your way, you wonder where the next good innings is going to come from.
``You don't want a bad run to go on too long and so I came here playing less aggressively, waiting for the bad ball and taking no risks.''
The only man to overshadow Kirsten at the crease was Rhodes, who has something to prove to the selectors if he is to return to the Test side.
Rhodes was at his most perky, reaching fifty off only 62 balls and, with Kirsten, put on 96 for the fourth wicket. Then he charged Ball, who pitched the ball wider and won a stumping at the hands of Richard Williams, replacing Jack Russell.
Gloucestershire were also without Courtney Walsh and Tony Wright but were by no means overwhelmed. Gerhardus Liebenberg, who is likely to open with Kirsten in the Edgbaston Test next week, will be disappointed with himself after pushing forward and edging a catch and Jacques Kallis soon went in the same fashion.
There must be a question mark too over Brian McMillan's Test hopes after his footwork let him down and he shovelled a pull off Ball to square leg, where Tim Hancock plucked the ball from high over his head, one-handed.
The day had a bright conclusion when Lance Klusener and Mornantau (known as Nantie) Hayward put on a show of spectacular hitting. Hayward, 22, had to choose between baseball and cricket as a career and some of his low pulls through midwicket were deserving of the Yankee Stadium in New York's Bronx.
Day 2: Tourists tamed by another Macmillan
By Scyld Berry at Bristol
DRESS rehearsals used to mean something as a time of last-minute panic, revisions and nerves. Not any more. Although this game is the South Africans' last before the first Test starts on Thursday, their approach to it has been as relaxed as if they had been enjoying nets in the middle.
Their captain, Hansie Cronje, and their strike bowlers, Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock, have not even deigned to play in this rehearsal, so intimately do they know their lines. Pollock won't even play a first-class game on this tour before the Test series: like the others, he will treat today's social game at Sir John Paul Getty's estate at Wormsley as practice enough, so arduous is the international treadmill.
Here, the South African tailenders carried on for 70 minutes until declaring, their batting as bright and breezy as the day. Lance Klusener smacked 73 from 121 balls with his legs far apart in a stance like another South African left-hander, Graeme Pollock, then fell over in delivering his first ball. A cricketer who always makes something happen, Klusener, yet the tourists' selectors are said to be considering Brian McMillan as the third seamer at Edgbaston.
The Macmillan who shone yesterday was Gregor of that ilk, Gloucestershire's newly-signed opener and the nearest that county cricket can come to a Philo Wallace. He is a man to bring the crowds in, and to make a coach tear his hair out.
This Macmillan took three consective fours off Nantie Hayward's second over. Soon afterwards, he sauntered down the pitch towards the fiery redhead and carved so meatily that Jonty Rhodes at cover-point, having let the ball escape to the boundary, had to run off for repairs.
Macmillan reached his fifty off 46 balls with his 10th four, which he slashed high to third man off Klusener, who no doubt thanked the batsman for his trouble. But after lunch Macmillan went on the defensive to play himself back in again and gave a return catch to Hayward from a back-foot push, and with him went such lustre as the day possessed.
Jacques Kallis had a long spell of bending his outswingers with the wind; Hayward was fast and less wayward than he had been at Worcester, once Macmillan had sheathed his sword. Brian McMillan has lost some weight and threw himself into his bowling when he was finally summoned as teatime approached, while the spinner, Paul Adams, who had played a mischievous reverse-sweep, had to wait even longer, but he is expected to be South Africa's spinner at Edgbaston, if anyone is.
Whatever the excitements and the seam bowling in the coming series, spin is unlikely to play much part. Some of the tourists are not renowned in dealing with the Warnes and Mushtaqs: McMillan has been dismissed by spin in six of his last eight Test innings, Daryll Cullinan in seven of his last 11. But Robert Croft, England's spinner for Edgbaston, has a record of 10 wickets at 56 runs each in his six home Test matches.
Day 3: Out-of-sorts McMillan feels the heat
By Peter Deeley at Bristol
Third day of four: S Africans (416-8 dec & 200-3) lead Glos (403-9 dec) by 213 runs.
THESE are demanding times for Brian McMillan as he bids for a return to the Test arena with South Africa after missing their last five games.
There was some surprise at his inclusion on tour and he was clearly wound up and keen to impress his selectors in this final match before Thursday's Edgbaston Test.
That may go some way to explaining his eccentric behaviour at the crease when Gloucestershire fast bowler Mike Smith had a regulation shy at the stumps and struck the burly all-rounder on the leg.
As Smith walked up to apologise, McMillan came down the pitch and appeared to poke the bowler in the chest with his bat. At the end of the over the umpires conferred and with South Africa's acting captain, Gary Kirsten, batting at the other end, spoke to McMillan.
Tour manager S K Reddy said: ``McMillan had warned Smith not to do it again. It was all in the heat of the moment. The player has apologised and that is the end of the matter.'' The umpires confirmed that no further action would be taken.
Although McMillan took the eye as South Africa's best bowler with three for 38, his batting was laboured. In the first innings he was dismissed for three and second time round he again mistimed a pull after batting 93 minutes for 21.
It must have been galling for McMillan to have to watch Jonty Rhodes, his rival for a Test place, destroy the home bowling with an innings of rare quality. Rhodes reached his half-century off 36 balls and shared in an unbeaten stand of 95 in under an hour with Kirsten.
Overall the South African selectors will be disappointed at the way key batsmen likely to figure at Edgbaston failed to flourish. Gerhardus Liebenberg and Daryll Cullinan failed to make double figures, each falling to poor shots.
There is consolation however in the way Kirsten - with two centuries in a game for the second time in his career - and Rhodes have found such good form.
On the day England announced their Edgbaston party (described by Hansie Cronje as ``predictable'') Mark Alleyne reminded us he has been ignored at international level throughout his 13 years in the game.
Now 30 and in his second year as Gloucestershire captain, Alleyne amply demonstrated his all-round qualities with the 14th century of his career to go with his three wickets on the opening day.
Alleyne and Reggie Williams added 106 for the seventh wicket as Gloucestershire got within 13 runs of the tourists before declaring. This was a platform for Williams to show he is worthy of a regular first-team place after nine seasons and only 36 games at Nevil Road.
Jack Russell stood down for this game and from the way Williams performed with bat and behind the stumps, the former England wicketkeeper will have his work cut out to remain number one choice for the county.
Day 4: South Africans head for Test in high spirits
By Peter Deeley at Bristol
South Africans (416-8 dec & 288-4 dec) bt Glos (403-9 dec & 134) by 167 runs
A RESOUNDING West Country win gives South Africa exactly the fillip they needed as they move north to Birmingham to take on England in Thursday's first Test.
The air of aggression generated by the tourists' second-string pace attack of Mornantau Hayward and Makhaya Ntini as they mercilessly destroyed Gloucestershire on a previously benign pitch suggests that the entire 17-man party is now both mentally and physically prepared for the bigger contests ahead.
This win gives South Africa their second succssive Vodafone Challenge Series win following their 89-run victory over Worcestershire in the opening match of the tour.
The home county, set 302 to win in a minimum of 68 overs, were unceremoniously bowled out in 2.5 hours with the red-haired Hayward taking three for 34 and Ntini, the first township development player to achieve Test status, three for 43.
The debacle would have been worse had not Gloucestershire's lastwicket pair of Mike Smith and Jonathan Lewis added 48 in 15 minutes after five wickets went down in six overs.
As the South Africans head for Edgbaston they must be grateful for the fine weather which has allowed them so much playing time. After the horrendous opening to the domestic season in terms of bad weather, conditions changed the moment the tourists set foot in the country.
So complete has been the turnaround that the 30 minutes' rain which held up play at the start yesterday was the first delay South Africa have experienced in 13 days of competitive cricket - in all probability a fair-weather record for visiting sides.
That may in part account for the buoyant mood in the visitors' dressing-room. Bob Woolmer, their coach, commented: ``We have certainly been very fortunate with the weather and the pre-Test preparations have gone as well as the itinerary would allow.''
The morning session gave Jonty Rhodes the opportunity to enhance his claim to a return to Test status. His cover-driving has never been cleaner or sweeter and he reached the ninth hundred of his career with just such a shot off Mike Smith - his 15th boundary along with two sixes. The century took only 85 minutes and 78 balls.
A measure of Rhodes's dominance is shown by the fact that his captain Gary Kirsten, who was 77 when he came to the crease, had by then added only another 34.
When eventually Rhodes edged James Averis it was left to Kirsten, no slouch himself, to press on to an unbeaten 131, his second hundred of the game, before declaring.
Gloucestershire, who seemed untroubled by the visitors' attack in the first innings, were no match this time as the youngsters bowled a fuller length and better line.
Mark Alleyne chopped on to Ntini's second delivery, Reggie Williams was caught fending off Hayward and Martyn Ball was run out after some remarkable work on the boundary by Paul Adams and Rhodes was climaxed by Gerhardus Liebenberg (taking over the gloves from Mark Boucher) dragging the throw onto the stumps.
It was all in keeping with the South Africans' high level of commitment in all aspects of the game. For Rhodes, it was a day when every ball seemed to hit the middle of his bat.
Australian umpire Darrell Hair is replacing countryman Steve Randell for the second Test at Lord's. Randell is on bail at home facing indecency charges.