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Day1: Rhodes and Klusener to the rescue

Port Elizabeth - It was a royal slap in the face for those who doubted their talents, but Jonty Rhodes and Lance Klusener, whose Test places had been under siege for most of the week, staged an invaluable rescue act.

Just when the innings was starting to totter Klusener joined Rhodes, and their century partnership guided South Africa to a total of 253 for six before bad light cut 13.5 overs out of an enthralling first day's play of this second Test against England at St George's Park.

Graham Ford, the coach, admitted there had been some discussion of dropping either player, but in the end it was Paul Adams who was left out.

Two prized wickets for England and major embarrassment for South Africa the way they tossed away their wickets. Cullinan gave the Middlesex spinner the charge once too often to be stumped by Alec Stewart.

There can be no doubt that Cronje must still be working out in his mind what sort of duffer's shot he was trying to play. At 91 for three South Africa needed middle-order stability. Instead the captain performed the most horrific stroke seen in the series so far.

Cronje's dismissal followed the run-out of Herschelle Gibbs - Cullinan charged down the pitch before changing his mind, and Gibbs was stranded thanks to Andy Flintoff's alert reaction. As with Cullinan, Gibbs had done all the hard work and a half-century as well as bigger score loomed; Cullinan had gone to his half century with a well-placed boundary before he gave it away in the 141st minute of his innings.

If there was some surprise at the way Adams was left out, Ford went some way to explaining the decision with the selectors no doubt persuaded by the greenness of the pitch and the moisture which was not there on Wednesday. The way the ball turned yesterday though, it seemed a surprise move by Rushdie Magiet and Co.

"It was a tough decision to leave out Paul (Adams)," he said. "First prize is to always go in with a spinner, next prize is to have the second batting lineup, plus the spinner plus the extra seamer."Unfortunately with Jacques' (Kallis') injury we can not do that so we had to make a choice one way or the other. What with the weather conditions and there being a little grass on the surface we decided that as Nantie (Mornantau Hayward) is going to be involved later in the season it was a idea to get him in now," Ford added.

Yet much revolved around the Rhodes and Klusener partnership with the two batsmen prepared to take on the England bowlers who had dominated most of the day's proceedings. They batted with care and attention and any doubt about their batting abilities in the face of tough competition should not have been questioned.

Klusener's response has been a well-structured 63 off 71 balls with nine fours and a six while Rhodes, gobbled up in the slips by Mike Atherton for 50, displayed the sort of grit, determination and strokemaking ability to remind his critics that South Africa have the depth to possibly go up 2-0 sometime on Monday, if not earlier.

Day2: Klusener's record ton slays England

Port Elizabeth - Those who thought Lance Klusener was merely the hero of the limited-overs arena have been forced to revise their opinions of the all-rounder's batting skills on a day when he helped South Africa to establish the front running in the second Test against England.

Then again, anyone who manages to skewer an aimless England bowling attack while reeling off a succession of records as the Millennium Test series came alive deserves the sort of accolades he repeatedly earned during the World Cup.

Not that Klusener is one for records, or remembering what they are about, although his innings of 174 in the South Africa's total of 450 is no doubt something which he will long recall, including how he helped nurse the lower order through several dodgy patches. It is a matter of getting on with the job and helping his teammates.

Then he watched as England, in reply, reached 139 for one at the close; still some 311 runs adrift of South Africa's big first innings total and in need to press home the view that they can be a competitive side in this series. Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton added 134 for what is an unbroken second wicket partnership of particular importance to the visiting team's cause.

It is a long drop from the Lord's balcony where he collected his World Cup player of the tournament award in June to a six-hit into the grassy bank below the Duck Pond stand off Phil Tufnell. Either way he decided that silence and dodging the press was the better part of valor.

Off the field he is easy-going, quiet and can pull the odd prank or two. Facing the media, whether talking Zulu, Xhosa or English, is not as simple as discussing intimate details at a press conference of his record innings. Perhaps he felt the need to answer them was as case of "aw . . . shucks, do I have to."

The thought of looking at a bank of tape recorders and microphones was perhaps a mite more intimidating than the England bowlers. He enjoyed himself immensely at the expense of Darren Gough, Phil Tufnell and Andy Caddick as he often hit through the line and there were times when he shot selection was as good as any of the top six. Reusing himself with the comment "feeling tired" could be accepted by some.

He is not the sort to be too bothered by the way the irregular bounce of the pitch could have upset his perfect balance. Then again the England bowling plan, if there was one, was an assortment of mixed all sorts and styles; nothing worked. The main problem was that they bowled both sides of the wicket and copped it from a man determined to make the game safe for his side.

If there had been any doubt that he would have not gone on to add substantially to his overnight total of 63 such doubters were soon put in their place as he picked off the runs, and, although Shaun Pollock soon departed, the partnership with Mark Boucher quickly restored the balance of power. A record 119 for the eighth wicket, for a start, surpassed the previous best against England, 109 by Bruce Mitchell and Lindsay Tuckett at The Oval in 1947.

Klusener made the fourth highest score by a South African batsman against an overseas side, beating Dennis Lindsay with 189 against Australia in 1966/67 and Graeme Pollock's two double centuries against Australia at Newlands (1996/97) and Kingsmead (1969/70).

His 174 off 221 balls and two sixes was a monumental effort of intelligent strokeplay. He helped South Africa to pass the 400 mark in the last five Test innings. And his score beat that of Lindsay Hassett, the 167 scored against South Africa at St George's Park as the previous best Test innings at this ground. Hassett, who led the 1949/50 Australians in the first post-Bradman Test tour, often batted in the shadow of Neil Harvey and Arthur Morris on that tour.

Klusener, however, came out from the shadows of and pushed his Test run tally to 894 runs lifted his batting average to 34.38 and on his way saw South Africa recover from 268 for seven.

Saturday's play is likely to be the most crucial of the series, but for the moment Klusener has emerged from the shadows of a career which has been associated for too long with the limited-overs level.

Day3: Atherton raises Barmy Army and England hopes

Port Elizabeth England's Barmy Army almost sang themselves hoarse as their batting hero, Michael Atherton bloated his batting average with a 13th Test century at South Africa's oldest international venue.

With a touch of bravado he took England's hopes on his Lancashire shoulders, gave his usual cheeky, wry grin and helped rescue the Millennium Series.

Whether it is enough to give the tourists the space they need to regroup to fight another day and hope to level at 1-1 at Kingsmead in Durban is a matter for history to decide.

Then the new ball and Mornantau Hayward ripped open the top-end of the innings, revealing some psychological scars from the Wanderers battle in the middle order: in a matter of two overs the peroxide blond undid all the hard work.

But England were still going to survive this particular onslaught..

Certainly Atherton's third notch on his batting blade in terms of three-figure totals against South Africa will not go unnoticed as England battle to hold out at least for a draw in this second Test of the series. By the end of Day Three of the Battle of St George's Park, also known locally as the Crusader's Ground where they are allowed to disfigure the surface with occasional unctuous winter pastimes, England were far from disgraced.

It was a battle of rare entertainment; a purist's delight as much as had been the first two days of this tug-o-war tactics. At 364 for nine thanks to Athers, the Poms were able to get within 86 runs of South Africa's first innings total of 450. With Andy Caddick displaying sensible rustic Somerset defence after his northern partners, Andy Flintoff and Darren Gough perished through their own efforts to grab a few runs of their own during an afternoon which had been one of intense drama and all the passion you would expect from a Test.

From the way Hayward bumped Michael Vaughan when the Yorkshireman went looking for a single and the bowler for the ball, there was always that extra touch of aggression on the field as the second day of heavy humidity and heat in this laid back sea side city.

No sooner had Atherton steered Shaun Pollock for two off the 245th ball of his innings to raise his century than we had the fiery South African vice-captain bouncing the former England captain. The ball collided with his left shoulder after clipping the helmet and naturally there was an immediate appeal for a catch. There was that cheeky grin again under the helmet emblazoned with the three lions, and a perfunctory vigorous rub or two of the shoulder.

Just who was the more sheepish is hard to say: the batsman or the bowler or the slips claiming the catch. Up to that point he had batted with the sort of perfection you would expect; driving on the up, driving with firmness and a touch of boldness. Not easy with the ball coming slowly on to the bat and an end to keep up and England's St George Cross flying at full mast for a change.

He had watched his captain, Nasser Hussain, depart to a catch he gave Boucher for his 98th Test dismissal off Donald's bowling, taking his total from the overnight 58 to 82 and a partnership of 155.

Although Hussain had pulled a 151 kph delivery from Mornantau Hayward for four the previous afternoon, the aggressive batting from the Essex man was what England had needed. It took the fight to South Africa the way he had tried at the Wanderers but failed when he was undone by a pitch which contained too much sideways movement to be classified as a good surface.

There was mutual respect on both sides about the innings. Hansie Cronje agreeing it was a "good knock" which was more complimentary than the undefeated 185 epic at the Wanderers four summers ago. At the time it sounded as though Beethoven whipped out a catchy tune or two.

Athers admitted it had been a tough innings against a good bowling attack and a performance up there with several others.

At one stage we also had the sight of Pollock "geeing up" a weary Allan Donald. After all, South Africa have become accustomed to knocking over the top order and getting rid of the rabbits early as well.

This time their was a touch more spine in the England approach, and on a pitch where the ball did a variety of tricks. Hayward's ability to skid the ball through was disconcerting and he ripped in any number above the 140 kph level.

It was a ball whizzing through at 144 which eventually blew Atherton's innings out of the way. The grit and determination undone through a moment of misjudgement as the ball whipped through to hit the bat and pad and cannon into the stumps.

Disaster for England, delirium for South Africa. Hayward, given the new ball with Donald, and bowling from the Park Drive end, ended Vaughan's stubborn innings of 21 over which he had held firm for 146 minutes. The wicket came at a time the innings was starting to drift away from South Africa. It was a moment of trembling glory for Hayward.

If that had been a singularly proud first Test wicket imagine that of Atherton's. Whatever went through his thoughts can only be wondered at.

Yet, although England fought back when it seemed the support struts may be kicked away, the question mark remains: had Paul Adams been included in the team would he have created the sort of problems of Phil Tufnell? We are not going to know yet there is enough rough to suggest the selectors may have erred again.

Day4: Kallis props up SA's second innings effort

Port Elizabeth - It needed a controversial Jacques Kallis half-century to steer South Africa into a position from where they can launch a possible victory bid on the last day of their second Test against England at St George's Park today.

Yet despite the "reprieve", the time Kallis has taken to score his undefeated 74 may have condemned this Test to a draw as South Africa dawdled their way to a second innings total of 189 for four at the close on Sunday. It gives the home side an overall lead of 266 with 90 overs of the match remaining.

Given one of those marginal "benefit of the doubt" decisions which helped turn the tide of what had been a decided patchy top-order performance, Hansie Cronje's side was a decidedly shaky 48 for two when Kallis pushed at a ball which, on the evidence of later Sky TV replays, was caught by Chris Adams.

Match referee, Barry Jarman, from Australia, came up with one of the more entertaining, if obvious, quotes of the match when he felt "it would be marvellous if all technology equipment at the ground was available (to the TV umpire)".

But Kallis survived and, at a time when quick runs were needed, he had put together a passive performance after South Africa held an invaluable first innings advantage of 77 runs when Mornantau Hayward bagged his fourth English wicket after a little more than three overs.

You could feel the acrimony though when England refused to applaud the young all-rounder's ninth Test half century while the large Sunday crowd, unfazed by the catch incident, sat through the more than four hours it took the normally accomplished Capetonian to reach the landmark. Yet as the players walked off Adams ran over to Kallis and patted him on the back and chatted amiably as they walked off.

No doubt he was batting to instructions, but it was hard to score freely off the disciplined England bowlers. There were some nice touches when he drove and cut and laid handsomely into anything loose: most of this, ironically, came off left-arm spinner Phil Tufnell's bowling, the man who should have, by rights, been credited with his wicket.

Kallis had arrived after watching an out of form Gary Kirsten depart for only two after 17 minutes, crashing a cut to Michael Vaughan, and then watched Herschelle Gibbs steer a regulation catch to Andrew Flintoff off Andy Caddick. As he tried to rebuild the innings with Daryll Cullinan the England attack was at about their most impressive during the first two Tests. Darren Gough and Caddick led the charge with quality support from Phil Tufnell and Flintoff helping out. It was aggressive bowling and for a change the South African batsmen felt pressure.

Another wicket before lunch and it would have been a lot tougher for South Africa and England may have been sniffing at a possible scent of victory. The Barmy Army were in good song, too, as Caddick tested both Kallis and Cullinan with the line of attack which had the South African number four in an amount of trouble.

Just how much emerged after lunch when, two runs and 15 balls after the Kallis/Adams catch incident, he was beaten by a ball which kicked through the gate offered by Cullinan and it seemed to clip the edge of the bat and cannon into his stumps.

After that it was a recovery operation. With Hansie Cronje again giving his wicket away with the innings total on 98 and the lead 175, two quick wickets would have created a problem for South Africa. Little wonder the Barmy Army were bellowing encouragement from their encampment in front of the brewery corner of the pavilion (where else).

Kallis, batted four and a half hours to help hold the innings together, a fair amount of it with Jonty Rhodes in an unbroken partnership of 91. He has now done all the hard work, despite England's misgivings over the catch decision. Rhodes did what he could to rotate the strike, but with England's disciplined bowling forcing South Africa to fight for runs, it was a hard grind for Kallis and Rhodes to step up the run rate.

Day5: Hussain stand firm as England draw Test.

Port Elizabeth - At the Wanderers it was a bowler friendly pitch which was the culprit, at St George's Park on Monday we had a batting friendly surface which was blamed for the drawn second Test of South Africa's Millennium Series against England.

Just who is to blame though is not too clear but Jacques Kallis no doubt features high on the list of offenders for batting too slowly on Sunday, when time was not on South Africa's side.

As two controversial decisions marred the final session of the game England's captain Nasser Hussain revealed the sort of stoic approach normally adopted by opener Michael Atherton. It was the sort of innings the tourists needed to force a draw.

But it did little for a game which had, at tea on Sunday, been poised for an entertaining final four sessions. Setting the tourists a target of 302 in 79 overs was not the sort of challenge England were going to readily accept. When the game was called off with two overs remaining England had reached 173 for six.

It was the first draw South Africa have had at home since the rain-affected game against Pakistan at the Wanderers in February 1998 - ending an 11-match home winning streak which started at St George's Park in March last year.

As we understand it, the plan had been to declare late Sunday afternoon, allowing Hansie Cronje the luxury of using at least two new balls for his all-pace attack in order to wring a result out of the game and defy the critics. Just the sort of tactic Mark Taylor, the retired Australia captain, would have tried. But he had Shane Warne and that helps a skipper when setting a challenging target to win a match.

In both games in this series the selectors have called it wrong: leaving out David Terbrugge at the Wanderers and Paul Adams at St George's Park.

In Johannesburg on the Chris Scott prepared "green mamba" special it was an innings victory; at St George's Park the wrist spin of Adams would have added some variety.

Yesterday, batting on for a further eight overs to score 224 for four allowed Jonty Rhodes to score a second half century, the 15th of his career.

It had been criticism of the placid pitch of the Test four years ago which saw three result style surfaces prepared for the games against Australia, Pakistan and West Indies; now it seems to have reverted to the pitch which rarely encouraged any form of attacking game plan.

Not that it bothered Mornantau Hayward who was still charging in at the close.

If anything the last day gave Hussain a chance to display his defensive talents while observing at close quarters two decisions which almost undid his undefeated innings of 70.

No one can blame him though if he felt miffed at how Alec Stewart was ruled lbw by Steve Bucknor when he had reached 28 off 71 minutes. Then we had the comic ruling which saw Chris Adams' innings terminated for one when the ball was alleged to have come off the inside edge, hit the pad and was picked up by Rhodes.

There could be some debate about Michael Vaughan's leg-side catch which saw Kallis' return to the attack, giving Mark Boucher his 100th Test dismissal. He reached 101 when he gobbled up Andy Flintoff off Kallis, equalling Australian Wally Grout's record of 23 Tests.

Yet despite the umpire errors and bowling in indifferent patches by both sides there was no change to the result of England's last visit to St George's Park.

And four summers on as the band belted out several variations of the theme "Stand by Me" and some of the crowd slowly drifted off, perhaps toward the inviting beaches on the Indian Ocean seaboard, the game moved towards its inevitable draw.

Then, as a touch of "bonding" as the countdown to the end of the old century continued, the band joined the Barmy Army cohorts on the well-populated grass embankment, where the beer flowed more freely than runs were scored.

Later they all converged on the open east stand and sang merrily long into the afternoon before the game was called off, sharing the spirit of reunion. Adding a large splash of colour were the flags of two nations and voices blending as the "bonding" continued in a jump and jive session.