England's scouting mission pays dividends as Ealham cashes in
Kimberley - When Lord Baden Powell organised in this neck of the woods about 100 years ago what eventually became the scout movement it was a matter of necessity during a time of siege.
Which, a century later, came to the aid of England captain Nasser Hussain when the siege mentality had also gripped the touring team's camp after two defeats in Cape Town and a scouting mission was sent ahead to the venue for this crucial outing. It was seen as essential to the cause. All went well though.
Donning their Sunday best again, St George rode out in the guise of Mark Ealham and saved the day while Nick Knight and Hussain improved their run rate. The result was victory by eight wickets with 17.1 overs remaining. What also helped was that the batting manual from the good housekeeping guide of what is the best technique to apply when facing Zimbabwe bowling as Henry Olonga's boomerang style earned himself a record six wickets, was rediscovered under a pile of Graeme Hick's discarded shorts.
It can be a cruel game though. From the high of that electrifying performance on Friday night at Newlands, Zimbabwe were unable to regenerate the momentum which earned them such success. They manage 161 for nine on a pitch which suited England's dobbly bowlers such as Ealham.
"It was a "skiddy surface and Mark is a skiddy type of bowler", intoned Hussain as if the scouts had brought back the right message. A record haul of five lbw decisions, all given by Test umpire and ICC panellist Dave Orchard might have raise a big an eyebrow as Hansie Cronje's recent "I declare" comment in Centurion. There was nothing wrong with them either. Nothing wrong that is apart from the Zimbabwe batsmen having a good look at what they did wrong on
the TV replays.
Fancy five and one a left-hander, Alistair Campbell, all making the same error of ball judgement: not getting their front pad far enough across and giving the advantage to the Kent dobber. There were times during the World Cup eight months ago when he looked very ordinary in England conditions. On Sunday they suited him and winning an accolade as well as the man of the match medal was reward enough for the remarkable figures of 10-3-15-5 with two wides tossed in as well.
For Ealham it was a jolly enough experience on a broiling northern Cape day. For Zimbabwe, the West Indies calypso-collapso style was a thoroughly chastening experience. From 92 for three to in the 25th over to 98 for seven in the 29th, they all missed the straight one.
On his way to his unique bag of five wickets, the "how'zat" appeal almost wore a groove in the replay system function, he is the ninth England bowler to collect 50 wickets in the slogs at international level and the "five-fer" is a record for a Pommie bowler. For Zimbabwe it was a record of sorts as well, in that quaint spot on the South Africa map. It is a little like east London: no one really lives in Kimberley, they are just passing through.
To rub it in, Hussain was seen on Sunday night tearing up the letter he had planned to post to the ECB seeking the cancellation of Zimbabwe's tour if they had lost to Andy Flower's side which would have made the LOIs record 7-2. Having shaken off the dust of Table Mountain, if not the ash from the crippling fires of the Western Cape, Hussain rediscovered his batting equilibrium and with Nick Knight in attendance found the joys of batting on something where the ball was easier to hit off the square than Newlands. The result was record partnership of 128 and Hussain must have been wondering why England are not playing all their games on a Sunday at some minor venue where the last person seen leaving switches off the light.
Having watched Zimbabwe dig a grave and then allow Heath Streak and John Rennie to find a rope and climb out of it by giving the bottom order some bonus runs in a partnership of 62, England were not about to make the same blunders as they had done at Newlands.
It was steady, purposeful batting, technically solid and making the bowlers and fielders toil for their misdemeanours. Anything short was punished, anything up was punished and when Andy Flower departed with a dislocated finger at the end of the 11th over, the confidence seemed to wheeze out of the side.
Campbell, the former captain, took over until Flower came back, but dropping catches, allowing four byes to slip through off the good-humoured Olonga and generally making a mess of the job did not aid Zim's cause. They were a pale patch to the side which beat South Africa at Chelmsford at the end of last May and were hopelessly outclassed.
Such is the nature of the slogs event, though, they can make a comeback. Their next game against England is at SuperSport Park in Centurion 10 days off, by which time they need to beat South Africa at least once, if not twice, in a bid to qualify. And for that they have about as much chance as launching a moon probe as pulling of that miracle.
It was composed Knight who saw England home with Vikram Solanki in his wake: Knight undefeated on 72 seemingly enjoying batting in the sun instead of under lights. It also makes you wonder why the England selectors discarded him before the World Cup after a couple of failures. Then, who is to know what goes on in the thoughts of selectors, England, or anywhere else.
