It is a measure of the way England have been outplayed by South Africa A at Potchefstroom this week, that not even a spot of divine intervention could prevent them from slumping to an embarrassing seven-wicket defeat shortly after tea on the third
Andrew Miller in Potchefstroom13-Dec-2004South Africa A 281 (van Jaarsveld 71) and 135 for 3 (Puttick 45)beat England 225 (Langeveldt 5-48) and 190 (Vaughan 100, Willoughby4-63) by seven wickets
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JP Duminy and Ashwell Prince celebrate a seven-wicket win against England at Potchefstroom© Getty Images
It is a measure of the way England have been outplayed by South Africa Aat Potchefstroom this week that not even a spot of divine interventioncould prevent them from slumping to an embarrassing seven-wicket defeat,shortly after tea on the third and final afternoon. And yet, for a bizarretwo-hour interlude, it seemed that they might just escape to PortElizabeth with an undeserved draw, as the highveld’s eclectic weatherclosed in on them for the second match in a row.At lunch, there was little inkling of the dramas to follow. England hadlost their last three wickets for 36 runs to set the South Africans amere 135 for victory and, as the players left the field, that requirementhad been whittled down to 72 with nine wickets still standing. Two oversafter the resumption, however, the ground was shaken by a massive clap ofthunder as a lightning bolt landed not 100 yards behind the pavilion and,after picking themselves up off the turf, England’s startled players fledto the dressing-room for safety.With huge patches of blue sky still overhead, the scoreboard flashed upthe message that play had been delayed by “dangerous weather”, which was anovel description of the situation, and there was a 20-minute delay whilethe umpires waited for the threat to pass by. Eventually – and reluctantly- the team re-emerged, and England briefly seemed electrified by theevents as Simon Jones and Steve Harmison grabbed a wicket apiece toremove South Africa’s established batsmen, Andrew Puttick for anauthoritative 45, and Justin Ontong for 23.At 101 for 3, the rains closed in as well, and South Africa A began tofear that their victory would be whipped from under their noses. But aftera further hour-and-a-quarter hiatus, the outfield dried out as the sunreturned and JP Duminy and Ashwell Prince hurried along to victory, withSimon Jones leaking four fours in one wayward over.The only spot of good news for England was the form of their captain,Michael Vaughan, who earlier in the day converted his overnight 82 into adefiant century to give his bowlers something to work with. Resuming on154 for 7, England’s intentions were made plain in the very first over ofthe day, as Vaughan clipped the legspinner Ontong through mid-on for four,before hoisting him over the sightscreen for six.
Simon Jones has no answers as South Africa A race to victory© Getty Images
Hoggard, his diligent overnight partner, couldn’t hang around for long,however, and in Charl Langeveldt’s second over of the day he snicked ahigh chance to Ashwell Prince at third slip (164 for 8). Vaughan reachedhis century with successive drives for two, but moments later he was goneas well, caught behind by Boucher as he swished at a wide one from CharlWilloughby. His effort had lasted 151 deliveries, with 13 fours and twosixes, and followed on from his Man-of-the-Series efforts againstZimbabwe. Maybe there was some sporting merit in that series after all.It was left to Prince to set the seal on the innings, as he snaffled aJones miscue in the covers, to give Langeveldt his seventh wicket of thematch. Hoggard then gave England hope with a pearler of a delivery toremove Martin van Jaarsveld in the very first over, but neither he norHarmison could find the necessary discipline, and Puttick was especiallyruthless on their frequent loose deliveries. Only Andrew Flintoff wascapable of putting a break on the run-spree, although he was once againtroubled by a spate of no-balls.England spent the rest of the day utilising the facilities rather betterthan they had been, as Mark Butcher and his fellow batsmen were putthrough their paces on the same strip of turf that had proved theirundoing over the weekend. For a side that has been undefeated for almostexactly 12 months this defeat has been, quite literally, a bolt from theblue.
