Cracks have been forming all over the place during this series. For twoTests the brittleness was Australia’s, but in Sydney the fault lines havebeen shaking South Africa
Peter English at the SCG05-Jan-2009
Peter Siddle: “It [pitch] has deteriorated pretty quickly and the cracks have opened up a fair bit. It’s going to get a little bit worse over the next couple of days” © PA Photos
Cracks have been forming all over the place during this series. For twoTests the brittleness was Australia’s, but in Sydney the fault lines havebeen shaking South Africa. A fractured hand for the captain Graeme Smithwas followed by a broken helmet for Morne Morkel and a total of 327 on apitch that is breaking up ahead of schedule. Batting is not much fun andwill become more fraught over the next two days, with South Africa havingthe tougher task after facing a deficit of 151 at stumps.Two squiggly lines run up the length of the pitch, but the crack holdingthe most danger sits just outside off stump for the right-handers battingat the Paddington End and the lefties facing at the Randwick End. Theywill continue to widen and smaller ones will appear, giving the bowlersother targets to aim for. And when the ball is old and soft it often stayslower on the flatter sections of the pitch, adding to theunpredictability.”It’s up there with the top three toughest wickets I’ve ever had to baton, on day three,” Mark Boucher said after registering a committed 89.”It’s not nice staring down the wicket and making sure you’re running downthe side of it so you don’t fall down.”The batsmen had to convince themselves to play forward and wait for theball to move in, out, down or up, depending on the angle of entry into thegap. Finding rhythm was as impossible as feeling in control. South Africaearned 202 runs on a day when the most courageous batting came fromBoucher and Morkel. South Africa were effectively 6 for 193 when they cametogether – Smith won’t bat – and they weathered and wore the Australianattack for 115.Ponting alternated the left-handers Johnson and Doug Bollinger at thePaddington End for almost five hours. When those fast men were sprintingin there was no respite for any of the batsmen. Australia were holding thestring as South Africa struggled and then scrapped through theBoucher-Morkel recovery, but the advantage did not turn into easy wicketsuntil Siddle charged through late in the day to finish with 5 for 59.Siddle, Andrew McDonald and Nathan Hauritz were used mostly at theRandwick End, where there was less impact and only one wicket. When Siddlewas switched in the final session he captured 4 for 7 in 22 balls,succeeding by aiming for the stumps instead of the gaps in the surface.Morkel, Boucher and Dale Steyn were bowled and Paul Harris was lbw in thesudden shift of tempo.”Coming from that end, and being a right-hander, the crack wasn’t on myside,” Siddle said. “I was just aiming for the stumps, getting a bit ofreverse-swing and trying to attack the stumps. I got a few uneven bounces,some kept low, some got up, and kept the batter thinking.”Bollinger deserved to agree on at least one lbw with Billy Bowden and didwell to remain cool. His flustered reactions were limited to head shakes,hands on hips and a few mutterings. Minor cracking, but no breaking.Johnson accounted for Jacques Kallis and JP Duminy and all the quicks hadthick edges but not many slips.The batsmen were most at ease when the ball left them off the marks, butwhen it came back there was flinching and fending. A delivery from Johnsonre-directed off a crack for four wides down the legside and Boucher wasfloored by one that appeared to brush his shoulder. Another from Bollingerrose to dint Morkel’s helmet.On the second afternoon Johnson’s crack-assisted off-cutter hit Smith’sleft hand and sent him to hospital. He was in Melbourne having treatmenton his elbow while his team-mates jumped, hopped and hoped. Boucher triedto play back as much as possible, looking awkward at times but in as muchcomfort as any of the batsmen since Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnsonthe previous day. More grit will be required over the rest of the matchfor anyone with a bat.The pitch was in such a dry condition due to the groundsman Tom Parkerexpecting showers in the lead-up to the game. He reduced the amount ofwater he put on the surface, but the rain didn’t come and there were lineson it before the toss.”It has deteriorated pretty quickly and the cracks have opened up a fairbit,” Siddle said. “It’s going to get a little bit worse over the nextcouple of days.”Batting will become even more treacherous during the second innings, butit will be less of a bother for Ricky Ponting’s order. Australia will needto spend only a few hours on it on Tuesday before letting the under-mannedSouth Africa test their bravery again in their bid to save the game. Therewill be no miracle chase in this match, but if the visitors hold on for adraw it will improve their already high standing on this incrediblysuccessful tour.
