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Stunning Strauss helps offset hosts' last-wicket defiance
Andrew Strauss and Dale Steyn ensured an eventful second day of the second Test finished honours even at Kingsmead.
Strauss responded to Steyn's domination of a last-wicket stand in South Africa's 343 with a run-a-ball 50 for England towards a stumps total of 103-1.
In company with his near silent partner Alastair Cook, Strauss dispatched eight fours – including three in one over from Makhaya Ntini – in less than an hour's batting up to tea.
The England captain added only four more before being bowled by Morne Morkel in a shortened evening session but had still almost single-handedly wiped out Steyn and Ntini's 10th-wicket gains in another seesaw Test match.
The decision review system inevitably played a central role again, with both England openers involved – among several others.
Cook was never in any serious danger on eight when South Africa's review for a catch at silly-point was turned down just before tea.
But Strauss's survival on 50 when he reviewed an lbw facing Morkel, initially given out by Aleem Dar, was a much closer affair.
It went Strauss's way when the third umpire saw enough video evidence to corroborate the batsman's apparent view that he had hit the ball before it hit him.
His subsequent departure – losing two stumps to the same bowler almost immediately afterwards – drew the sting from any controversy, though.
Instead, it fell to Cook and Jonathan Trott to keep England in acceptable shape until bad light closed in to take another 22 overs out of the contest.
South Africa had earlier seemed destined to fall short of 300, but Steyn had other ideas, taking a particular liking to Graeme Swann (4-110).
Play got under way half an hour early yesterday – to make up for time lost to bad weather on Saturday – with the floodlights in action under heavy cloud cover which persisted throughout.
But overnight pair Mark Boucher and AB de Villiers took advantage of a pitch which provided little for the old ball in a stand of 63.
There was a series of half-chances which England might possibly have taken, but nothing clear-cut and deserving of significant self-reproach.
Perhaps the most telling was when De Villiers pushed a single off Swann on 18, just past short-leg Cook on the full.
England registered their first DRS success of the series, however, when Swann broke the sixth-wicket stand with a delivery which turned enough into Boucher to beat the bat and hit pad.
Umpire Amiesh Saheba had to overturn his original not out after plenty of initial deliberation from England over whether to review and then from the third official too.
The wait was around two and a half minutes, but England certainly were not complaining.
With the new ball unsurprisingly taken immediately, De Villiers comfortably survived another DRS lbw call on 46 off James Anderson and was able to reach his 50 off 96 balls.
But he got no further before Stuart Broad struck with only the second delivery of a new spell, finding enough swing to take the edge of an attempted drive for a regulation caught-behind.
Strauss took the unusual step of recalling Swann's off-spin with the ball only nine overs old.
The ploy worked too as Paul Harris was removed before lunch.
Harris instinctively reviewed Saheba's lbw verdict when he was hit in front sweeping but was sent on his way despite a possible video hint that the ball might have hit glove before pad.
Swann won his third lbw to shift Morkel in early afternoon but – with England's reviews used up – had to accept a not out against Ntini, playing no shot on two.
It proved a big moment too, Ntini supporting Steyn as the latter threatened to hit Swann out of the attack in a stand of 58 until he fenced a catch behind off Anderson just three runs short of his second Test half-century.
South Africa v England
Durban: England trail by 240 runs with 9 first innings wkts remaining
Overnight: South Africa 175-5 (J H Kallis 75, G C Smith 75).
South Africa First Innings
G C Smith run out 75
A G Prince c Swann b Anderson 2
H M Amla lbw b Broad 2
J H Kallis c Collingwood b Swann 75
A B de Villiers c Prior b Broad 50
J P Duminy lbw b Onions 4
M V Boucher lbw b Swann 39
M Morkel lbw b Swann 23
P L Harris lbw b Swann 2
D W Steyn c Prior b Anderson 47
M Ntini not out 6
Extras b1 lb17 18
Total (108.3 overs) 343
Fall: 1-3 2-10 3-160 4-166 5-170 6-233 7-269 8-280 9-285.
Bowling: Anderson 23.3 4 75 2; Onions 23 6 62 1; Broad 20 6 44 2; Swann 35 3 110 4; Trott 4 0 19 0; Pietersen 2 0 7 0; Collingwood 1 0 8 0.
England First Innings
A J Strauss b M Morkel 54
A N Cook not out 31
I J L Trott not out 17
Extras nb1 1
Total 1 wkt (26.2 overs) 103
Fall: 1-7.
To Bat: K P Pietersen, P D Collingwood, I R Bell, M J Prior, S C J Broad, G P Swann, J M Anderson, G Onions.
Bowling: Steyn 9.2 1 31 0; Ntini 3 0 25 0; M Morkel 9 3 22 1; Kallis 2 0 12 0; Harris 3 0 13 0.
Umpires: Aleem Dar and A M Saheba
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Friday 25 May 2012
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