The stars align for England as they achieve a flawless victory.

England have taken a 1-0 lead in the series with two to play after a weighty victory in Durban. It was a match in which, after losing the toss, everything fell in their favour. They were buoyed by wickets on the first morning; South Africa were only able to reach an apparent par score of 343 courtesy of a 150-partnership between Smith and Kallis, and a wagging tail. Cook and Bell then scored centuries and Collingwood a strong 91, but more pleasing was the manner in which the total was built, with six 50-partnerships in their sole innings. SA stumbled to 133 all out and to defeat by an innings and 98 runs.

The weather certainly favoured England, perfect for batting on days 2 and 3 before the overcast conditions returned in time for the South African second innings. The ball swung in England’s hands and at times, particularly the crucial fourth day, the ball behaved as if it were in English, rather than African conditions. This reflects an interesting phenomenon supported by events at the MCG, where Mitchell Johnson has just taken 6 wickets at 13.2 against Pakistan after being almost exclusively awful in the Summer. Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner were dangerous whenever and wherever they played, Donald and Pollock likewise- but even the very best the world currently has to offer are dependent on favourable conditions to look like accomplished test players.

So, how were England able to power through the South African batting line up so decisively on day 4, when twenty wickets in a match had looked beyond them in the first test? It’s true that we saw the ball swinging for the first time in the series, but this did not earn Broad his four wickets. They came from a build up of pressure on the South African batsmen such that they chose too circumspect a response. Kallis, de Villiers and Duminy were all out attempting a misjudged leave, brought on by the buzz-term "scoreboard pressure" and maximised by Broad putting the ball in that ambiguous area on the verge of off stump. Days like these will teach Broad how to push on and become a consistent threat rather than an occasional match-winner. Swann, meanwhile, continues to bowl beautifully; he is reliable, subtle, intelligent and has an extraordinary knack of taking wickets in his first over. Comfortably the leading wicket taker in the series, he has taken over Flintoff’s mantle as Strauss’ go-to man.

This result is confirmation of the maxim that batsmen can set you up but bowlers win you matches, and South Africa were outbowled so completely here that they will have to make changes for the third test in Cape Town. Friedel de Wet, after his impressive debut at Centurion, will surely return. He should take Ntini’s place but this will not be a purely sporting decision. Politics plays a big part in South African selection and dropping a post-Apartheid black legend may require time and meetings. Although it would be sad to see his career end on this whimper, The Worm wonders if he will be politely encouraged to retire before the series is up thus preventing the embarrassment of dropping him. The other option would be to play the extra bowler in place of Prince or Duminy but this would promote Morkel to number 7 and create too fragile a tail to be viable.

South Africa suffered from Paul Harris’ ineffectual bowling in this match. The spinner is expected to hold an end for extended spells whilst the pace is rotated around him, but the English batsmen targeted Harris and made him look expensive and ordinary. He confounds, his stats suggest he should turn the ball more than he does. He is an annoying bowler, and one that batsmen must hate losing their wicket to for he appears so easy to play. Unlike at Centurion, it did not happen for him here and this left the other bowlers overworked. Duminy would not have expected to have bowled 24 overs, while both Kallis and Steyn are bowling at less than their best. South Africa will need to improve with the ball quickly or they will lose to England, as they lost to Australia in their last home series.

By The Worm

Comments

[Grassisbrowner]

I saw little of the last Test, and was as pleasantly surprised by the manner of the performance, and by the sustained pressure, as anyone else. I also accept that my scepticism of Broad (he is manifestly good enough to be in the side, but to have real quality batsmen must fear you even on your off days) has a pleasing knack of being embarrassed whenever the pressure is really on. And it certainly looks like we are a much better side than 12 months ago, with Trott, Swann and Prior much more at home than then.

But England have of course been here before. In many ways, this next test is the crucial one (remember Headingley 2009, for example?), and Straussy tells us it's a result pitch. Play like that again, England, win the series with one to play and I might even get off Ian Bell's back.

Strange stat of the day: Vaughan and Strauss now have exactly the same number of Test 50s and 100s (18&18 each).