Date-stamped : 23 Aug2000 - 06:22
25 February 199

14th ODI: South Africa v England, Match Report

The Electronic Telegraph

<b>Batsmen blamed as South Africans ease to 78-run victory</b>

<b><i>South Africa (230) beat England (152) by 78 runs</i></b>

Be sure your words will find you out. Michael Atherton`s recent
comments that there was "little room for flair in Afrikaaner cricket"
came home to roost in the England dressing room in Rawalpindi after a
sixth successive defeat by South Africa.

Flair there was in abundance in their opponents` game: superla- tive
ground fielding, a successful "pinch-hitter" in Steve Pal- framan and
line bowling which scarcely deviated in the 44.3 overs the England
innings lasted.

The defeat by 78 runs means England are likely to qualify in fourth
place in Group B - unless Pakistan make an unexpected mess of their
remaining matches - and will go to Faisalabad to take on the winners
of Group A. If that should be Sri Lanka, by virtue of the four points
given them in default, then who knows?  That is about the only crumb
of comfort this result offered.

Whisper it only at Headquarters, the United Arab Emirates reached the
same total of 152 for the loss of only eight wickets against Hansie
Cronje`s team here last week.

It was particularly galling that England gave themselves a rea-
sonable chance of winning when they dismissed South Africa for 230. It
was their misfortune that drizzle began to fall when Neil Smith was in
the middle of his spell, making it difficult for the spinner.

That was at a time when fielders were slipping regularly on the greasy
surface - though Neil Fairbrother`s unsuccessful charge to effect a
run out, which ended with him mowing down the stumps with his head and
shoulders, was more the result of tripping.

Smith and Graham Thorpe, used for two overs, went for 57 runs and
that, as both captains later agreed, was a decisive element of the
game. Thorpe`s innings of 46, at least, was the highest of the game.

Warwickshire`s Smith remained at the top of the batting order to
plunder some early-over runs but the ploy failed, despite the ab-
sence of Allan Donald with an upset stomach. Smith hit one boun- dary
in the seventh over, clubbing Shaun Pollock over mid-on, but his 11
runs took him 24 balls before frustration set in and he fell to Fanie
de Villiers.

Atherton had moved himself back up to partner Smith but lasted only
until the fourth ball of the innings, when he was drawn into an
away-swinger from Pollock.

South Africa`s convenor of selectors, Peter Pollock, told me the
previous day that his one wish would be to have Graeme Hick in their
batting line-up.  "To me he is one of the very best in the world," he
said.

So the jubilation in the South African camp at Hick`s early dismissal
was understandable.  He tried to clip de Villiers off his toes through
the on side but the ball flew straight to Brian McMillan at
mid-wicket.

Pat Symcox`s prowess both as fielder and off-spinner then played an
important part in England`s downfall. When Alec Stewart pushed to
mid-on and went for a quick single, Symcox`s throw hit the stumps.
The England vice-captain was running wide and got tucked up with his
bat, which came to rest just outside the crease.

That brought Neil Fairbrother to the centre and England now had two
left-handers together, the situation Atherton had tried pre- viously
to avoid by batting down the order.

Symcox turned the ball considerably in the rough outside the
left-handers` off-stump and Fairbrother was quickly out, trying to
paddle to leg with the ball ballooning up off the bottom of his bat.

Thorpe hit the first boundary in 19 overs and tried to nudge Sym- cox,
but a fine edge landed in the wicket-keeper`s gloves.  At the same
score Jack Russell cut Pollock uppishly and the sure hands of Jonty
Rhodes, at backward point, did the rest.

The fast bowlers showed spirit with Phillip DeFreitas, in his 100th
international, hitting Symcox over mid-wicket for the game`s only
six. He put on 42, England`s highest stand, with Do- minic Cork, but
by then it was a lost cause with more than 10 runs an over needed
three-quarters of the way through the in- nings.

England had done the hard work earlier on after Palframan and Gary
Kirsten had put on 56 in the first 13 overs of the South African
innings. Palframan was prepared to charge the quick bowlers but gave
one chance off DeFreitas, sending him high to square-leg where Cork
ran a dozen paces but failed to get proper- ly under the dropping
ball.

Peter Martin, steadiness personified, dismissed Palframan when another
intended big hit sailed into Russell`s gloves and a good underarm
throw by Stewart accounted for Kirsten.

South Africa`s middle-order tried to take control but all suc- cumbed
to tight bowling and fielding. Cronje was beaten by Darren Gough`s
away movement, Daryll Cullinan was bowled between bat and pad by
DeFreitas`s final delivery, Jacques Kallis - perhaps un- luckily - was
given out caught behind off Cork and Rhodes pulled Martin on to his
stumps. The last five wickets went down for 35.

As Atherton said later: "Too many of our batsmen are out of nick."
No-one more so than the captain himself, though he says he does not
worry about his own lack of form.

At home, England`s failures have prompted an attack by Dennis Silk,
chairman of the Test and County Cricket Board.  "We might come about
seventh in the rankings of international crick- et," he said.

Silk is calling for a national cricket academy, a more competi- tive
domestic structure and for international players to be con- tracted to
the board rather than counties.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http.//www.telegraph.co.uk)

<END> Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)