Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad took England to the brink of victory as South Africa collapsed on the fourth day of the second Test at Kingsmead on Tuesday. South Africa, trailing by 232 runs on the first innings, were 76 for six when bad light gave the home team a reprieve until the final day on Wednesday. The hosts will resume needing 156 to avoid an innings defeat.
Off-spinner Swann and fast bowler Broad took three wickets each as South Africa's top six batsmen were blown away in less than an hour of play on either side of tea. There were no signs of a potential batting collapse earlier in the day when England took their first innings total to 575 for nine declared, with Ian Bell hitting 141.
England's batsmen had virtually no problems against the South African bowlers on an easy-paced pitch but it seemed a different game when Swann and Broad got to work. Ashwell Prince and South African captain Graeme Smith had taken South Africa's second innings total to 27 without any major alarms before Swann was brought on to bowl the tenth over.
Swann continued his uncanny knack of taking a wicket in his first over of an innings when he dismissed Prince with his second ball, caught by Bell off bat and pad at silly-mid-off. He followed up two overs later by bowling Hashim Amla in the last over before tea when the batsman missed a drive against a ball which spun back sharply.
There was a shock for South Africa six balls after tea when Jacques Kallis padded up to a ball from Broad which cut back and hit the top of his off stump. Astonishingly, AB de Villiers also elected to pad up to Broad four overs later, with the ball again cutting back and flicking his front pad. Given out leg before wicket by umpire Amish Saheba, he asked for a television review but the decision was upheld.
JP Duminy was bowled by the next ball when he tried to withdraw his bat from a lifting delivery and played the ball onto his stumps. With the floodlights on and the light deteriorating Smith was sixth out when he played around a ball from Swann and was given out leg before by umpire Aleem Dar. He too sought a review without success. Mark Boucher and Morne Morkel survived until bad light ended play with 16 overs remaining. Earlier, Bell and Matt Prior (60) put on 112 for the sixth wicket in a partnership which wrecked South African hopes of making a breakthrough early in the day.
Bell and Prior gradually increased the tempo and Prior seemed set to go on a major assault when he raised a 77-ball half-century with a six off left-arm spin bowler Paul Harris. He hit one more boundary but was then bowled by off-spinner JP Duminy when he chopped an attempted cut onto his stumps. After posting his fifty off 65 balls on Monday, Bell was more circumspect on Tuesday, reaching his ninth Test century off 172 deliveries when he went down the pitch and lofted Harris over mid-on for his eighth four. He also hit a six.
SCOREBOARD
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South Africa, first innings, 343
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England, first innings (overnight 386-4)
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A. Strauss b Morkel 54
A. Cook c Kallis b Morkel 118
J. Trott c Boucher b Morkel 18
K. Pietersen lbw b Harris 31
P. Collingwood c Boucher b Duminy 91
I. Bell c Boucher b Steyn 141
M. Prior b Duminy 60
S. Broad c Kallis b Duminy 20
G. Swann c Prince b Steyn 22
J. Anderson not out 1
G. Onions not out 2
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Extras: (lb10, nb1, w6) 17
Total: (9 wkts dec, 170 overs, 724 min) 575
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Fall of wickets: 1-71 (Strauss), 2-104 (Trott), 3-155 (Pietersen), 4-297 (Cook), 5-365 (Collingwood), 6-477 (Prior), 7-536 (Broad), 8-565 (Swann), 9-569 (Bell)
Bowling: Steyn 34-6-94-2, Ntini 29-4-115-0, Morkel 31-6-78-3 (w3), Kallis 14-1-43-0 (nb1), Harris 38-4-146-1 (w1), Duminy 24-1-89-3
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South Africa, second innings:
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A. Prince c Bell b Swann 16
G. Smith lbw b Swann 22
H. Amla b Swann 6
J. Kallis b Broad 3
A. de Villiers lbw b Broad 2
J. Duminy b Broad 0
M. Boucher not out 20
M. Morkel not out 7
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Extras: 0
Total: (6 wkts, 32 overs) 76
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