I’m back for more Quip by Quippage, and there’s nothing that I love more than the smell of a wagging tail in the morning. Refresh this post to read the latest updates.
96.4 Ntini to Siddle, no run, Ntini goes past the outside edge again, that one hit the pitch and straightened to beat the bat
96.3 Ntini to Siddle, 2 runs, another edge but this one goes between third slip and gully towards third man, Ntini’s drawing Siddle forward with his length and his wide-of-the-crease angle at delivery is causing problems
96.2 Ntini to Siddle, no run, Siddle fends at a short of a length delivery outside off and gets an outside edge which falls short of gully
Oh this must be so frustrating!
1400: There was talk earlier how not bowling Aus out last night would be good for South Africa as the pitch would be rolled twice in short succession. Now Siddle who’s previous high score was 0* and Krejza have seen out the first hour and added 29 for the 10th wicket.
1402: Since losing Symonds and exposing the tail, the Baggy Greens have added 112 runs. Superb effort by all concerned and the Saffas must be rueing lost chances.
Ntini to Siddle, OUT, South Africa have finally taken the wicket! He bowls a full ball outside off stump, Siddle goes for the big drive and gets a faint edge through to Boucher who flings the ball in the air after taking an easy catch
1405: After beating the edge three more times and conceding a 4, Ntini finally wraps up Siddle for his new high score of 23. Krejza remains the not out batsman on 30, his average now up to 20 which is fair for a number 10..
12.11 pm: Siddle and Krejza frustrated South Africa for 40 minutes this morning and added 34 runs for the last wicket. Australia will be pleased with their score, especially after the start they had last morning. The pitch, however, looks a beauty and the South Africans will want to make full use of it when they come out in ten minutes.
South Africa, 1st Innings
Hopefully our bowlers were watching Ntini and pitch it on a good length. I’m awaiting to speedgun results from Siddle, Lee and Johnson, and hopefully we’ll find some swing out there as well.
How defensive will South Africa be? They’re not known for a lightening scoring pace. I think Krejza will be dangerous out there when he’s given a shot later on..
Johnson to Smith, 1 run, Johnson delivers a low full toss on leg stump, Smith clips it off his pads down to long leg, he gets South Africa off the mark
and with that Smith outscores the Aussie captain!
1424: Johnson’s third ball clocked at 145 km/h, I don’t believe that Steyn reached that speed all day yesterday..
Lee to Smith, no run, Lee folllows up with a full and straight ball, Smith defends back to the bowler, Lee fields with his left hand and lobs the ball back at the stumps and hits them too!
14:31: Bit of aggression from Binga, good to see
3.6 Johnson to McKenzie, no run, short of a length just outside off, McKenzie plays at it but with soft hands and the edge falls short of the slips
Ooohhhhhhh, Johnno’s been called for two wides so far, but this one nearly did the job for the Baggy Greens. He’s still up around 146 km/h as well, while Lee’s bowling around the 144 kh/h mark
6.3 Lee to McKenzie, no run, this time McKenzie did play at it and was beaten by Lee’s line and length outside off stump
6.2 Lee to McKenzie, no run, short of a length outside off stump, McKenzie plays at it once again before pulling out of the way
6.1 Lee to McKenzie, no run, well bowled and well left, Lee bowls the perfect length just outside off stump, McKenzie begins to prod at the ball but pulls his bat out of the way just in time
Lee’s got McKenzie in all kinds of trouble here
McKenzie OUT!
Johnson to McKenzie, OUT, what has McKenzie done? An unbelievable shot! Johnson bowls the ball short and wide outside off stump, McKenzie has been leaving those deliveries but this time he decides to play at it, he should have been cutting that but instead he tries to pull the ball from well outside off stump, he ends up hitting it tamely towards mid-off where Krejza runs to his right to take the simplest of catches
Superb effort, McKenzie bores himself out and the Aussies bowlers have an early reward!
Punter gave Krejza the 11th over, and it was a ripper!
10.3 Krejza to Smith, no run, Krejza forces the false shot from Smith, he tried to close the face of the bat too early to play on the leg side but was beaten by the flight and got a leading edge towards the off side
10.4 Krejza to Smith, no run, loud shout for lbw as Smith strides forward to defend and gets hit on the pad, not out says Aleem Dar, that was pretty close but Smith was a long way forward
10.6 Krejza to Amla, no run, good ball! Amla goes back to defend but gets an inside edge on to the pad, Krejza’s first Test over in Australia is a good one
And that’s the first session. Very testing one for the Saffas, and there was truly no need for McKenzie to throw away his hard grafting start like that. South Africa have roared along at almost a run every third ball, consequently go into lunch at 1/27.