England take the honours at the Brit Oval
Published 11 August 2008
England have secured a well earned victory in the final npower Test Match against South Africa at The Brit Oval, triumphing by six wickets despite a post-lunch wobble.
After another solid opening partnership from Alistair Cook and Andrew Strauss, a home victory was never in doubt, even after a mini-collapse triggered by Makhaya Ntini and Paul Harris that denied Kevin Pietersen the chance to strike the winning runs in his first Test as captain.
With 15,000 nervous cricket fans packing out The Brit Oval, the game was very much in the balance as Cook and Strauss walked out at 11am. A few early wickets from the fired up pace battalion of Andre Nel, Morne Morkel and Makhaya Ntini and South Africa could have been looking at a 3-0 series victory.
However, the classical opening pair weathered everything the tourists could throw at them, ducking bouncers, blocking in swingers and leaving away swingers as they serenely progressed throughout the morning session, heading back up the pavilion steps two hours later with England 109 runs heavier and firmly in the driving seat.
Talk around the ground at lunchtime was of a potential ten wicket victory and the galvanising effect it was sure to have on England as they approach the upcoming Natwest One Day Series and Twenty20 International.
That soon ended when Makhaya Ntini, potentially bowling in a Test Match for the last time on English soil, drew Cook into a loose drive shortly after lunch which was gratefully taken by Graeme Smith in the slips.
With Ian Bell only lasting 25 minutes before shuffling too far across his stumps and having his timber embarrassingly rearranged by Ntini, conversations around the ground soon changed to a potential upset.
These only grew louder and more nervous when Strauss departed two balls later, getting a thick inside edge to a forward poke off the determined slow bowling of Paul Harris and only seeing it balloon off his pad and into the hands of Smith, intelligently placed at leg slip.
The arrival of Paul Collingwood, to renew England’s new favourite partnership with Kevin Pietersen settled the doubters and the Durham man played enough confident attacking shots either side of the wicket to seem like he has firmly refound the touch that secured a spot in the England Test team in the first place.
With the storybook in place, the pair ground remorselessly on towards the 197 needed for victory, but Harris had clearly not read the script, getting one to angle across Pietersen, who inside edged onto his pads, allowing Neil McKenzie to take an easy catch at forward short leg.
If Pietersen had stayed at the crease until the end though, it would have been highly unlikely that the spectacular ending provided by Andrew Flintoff would have occurred. Freddie, never one for hanging around unnecessarily, decided that the time was now and tonked a flighted one from Paul Harris straight into the scoreboards in front of the Brit Oval pavilion for a big six.
Despite the victory, Sri Lanka’s series victory over India will relegate England to the status of fifth best Test team in the world. This will hurt Pietersen, but he will know the win at the Brit Oval was well deserved – as they had been on top ever since the second session of day one.
The new skipper will also look back to missed opportunities at both Lord’s and Edgbaston and realise exactly where his side will need to improve if they are to achieve victories in upcoming tough series’ against India, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Australia.
England return to the Brit Oval to play South Africa in the Natwest Series on Friday August 29.
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