From Insipid to Inspirational in the Blink of an Eye

England's bowlers produced two highly contrasting displays to take a 2-1 lead in the ODI series against South Africa with one fixture remaining. The Protees were able to take advantage of a poor display from the English attack on Friday, but had no answer to a more controlled and ruthless performance on Sunday.

The game on Friday had many highlights, but the match will be remembered for AB de Villiers stunning century to take his side to a total which England never looked like chasing down, even on a friendly surface. The numbers game told as the English batsmen fell to shots born out of frustration and pressure.

In fairness, South Africa also put in a very disciplined shift with the ball, quickly finding the correct length to bowl on the surface and stubbornly refusing to budge from it. The result was that the English batsmen were unable to profit in the same way that de Villiers et al had done earlier in the day, tucking into a mixture of half volleys and long hops on their way to 354-6.

However, if there was a clear contrast between the two bowling units on Friday, the difference in England's seam attack from that humiliating annihilation to their resurgence on Sunday was the equivalent of night and day. Broad, Bresnan and in particular Anderson gave away nothing, turning the screws with the grim satisfaction of a medieval torturer. Anderson will undoubtedly get the headlines for his superb five wicket haul but Bresnan once more looks as if he is growing into international cricket, and his miserly spell helped to assert the pressure which gave Anderson his victims. Broad's spell on the Sunday will also have been a pleasing sight to Flower and Strauss. After going round the park in Cape Town he looked much less ring rusty and got some good overs under his belt.

The one disappointment for England will have been Luke Wright, who in many ways sums up England's side at the moment. He is a player capable of pulling off the sublime, both in the field as he did to dismiss Peterson and with the ball, but he seems to lack the consistancy that fans and captains alike desire at this level. He was the only player on Sunday who made Friday's mistakes; perhaps spending too much time trying to outwit the batsman with slower balls and yorkers which failed to hit the mark. If this series has shown anything to both sides it is that while variations are useful, there is no replacement for a tight line and finding the length best suited to the wicket.

While England continue to put in mixed performances South Africa seem to have a totally different problem. England's issues stem from a lack of consistancy, but looking at both the team and the squad the balance seems good. As noted in last week's blog, everyone seems to be int he right position and although the personel may change both the bowling and batting units seem to potentially offer all the right qualities in all the right places. In contrast, South Africa seem stumped as to how to balance their side without Jacques Kallis. Just as England struggled when they first lost Flintoff, the Protees seem clueless as to who should play where when the talismanic all rounder is unavailable.

Many South African fans will find the decision to have a player of Herschelle Gibbs' quality carrying the drinks when the batting seems a man light is odd indeed. If he is seen as disruptive for his actions off the field then he shouldn't be around the squad, but if he is then surely he could add some steel and experience to a top order that if pressurised looks light on both. If England bowl as poorly as they did in Cape Town then perhaps it won't be an issue, but if they are able to put on a display of unified discipline as they did on Sunday then Graeme Smith's men may suffer a rare home series defeat.