Negative England Nearly Pay the Price

Cast your minds back to Cardiff this summer and you will recall a heroic last stand between Jimmy Anderson and Monty Panesar which held the Australians at bay in the crucial first Test. It is a little surprising that at the start of the very next series England found themselves in a near identical situation as Paul Collingwood (able to surpass his efforts in Cardiff) and Graeme Onions denied The Proteas the chance to take an early advantage.

History will also repeat itself in the aftermath, as the euphoria of saving the match will be tempered by a searching examination of what put England in a position where scraping a draw was the best they could hope for.

On this occasion it seems that Ian Bell will pay the price. The selectors preferred Bell to a fifth bowler, hoping to extend the batting line up precisely to avoid the situation that they ultimately found themselves in. Unfortunately for all parties Bell collected only 7 runs in two innings, a return which was made to look worse after England were twice unable to turn the screw in the field. At both 159 for 4 in the first innings and wobbling at 46 for 4 in the second Strauss's team had the opportunity to exert real pressure and possibly put themselves in a winning position. Instead, as South Africa rebuilt around Kallis or Amla Strauss cut a frustrated feeling, casting about for a wicket, even using Jonathon Trott for a couple of overs as England listed aimlessly, awaiting reverse swing or a bit of Swann magic after the new ball had lost his hardness.

Of course their is no guarantee that an extra bowler given England a different result, but it is always true that bowlers have more chance to recover from errors than batsmen. Ian Bell made two and found himself back in the pavilion unbuckling his pads, but a bowler could have sent down two shocking deliveries and maybe made that vital breakthrough with his third. As was shown in the first innings, although neither Swann or Broad is a natural Test number 7 the combination of them at 7 and 8 can be enough to add a hundred or maybe even more. As a result England will almost certainly opt for the five pronged attack in the second Test that they should have used in the first.

The other main point of interest was the referrals system which has had some tweaks since England last came across it a year ago and to my mind it was actually a success. By allowing the umpire's decision to stand in marginal cases their authority and dignity is upheld while glaring errors can be eliminated. It is a great compromise and although Stuart Broad's ugly outburst drew headlines it cannot be forgotten that the correct decision was actually reached. The system will need to be used before a practical decision can be made on how long is too long to appeal but either way, players like Broad will have to learn to hold their tongue because I have a feeling that this system is here to stay and I for one support this progress which still upholds the finest traditions of the game.