Category Archives: South Africa

England vs. South Africa, First Test, Day 5

Posted on July 23, 2012 by

Final result. England 385 & 240. South Africa 637-2 declared. South Africa win by an innings and 12 runs. As expected, England succumbed to defeat in the first Test match today. Only Ian Bell and Matt Prior put up any real resistance to the … Continue reading →

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England vs. South Africa, First Test, Day 4

Posted on July 22, 2012 by

End of day score. England 385 and 102-4. South Africa 637-2 declared. As I (Martin) suspected yesterday, South Africa put their large, hobnailed boot on England’s neck and only lifted it in order to kick the supine body in the … Continue reading →

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England vs. South Africa, First Test, Day 3

Posted on July 22, 2012 by

End of day score. England 385. South Africa 403/2. Every now and again in Test cricket a team experiences not merely a bad day but total demoralization. Because the Test match may go on for five days, a side can not … Continue reading →

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England vs. South Africa, First Test, Day 2

Posted on July 22, 2012 by

End of day score. England: 385 all out. South Africa 86-1. The great glory of Test cricket is that a side can be dominant at the end of one day’s play and by the end of the next day’s play … Continue reading →

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England vs. South Africa, First Test, Day 1

Posted on July 20, 2012 by

End of day score: England 275-3. The hero for England was Alastair Cook, who scored his twentieth century at the age of only twenty-seven. Cook is not an exciting batsman; I (Martin) think even he would admit that. But he’s … Continue reading →

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Finally, the Big One

Posted on July 18, 2012 by

Tomorrow (Thursday), it begins: the Test series that all cricket fans have been waiting for—England vs. South Africa in three mouthwatering matches to determine which is the best side in the world. Although the series should have been five games, … Continue reading →

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The Cruelty of Cricket

Posted on July 11, 2012 by

A couple of days ago, Mark Boucher, the South African wicketkeeper, was injured when a ball ricocheted after hitting the stumps behind which he was standing and caromed into his left eye. Boucher was taken to hospital and the wound … Continue reading →

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The Contest before the Contest Is a Contest

Posted on June 28, 2012 by

The Australian cricket team begins a series of five one-day internationals against England. It’s an anomalous series in many ways, since it doesn’t come on the back of a Test match series between the old rivals (called the Ashes), and it’s … Continue reading →

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The Curse of Number One

Posted on March 29, 2012 by

Amid the endless rounds of bi- and tri-lateral tournaments that dominate the cricket calendar, there are really only two honors that the major cricket-playing nations covet. One is to win the quadrennial World Cup, which uses the one-day (50-over) form … Continue reading →

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Ascending Mount Vernon

Posted on March 26, 2012 by

With his six-wicket haul in the third Test match against New Zealand, South African bowler Vernon Philander has taken over fifty wickets in only seven Test matches: the quickest to that feat since—wait for it!—1893. Unlike his bowling partners in … Continue reading →

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