South African cricket team in England in 2008
Encyclopedia
The South African cricket team
toured England between 29 June and 4 September 2008. They played four Test matches
, one Twenty20 International
and five One Day Internationals against England. They also played six tour matches against Somerset
, Middlesex
, Bangladesh A, a PCA Masters XI
and two against the England Lions.
It has been announced that following the conclusion of this four-match series, future matches between England and South Africa will comprise five Test matches but only three one-day matches
after the series was granted 'icon' status. The first game with the new format will be in the 2009–10 season in South Africa.
England named an unchanged XI for the sixth test in a row, a record. Graeme Smith won the toss and chose to field first hoping his much publicised pace attack would make early inroads into the struggling England batting lineup, which had not passed 400 in their first innings for over a year. However, the South African bowlers were wayward on the first day of the match, and apart from a post-lunch burst where they captured three quick wickets, were unable to exert much authority.
Kevin Pietersen scored a century, a notable moment as it was the first time he had faced his country of birth in a Test match. On day 2, he would go on to score 152, and Ian Bell, who the South Africans has specifically targeted as a player under pressure, scored 199 before being dismissed by the only spinner in the South African squad, Paul Harris.
In amongst this, the openers had scored well for England and Stuart Broad, batting at no 8, scored a free flowing 76 as the South African bowling attack wilted. England eventually declared late on day two on 593/8, straight after Bell was out for 199. The day's play came to an end very early in South Africa's reply due to poor light.
On day 3, England's bowlers carried on from where the batsmen left off. Graeme Smith was caught off a rising Anderson delivery early in the day to get things going, and all the bowlers contributed from there. Neil McKenzie produced a gritty 40 before being bowled round his legs by Monty Panesar. AB de Villiers scored freely before being very well caught by James Anderson off the bowling of Monty Panesar, and Ashwell Prince compiled a determined century to give the South African innings some resemblance of respectability.
However, South Africa were bowled out for just 247, and Michael Vaughan quickly enforced the follow on late on day 3. The openers had to survive a tricky session which saw England open their attack with Monty Panesar and Kevin Pietersen due to the poor light conditions. In fact, Smith was almost dismissed by Pietersen twice during this spell, something he would have been very relieved to avoid, not just due to the match situation, but also as a result of the rivalry between the two players.
Day 4 saw a much more determined approach from the South Africans, aided by a very flat wicket offering little to the bowlers. Smith and McKenzie batted slowly and cautiously, particularly during the morning where the scoring rate was around 1 run per over. Slowly, but surely, they built a partnership and started to chip away at England's lead, whilst frustrating the bowlers in the process. Both men would record a century, and the only wicket to fall in the day was Smith who top edged a pull shot from the new ball off James Anderson’s bowling shortly after reaching his 100.
South Africa’s resistance continued into the final day, where Hashim Amla also compiled a century to keep England at bay. McKenzie was eventually dismissed after 9.5 hours at the crease, and the only real highlight for England was the cheap dismissal of Jacques Kallis to an excellent yorker from Ryan Sidebottom. The match was declared a draw shortly after tea, with South Africa's second innings score on 393/3. South Africa did declare this innings to call a halt to proceedings, with Michael Vaughan agreeing his side would not go out to chase the 47 run difference.
Essentially it was a match of two halves. England dominance for three days, exploiting helpful conditions and a poor South African bowling effort. South Africa responded excellently on the final two days, to ensure they only lost three wickets during two days of play. It was felt at the time that South Africa would have gained the most out of the drawn fixture.
from the side, and replaced him with Andrew Flintoff
, returning to play his first test since the final Ashes test at the SCG at the start of 2007. Ryan Sidebottom
, suffering from injury, was replaced with debutant Darren Pattinson
. This decision provoked considerable reaction as many felt there were other bowlers who were better placed to come into the side – Chris Tremlett
, Matthew Hoggard
and Stephen Harmison all sprung to mind. Pattinson, born in Grimsby and raised in Australia, had only bowled a handful of overs at first class level, and whilst he had shown promise, his elevation to the test arena was arguably too much too soon for him. A year previously, he was playing grade cricket in Australia alongside his regular job as a roof tiler. He had even shown uncertainly when asked about how keen he was to actually play for England. The decision to field him during a critical Test match prompted a variety of reaction and viewpoints from commentators, players and press experts.
South Africa named an unchanged side, boosted by the confidence of the draw at Lords and content that their bowlers could deliver as anticipated second time around. Graeme Smith
enforced this belief by opting to field, and was rewarded as Morne Morkel
and Dale Steyn
in particular got stuck into England’s batsmen. England were dismissed for 203 on day 1. Kevin Pietersen
top scored with 45, and Ian Bell scored 31, but this was the best of a bad bunch. Andrew Flintoff
scored 17 and looked to have some confidence with the bat, having had very little success in his recent county appearances. But overall, it was a disappointing effort from England, but they did respond with 3 wickets before the close of play to leave South Africa on 101/3.
South Africa used day 2 to ensure England had no chance in the match. Although Hashim Amla
was dismissed by Pattinson for his maiden test wicket during the morning session, Ashwell Prince
and AB de Villiers formed a strong partnership which would frustrate England for the rest of the day. Their batting was cautious, but not defensive, and they both gradually ground out large scores knowing that they were taking the match out of England’s reach. By the end of day 2, South Africa’s score was 322/4, a lead of 119.
Ashwell Prince
registered his century on day 2, and would go on to score 174. AB de Villiers passed the 3 figure mark on day 3, and was eventually dismissed for 149, and it required a brilliant catch by Andrew Flintoff
at slip to do so. England’s bowling attack looked innocuous, and lacking any firepower at all. Even Andrew Flintoff
struggled to make a significant impact, as South Africa were eventually dismissed for 522 – a massive lead of 319.
England’s second innings batting effort was an improvement on the first, but still left people with more questions than answers. Andrew Strauss
was out for 0, Michael Vaughan
looked brilliant for 21 runs but then edged Makhaya Ntini
through to Mark Boucher
. Alastair Cook
scored a decent score of 60, but not enough to get England out of trouble. Kevin Pietersen
came in for the most criticism, scoring 13 runs of 4 balls before edging through to the keeper off the bowling of Jacques Kallis.
In contrast, the non specialist batsmen showed the sort of application that was required in the situation. James Anderson, batting as nightwatchman, kept Alastair Cook
company for almost the entire morning session of day 4, compiling his highest score of 34. He faced some extremely hostile bowling during this, and was hit on the helmet by Dale Steyn
. Later on, Andrew Flintoff
and Tim Ambrose
formed a partnership that looked promising, but both fell in the 30s. Stuart Broad
, batting at no 8 and with just the tail to support him, made another highly impressive innings of 67 (not out) which included some magnificent cover drives and pull shots. Broad had arguably contributed more with the bat than the ball in the series so far, and even prompted Geoffrey Boycott
to compare some of his strokeplay with that of Sir Garfield Sobers.
However, the overall picture was that England succeeded in making South Africa bat again, but with a target of just 9 runs. South Africa therefore won the test by 10 wickets and took a 1-0 lead in the series.
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
toured England between 29 June and 4 September 2008. They played four Test matches
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
, one Twenty20 International
Twenty20 International
A Twenty20 International is a form of cricket which is played over 20 overs per side between two national cricket teams. The game is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket...
and five One Day Internationals against England. They also played six tour matches against Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
, Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
, Bangladesh A, a PCA Masters XI
Professional Cricketers' Association
The Professional Cricketers' Association is the representative body of past and present first-class cricketers in England and Wales, founded in 1967...
and two against the England Lions.
It has been announced that following the conclusion of this four-match series, future matches between England and South Africa will comprise five Test matches but only three one-day matches
One-day International
A One Day International is a form of limited overs cricket, in which a fixed number of overs, usually 50, but in the past 40, 45 or 60 overs, are played between two teams with international status. The Cricket World Cup is played in this format...
after the series was granted 'icon' status. The first game with the new format will be in the 2009–10 season in South Africa.
1st Test
The series between South Africa and England was a highly anticipated one. England had recently played for the best part of six months against the same opposition (New Zealand) winning the two test series 4–1 on aggregate. They were aware that South Africa would prove to be far superior opposition in the test arena. South Africa arrived in England off the back of a successful winter which had seen them win series in Pakistan and Bangladesh, and draw one in India. They had also beaten New Zealand and West Indies on their home soil comfortably.England named an unchanged XI for the sixth test in a row, a record. Graeme Smith won the toss and chose to field first hoping his much publicised pace attack would make early inroads into the struggling England batting lineup, which had not passed 400 in their first innings for over a year. However, the South African bowlers were wayward on the first day of the match, and apart from a post-lunch burst where they captured three quick wickets, were unable to exert much authority.
Kevin Pietersen scored a century, a notable moment as it was the first time he had faced his country of birth in a Test match. On day 2, he would go on to score 152, and Ian Bell, who the South Africans has specifically targeted as a player under pressure, scored 199 before being dismissed by the only spinner in the South African squad, Paul Harris.
In amongst this, the openers had scored well for England and Stuart Broad, batting at no 8, scored a free flowing 76 as the South African bowling attack wilted. England eventually declared late on day two on 593/8, straight after Bell was out for 199. The day's play came to an end very early in South Africa's reply due to poor light.
On day 3, England's bowlers carried on from where the batsmen left off. Graeme Smith was caught off a rising Anderson delivery early in the day to get things going, and all the bowlers contributed from there. Neil McKenzie produced a gritty 40 before being bowled round his legs by Monty Panesar. AB de Villiers scored freely before being very well caught by James Anderson off the bowling of Monty Panesar, and Ashwell Prince compiled a determined century to give the South African innings some resemblance of respectability.
However, South Africa were bowled out for just 247, and Michael Vaughan quickly enforced the follow on late on day 3. The openers had to survive a tricky session which saw England open their attack with Monty Panesar and Kevin Pietersen due to the poor light conditions. In fact, Smith was almost dismissed by Pietersen twice during this spell, something he would have been very relieved to avoid, not just due to the match situation, but also as a result of the rivalry between the two players.
Day 4 saw a much more determined approach from the South Africans, aided by a very flat wicket offering little to the bowlers. Smith and McKenzie batted slowly and cautiously, particularly during the morning where the scoring rate was around 1 run per over. Slowly, but surely, they built a partnership and started to chip away at England's lead, whilst frustrating the bowlers in the process. Both men would record a century, and the only wicket to fall in the day was Smith who top edged a pull shot from the new ball off James Anderson’s bowling shortly after reaching his 100.
South Africa’s resistance continued into the final day, where Hashim Amla also compiled a century to keep England at bay. McKenzie was eventually dismissed after 9.5 hours at the crease, and the only real highlight for England was the cheap dismissal of Jacques Kallis to an excellent yorker from Ryan Sidebottom. The match was declared a draw shortly after tea, with South Africa's second innings score on 393/3. South Africa did declare this innings to call a halt to proceedings, with Michael Vaughan agreeing his side would not go out to chase the 47 run difference.
Essentially it was a match of two halves. England dominance for three days, exploiting helpful conditions and a poor South African bowling effort. South Africa responded excellently on the final two days, to ensure they only lost three wickets during two days of play. It was felt at the time that South Africa would have gained the most out of the drawn fixture.
2nd Test
The second test of the series was played at Headingley. England omitted the struggling Paul CollingwoodPaul Collingwood
Paul David Collingwood MBE is an English cricketer. He has been a regular member of the England Test side, was captain of the One Day International team 2007–2008. He is also vice-captain of his county, Durham County Cricket Club. Collingwood is a batting all-rounder, whose batting...
from the side, and replaced him with Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
, returning to play his first test since the final Ashes test at the SCG at the start of 2007. Ryan Sidebottom
Ryan Sidebottom
Ryan Jay Sidebottom is an English cricketer who plays domestic cricket for Yorkshire. He is a primarily a left-arm fast-medium bowler. Sidebottom played his first Test match in 2001 against Pakistan, but failed to take a wicket and was dropped for six years...
, suffering from injury, was replaced with debutant Darren Pattinson
Darren Pattinson
Darren John Pattinson is an English cricketer who currently plays for Victoria and Nottinghamshire.Pattinson received considerable press coverage when he was surprisingly selected for the England cricket team in July 2008 for the 2nd Test against South Africa at Headingley...
. This decision provoked considerable reaction as many felt there were other bowlers who were better placed to come into the side – Chris Tremlett
Chris Tremlett
Christopher Timothy "Chris" Tremlett is an English cricketer who plays for Surrey County Cricket Club. He is 6 ft 8 in tall and is a fast bowler able to extract bounce on most surfaces. He is a competent number 8 or 9 batsman, with seven first-class fifties to his name...
, Matthew Hoggard
Matthew Hoggard
Matthew James Hoggard MBE is an English cricketer. The 6' 2" Hoggard is a right arm fast-medium bowler and right-handed batsman. He played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000-2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day International cricket. He is currently the captain of...
and Stephen Harmison all sprung to mind. Pattinson, born in Grimsby and raised in Australia, had only bowled a handful of overs at first class level, and whilst he had shown promise, his elevation to the test arena was arguably too much too soon for him. A year previously, he was playing grade cricket in Australia alongside his regular job as a roof tiler. He had even shown uncertainly when asked about how keen he was to actually play for England. The decision to field him during a critical Test match prompted a variety of reaction and viewpoints from commentators, players and press experts.
South Africa named an unchanged side, boosted by the confidence of the draw at Lords and content that their bowlers could deliver as anticipated second time around. Graeme Smith
Graeme Smith
Graeme Craig Smith is a South African cricketer and captain of the South African cricket team Test Match side, having succeeded Shaun Pollock after the 2003 Cricket World Cup...
enforced this belief by opting to field, and was rewarded as Morne Morkel
Morne Morkel
Morné Morkel is a cricketer who plays Test and limited overs cricket for South Africa. He is a right-arm fast bowler with "genuine pace" according to former South African fast bowler Allan Donald, and a useful lower order left-handed batsman. Some believe he has the ability to become a genuine...
and Dale Steyn
Dale Steyn
Dale Willem Steyn is a South African cricketer who plays in Test and One Day International cricket for South Africa. He is currently the number one ranked Test bowler in the world and achieved the 900+ points benchmark on 13th Nov 2011. Steyn plays domestic cricket in South Africa for Cape Cobras...
in particular got stuck into England’s batsmen. England were dismissed for 203 on day 1. Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen, MBE is a South African-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for England and Surrey...
top scored with 45, and Ian Bell scored 31, but this was the best of a bad bunch. Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
scored 17 and looked to have some confidence with the bat, having had very little success in his recent county appearances. But overall, it was a disappointing effort from England, but they did respond with 3 wickets before the close of play to leave South Africa on 101/3.
South Africa used day 2 to ensure England had no chance in the match. Although Hashim Amla
Hashim Amla
Hashim Mahomed Amla is a South African cricketer. A right-handed upper order batsman and occasional medium-pace bowler, Amla bats at number 3 for South Africa in Test matches and has opened in limited overs contests. He is currently ranked as the No...
was dismissed by Pattinson for his maiden test wicket during the morning session, Ashwell Prince
Ashwell Prince
Ashwell Gavin Prince is a cricketer who plays Test and One Day International cricket for South Africa. A left-handed middle order batsman, he has a high-batted stance and is strong through the offside. He is noted for his gritty style of batting and also for being an athletic fielder in the covers...
and AB de Villiers formed a strong partnership which would frustrate England for the rest of the day. Their batting was cautious, but not defensive, and they both gradually ground out large scores knowing that they were taking the match out of England’s reach. By the end of day 2, South Africa’s score was 322/4, a lead of 119.
Ashwell Prince
Ashwell Prince
Ashwell Gavin Prince is a cricketer who plays Test and One Day International cricket for South Africa. A left-handed middle order batsman, he has a high-batted stance and is strong through the offside. He is noted for his gritty style of batting and also for being an athletic fielder in the covers...
registered his century on day 2, and would go on to score 174. AB de Villiers passed the 3 figure mark on day 3, and was eventually dismissed for 149, and it required a brilliant catch by Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
at slip to do so. England’s bowling attack looked innocuous, and lacking any firepower at all. Even Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
struggled to make a significant impact, as South Africa were eventually dismissed for 522 – a massive lead of 319.
England’s second innings batting effort was an improvement on the first, but still left people with more questions than answers. Andrew Strauss
Andrew Strauss
Andrew John Strauss, OBE is an English cricketer who plays county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and is the captain of England's Test cricket team. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss favours scoring off the back foot, mostly playing cut and pull shots...
was out for 0, Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan
Michael Paul Vaughan OBE is a retired cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England. A classically elegant right-handed batsman and occasional off-spinner, Vaughan was ranked one of the best batsmen in the world following the 2002/3 Ashes, in which he scored 633 runs, including three centuries...
looked brilliant for 21 runs but then edged Makhaya Ntini
Makhaya Ntini
Makhaya Ntini is a former South African cricketer who was the first ethnically black player to play for the South African team. A fast bowler, he tends to bowl from wide of the crease with brisk, although not express, pace...
through to Mark Boucher
Mark Boucher
Mark Verdon Boucher is a South African cricketer, who holds the record for the most Test dismissals by a wicket-keeper. He was educated at Selborne College and has represented Border, Africa XI, ICC World XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders of the Indian Premier League, and...
. Alastair Cook
Alastair Cook
Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003...
scored a decent score of 60, but not enough to get England out of trouble. Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen, MBE is a South African-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for England and Surrey...
came in for the most criticism, scoring 13 runs of 4 balls before edging through to the keeper off the bowling of Jacques Kallis.
In contrast, the non specialist batsmen showed the sort of application that was required in the situation. James Anderson, batting as nightwatchman, kept Alastair Cook
Alastair Cook
Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003...
company for almost the entire morning session of day 4, compiling his highest score of 34. He faced some extremely hostile bowling during this, and was hit on the helmet by Dale Steyn
Dale Steyn
Dale Willem Steyn is a South African cricketer who plays in Test and One Day International cricket for South Africa. He is currently the number one ranked Test bowler in the world and achieved the 900+ points benchmark on 13th Nov 2011. Steyn plays domestic cricket in South Africa for Cape Cobras...
. Later on, Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
and Tim Ambrose
Tim Ambrose
Timothy Raymond Ambrose is an Australian born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper. He commenced his domestic career with Sussex in 2000, although he now plays for Warwickshire...
formed a partnership that looked promising, but both fell in the 30s. Stuart Broad
Stuart Broad
Stuart Christopher John Broad is a cricketer who plays Test and One Day International cricket for England and is currently the captain of their Twenty20 team...
, batting at no 8 and with just the tail to support him, made another highly impressive innings of 67 (not out) which included some magnificent cover drives and pull shots. Broad had arguably contributed more with the bat than the ball in the series so far, and even prompted Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott OBE is a former Yorkshire and England cricketer. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's most successful opening batsmen...
to compare some of his strokeplay with that of Sir Garfield Sobers.
However, the overall picture was that England succeeded in making South Africa bat again, but with a target of just 9 runs. South Africa therefore won the test by 10 wickets and took a 1-0 lead in the series.