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Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Goa have made winning starts to their campaign for the South Zone limited overs championship.Defending champions Karnataka, who squared up against Kerala in a match at the MA Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, inflicted a 157-run thrashing on the visitors. Karnataka skipper J Arun Kumar and his opening partner Barrington Rowland got their team off to a flyer after Kerala captain Sunil Oasis won the toss and opted to bowl.Arun Kumar was the first to fall after having made 58 of the 99 runs that were up on the board at the time of his dismissal. Though next man Vijay Bhardwaj (8) failed, Rowland found an able ally in stumper Thilak Naidu. Naidu, who is in a rich vein of form, and Rowland put on 141 runs for the third wicket in just 21 overs to put their team in a commanding position as the end overs approached.Naidu made 77 off 70 balls with nine fours and one six by the time he became spinner Sreekumar Nair’s second victim. Rowland, for his part, pushed on to notch his maiden one-day hundred, reaching 109 off 131 balls before being run out. With B Akhil (22) and Sunil Joshi (26) also coming to the party, Karnataka reached a daunting 345-5 in 50 overs. Kerala were never in the hunt from there on; Ajay Kudva’s 64 and Sreekumar Nair’s 60 only serving to reduce their margin of defeat. For Karnataka, veteran medium-pacer Venkatesh Prasad claimed 3-17 while Joshi ended up with 2-29.In another match at the Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wodayar Sports Centre, Bangalore, Tamil Nadu registered an easy six-wicket win over Hyderabad.The Hyderabadi batsmen struggled after Tamil Nadu captain S Suresh put them in on winning the toss. By the 14th over, they were 49-3, teenage sensation Ambati Rayadu among the men dismissed. Opener Arjun Yadav (47) and D Vinay Kumar (54) then mounted a slow recovery but with the batsmen, who followed them failing to make substantial scores, Hyderabad were restricted to 205 all out in 49 overs. For Tamil Nadu, new-ball bowler G Vignesh claimed three wickets.When opener Sadagoppan Ramesh was dismissed for one in the first over, it seemed like the match might turn out to be more closely fought than expected. But the prolific S Sriram put paid to such thoughts, dominating the opposing bowling on his way to a masterful century. With another left-hander Hemang Badani making an unbeaten 35, Tamil Nadu, then, cantered to an easy win.In the third and final South Zone Ranji ODI at the Wheel and Axle Plant Ground, Bangalore, the Goan batsmen guided their team to an emphatic 119-run win over Andhra.After opting to bat, Goa were well-served by opener SM Asnodkar (73), A Amonkar (50) and MD Phadke (79). The contributions of the trio helped their team pile on a healthy 284/6 in their 50 overs. Spinner Shadab Jakati (3-25) and Saiyed Khalid (3-23), then, bowled brilliantly to skittle Andhra out for 165 in 41.4 overs. Goa, like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, were rewarded with five points for their massive win.Maharashtra upset MumbaiTwo of the top teams in the country Mumbai and Baroda suffered narrow defeats at the hands of Maharashtra and Saurashtra in the two West Zone league matches played on Friday.Opener Niranjan Godbole, who made 93 after Maharashtra were asked to bat by Mumbai skipper Paras Mhambrey, and all-rounder Ranjit Khiris were the heroes of their team’s six-run win at the Deccan Gymkhana Ground, Pune. Godbole scored his runs off 116 deliveries while Khirid and Abhijit Kale chipped in with 48 and 38 respectively as Maharashtra reached 236-6 in their 50 overs.When Mumbai replied, Khirid snared both the openers by the ninth over to ensure that Maharashtra were in with a fighting chance. Nishit Shetty, who made 62 off 49 balls, though, ensured that Mumbai had their noses in front as long as he was around. But Shetty’s run out in the 25th over and some tight bowling from S Trigune (6-2-23-1) helped Maharasthra seal a memorable win by the slenderest of margins.Baroda, meanwhile, lost a low-scoring thriller at the Nehru Stadium, Pune despite a lion-hearted performance from medium-pacer Rakesh Patel. Patel claimed 6-33 in 10 probing overs, but the failure of the rest of the Baroda bowlers meant that Saurashtra sneaked past Baroda’s total of 208.Middle-order bat Tushar Arothe’s 56 and PN Gurubaxani’s 43 had provided the backbone of that innings. For Saurashtra, new-ball bowler Jolly Jobanputra snared three wickets for 36.When Saurashtra replied, they were in strife at 35-4 in the ninth over. But Feroz Bambhaniya (58 off 96) and Rakesh Dhurv (58 off 58) helped them weather Patel’s scorching spell and gain a two-wicket win. Saurashtra gained four points from the match, the same as Maharashtra had from their encounter against Mumbai.Punjab thrash ServicesWith skipper Dinesh Mongia leading from the front, Punjab went on to overpower Services in a North Zone one-dayer at Nehru Stadium, Gurgaon on Friday.Batting first, Services struggled to reach 133 in 38.1 overs. Middle-order bat Yashpal Singh (57) was the only batsman to put up a fight against a spirited Punjab bowling attack, led by Sandeep Sanwal (4-14 in 6.2 overs).Chasing a modest target, Punjab were soon on their way; Mongia (81 off 77 balls) ensuring that victory was sealed with plenty to spare. Punjab earned five points for the win.At the Maharaja Agarsingh Stadium, Rohtak, a buoyant Haryana dismissed Delhi’s challenge, sealing a comfortable seven-wicket win. With Haryana’s bowlers in rousing form, Delhi found the going tough after choosing to bat. Their prolific opening duo of Akash Chopra (21) and Gautam Gambhir (20) were cooling their heels in the hut in just the 13th over. It was all downhill for their team from then on with Sunil Vaid (50* off 69) forced to play a lone hand. Vaid’s efforts ensured that Delhi at least reached 171 all out in 48.2 overs. Leg-spinner Amit Mishra, who claimed 3-33, was the pick of the bowlers for Haryana.With opener Chetan Sharma (64) and No 3 Parender Sharama (38) putting on 98 for the third wicket, Haryana then coasted to a seven-wicket win. The hosts were rewarded with five points (one bonus) for their efforts.In the only other match in the North Zone league, Jammu and Kashmir beat Himachal Pradesh by 12 runs at the Nahar Singh Stadium, Faridabad. Captain Vijay Sharma, who made 32 and claimed three Himchal Pradesh wickets, was the man who gained his team four points from the encounter.Sharma’s effort along with a 36 from M Shafi helped Jammu and Kashmir post 159 all out after being put in. Medium-pacer Amit Thakur was the wrecker-in-chief for Himachal Pradesh.His splendid effort, though, was undermined by the Himachal batsmen, who went down like ninepins. But Aashish Kapoor (57) and Ajay Mannu (32*) put on 79 for the seventh wicket to ensure that their side got to within twelve runs of victory.

Somerset were frustrated by the rain at Canterbury where play was limited to just twenty two overs on the third day of the championship match against Kent.When play eventually got underway at 2.40pm, Ed Smith and Mark Ealham added just six runs to the overnight score of 176 for 5 before Matt Bulbeck accounted for Smith, who was caught by Peter Bowler for 55.The sixth wicket partnership between Smith and Ealham had yielded 67 runs, which may well prove to be of vital importance if there is to be a full day’s play on Saturday.Min Patel came into join Ealham, and by the time players left the field again Kent had moved onto 221 for 6.After play was abandoned for the day Kevin Shine told me: "The weather has wrecked the game a little bit for us. With us still needing to take four more wickets we may well have a tricky run chase at the end."He continued: "We have now got to see what happens in the first hour of the day tomorrow, when our first job will be to bowl them out. When we know what our target is we will adjust our game plan accordingly."Did he think that Kent would declare.He told me: "Kent are an attacking outfit, and will want to get a result, but they will make the game safe for themselves before they would entertain a declaration, but we could have quite a tricky chase on our hands tomorrow."

Nixon McLean who will be joining Somerset for 2003 as their second overseas player is currently playing cricket out in South Africa and by all accounts enjoying a good season for Natal.Already the prospect of a bowling attack spearheaded by Andrew Caddick, Nixon McLean and Richard Johnson along with Matt Bulbeck and Steffan Jones is giving Cidermen supporters something to look forward to.There will be fewer stronger attacks on the county circuit in 2003 and all fans will be hoping that this turns out to be a wicket taking combination that will win matches and enable Somerset to make a swift return to the top flight in both the county championship and the National League.To enable supporters to find out a little bit more about Nixon McLean and his thoughts on joining the county, the website will be making contact with the West Indian paceman over the weekend to put some questions to him.However before we do make contact, we would like to give Somerset supporters their chance to put a question to the new signing, so if any website readers have a question for Nixon McLean then please e-mail it to us now, and we will do our best to get an answer for you.Any questions for Nixon McLean should be sent to [email protected] as soon as possible.You can rest assured that the interview with the new signing will appear here on the official Somerset website as soon as we have the answers.

Carl Hooper has urged his West Indies players to dig deep to find the reserves needed for the upcoming back-to-back Tests against New Zealand that complete the longest international home season in history.We’ve been on the go since January so it’s been tough for us but we can see a little light at the end of the tunnel, the captain observed after the West Indies clinched the One-Day series 3-1 with their tense, last-ball victory in the fifth and final match in St Vincent on Sunday.We’ve got another two weeks of hard cricket with two Test matches so we’ve got to really dig deep to play good cricket and compete with the New Zealand side, he added.Only twice in the past have Tests gone into June in 1955 when the last Test against Australia finished on June 17, and in 1997 when Sri Lanka ended their two-match series June 24. The final Test against New Zealand in Grenada is scheduled June 28-July 3.Sunday’s remarkable triumph, when the West Indies scored more than they have ever done to win a One-Day International, 292 for six, should act as a psychological antidote to the physical pressure of non-stop cricket over the past four-and-a-half months.Since January 31, the West Indies have played seven Tests (two against Pakistan in Sharjah and five against India at home) and ten One-Day Internationals (three in Sharjah and three against India and five against New Zealand at home).Hooper, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle have played in all, fast bowlers Merv Dillon and Cameron Cuffy have missed only one One-Day International each. In addition, Hooper and Chanderpaul turned out in five Busta Cup matches for Guyana.Both teams arrived in Barbados yesterday to prepare for the first Test, starting at Kensington Oval on Friday and the West Indies were showing the strain of their exhausting schedule.Both Chanderpaul, the season’s leading batsman, and Merv Dillon, their bowling spearhead, are nursing injuries that require fitness tests before they are given the all-clear for Friday.Chanderpaul, Sunday’s hero with three successive boundaries and a single off the last four balls that clinched the win, has a painful left funny bone where he was struck by a ball from fast bowler Shane Bond that forced him to retire early in the innings.A preliminary X-ray in St Vincent showed no bone damage, only bruising, but the negatives were sent to Barbados for a second opinion.Dillon has rested a lower back strain for the past week on doctor’s orders, missing Sunday’s match.In addition, Brian Lara’s left elbow, dislocated and fractured in an on-field collision during a One-Day International in Sri Lanka last December, is still not fully recovered while Cuffy and others have looked increasingly weary.Dillon’s workload since the Sharjah series has been 440.4 overs in Tests and One-Day Internationals. Cuffy, at 32 the oldest bowler in the team, has had 367.In contrast, the New Zealanders, on their fourth tour of the Caribbean, are relatively fresh. If anything, they are short of match preparation.A terrorist bomb blast outside their hotel in Karachi caused the second of two Tests against Pakistan to be abandoned May 8. Their only matches have been the five One-Day Internationals here and a warm-up against the University of the West Indies Vice-Chancellor’s XI.Practice sessions have been hampered by wet weather everywhere they have gone so far and there was more of the same when they got into Barbados yesterday evening.They have made several changes to their team for the Tests.Opening batsmen Mark Richardson and Matt Horne, fast bowler Chris Martin and wicket-keeper Robbie Hart are coming in to replace medium-pacers Paul Hitchcock and Jacob Oram, wicket-keeper Chris Nevin and left-arm spinner Matthew Hart.

A vintage display of batting by Matthew Maynard saw Glamorgan to a thrilling two wicket victory over Gloucestershire at Cheltenham and a place in the cricket record books.Maynard, who compiled a cultured 140 in the first innings, hit an unbeaten 118 with 10 fours and 3 sixes from 104 balls as Glamorgan successfully chased a target of 317 in 75 overs, with the 36 year old guiding his side home with a memorable display of strokeplay.When Glamorgan last visited the College ground in 1991, Maynard hit 129 and 126 in the draw against Gloucestershire, so his 118* today was his fourth century in successive innings at the Cheltenham ground. No other batsman in the history of the game has ever achieved the feat of a century in each innings of a match twice at the historic Cheltenham Festival. This was also his 9th hundred against Gloucestershire, and no current batsman has scored more centuries against the West Country side.Despite the flurry of wickets around him, Maynard remained calm and in supreme control, despatching the Gloucestershire spinners for a flurry of crisply struck boundaries. He also reached his record-breaking century in the grand manner, with a huge six over deep mid-wicket and into one of the gaily decorated tents that lined the boundary at the College ground – evoking memories of his debut hundred against Yorkshire back in 1985 at Swansea when he reached his century with three successive sixes off the bowling of the late Phil Carrick.It was also the 50th first-class century of Maynard`s career, and when he reached 88 he also passed 20,000 first-class runs for the Welsh county. Only Alan Jones (34, 056 runs) , Emrys Davies (26, 102) and Gilbert Parkhouse (22, 619) had previously reached this landmark for Glamorgan.Thanks to Maynard`s wonderful batting, Glamorgan recorded their first win at Cheltenham since 1970. Their victory came with 16 balls remaining as Simon Jones, who had earlier taken four wickets in Gloucestershire`s second innings, smashed successive deliveries from Ian Fisher for 4 and 6 high over long-on to secure a well-deserved victory.

An unbeaten century by opener Riffatullah was the cornerstone of Wapda’s 28-run win over Rest of Punjab in a Pool ‘C’ match of the National One-day Cricket Championship at Gaddafi Stadium Tuesday.Skipper Riffatullah scored 141 off 156 balls with 13 boundaries to help Wapda pile up a formidable 283 for seven in 50 overs after they were sent in by the Punjab captain Sufian Munir. In reply, Punjab were restricted to 255 for eight.The highlight of the match was the 145-run partnership for the second wicket between Riffatullah and Tariq Aziz in just 89 minutes. Tariq Aziz struck 59 off 72 deliveries with three fours. Leg-spinner Khurram Shahzad captured four for 53.For Punjab Wasim Majeed, batting at No 7, top-scored with 44 with five fours while opener Kashif Naveed contributed 43 with the aid of two fours.

Occasional downpour may hamper the practice sessions of Bangladesh squad that are heading off for Sri Lanka in coming July. The squad, setting off for a 30-day campaign at BKSP from next month, may possibly resort to Indoor practice because the weather in this season in Bangladesh is absolutely precarious – may be we will see some dry sunny days followed by an incessant rainy ones.No doubt that much cricket will be hampered due to soaked ground conditions, therefore, the players will get hardly any chance to go for practice matches which is the most vital part of the campaign. So, bad luck will be waiting for Bangladesh if they face rain washed practice matches in nearly all days in June.Last year the side met similar situation before the Pakistan and the Sri Lanka tour. The rain showed barely any sign to let up and they had staggered practice sessions all throughout the month. They had to move to Indoor for a whole week just before they set out for Colombo and Indoor sessions, we know, can never be a substitute to practice matches. When I went there to take some snaps I found the frustration prevalent among the players. There were grumbles, displeasures, and whimpers all around.They went to Multan first, bowed to one of the worst defeats so far, and went to Colombo then where lonesome Murlitharan crushed them within the third day.Mohsin Kamal will get hardly any time to do some experiments with his new students. It is clear that he would go for no extraordinary change in the squad, even if he liked to. To the former fast bowler it is a big challenge to guide a side, which is currently lacking confidence after accepting four big defeats (All ended within day-3) at the hands of New Zealand and Pakistan.To such injury rain could be an added jinx!

Hampshire’s batting, lacking the substance which was so prevalent in the Middlesex middle order earlier in the day, gradually crumbled as they chased 226 for victory.Not only did they fail to achieve their target but with this 25-run defeat they have failed to qualify for the quarter-final stage of the Benson & Hedges Cup.Their run rate was kept behind by Middlesex’s accurate attack to the extent that Robin Smith scored only six from 36 balls before he was dismissed three balls later having added five more to his score. It was a brilliant direct hit at the bowler’s end from Chad Keegan that caught Smith short of his ground in going for a quick single.Hampshire’s batsmen struggled to form partnerships with the exception of the sixth-wicket stand of 47 between John Stephenson, their top scorer with 31, and Dimitri Mascarenhas who hit 25 off 32 balls. It took them to 152 for six but by then they were already faced with an uphill taskSouth African born seamer Chad Keegan, who had claimed two wickets earlier, added another to his name when he had Mascarenhas caught on the mid-wicket boundary. These were his first crop of wickets for the county that he joined only this seasonApart from the disciplined bowling, Hampshire had to cope with some excellent fielding which brought about two run-outs and an athletic, leaping catch by Ben Hutton. Hampshire seemed to struggle all along to their final total of 200 for eight.Earlier, Owais Shah, having missed a half-century by just two runs in the mid-week match against Kent, was back in the runs with a brilliant unbeaten century which brought him the Gold Award for the player of the matchMiddlesex, after deciding to bat first, had begun poorly, losing three wickets for 54 after the first hour’s play. It was left to Shah to first revive the innings and then guide it, which he did so deftly, taking it to a position of some strength.He looked in dominating form; the Hampshire bowlers made little impression on him as he gradually went on the offensive, picking up three sixes on the way, all hit to the mid-wicket area. The last of those big hits landed in the top tier of the grandstand and took him to 99. A single off the next ball, the 99th he had faced, brought him a much deserved century, his third in limited-overs cricket for MiddlesexHe had featured in a 121-run stand with Paul Weekes whose valuable innings ended on 46 when he bacame Maccarenhas’s second victim in the 44th over. By then Middlesex were going well and Shah was in masterly form, finishing on 118 from 109 balls, having hit nine boundaries in addition to those three bigger hits.

Central Districts, with patience and careful application, bowled themselves to a 116-run win over Wellington in a State Championship match which ended near the middle of its final day at sunny McLean Park in Napier today.Wellington, chasing a burdensome 320 for victory after giving up first innings points, began the day 71/4 and were finally all out for 203 in the 88th over.Wellington’s retreat from victory was a fighting one. Four players today made 20 or more and participated in a series of middle-order partnerships which delayed Central’s win but were insufficient to save the match.Wellington has been plagued through the second half of the season by poor batting performances but has repeatedly managed to fight its way out of tight corners – to five outright wins in succession.Central, with steely determination, put a stop to that today. They gained a dominating position in the match from the first day on which they had batted and Wellington’s request, and they gave Wellington no avenue to fight their way back into the game.Central scored 218 batting first – a moderate total but one which loomed larger when Wellington was out for only 180 runs in its first innings, giving up a 38-run lead.Central capitalised when they scored 281 in their second innings, constructing an overall lead of 319, and Wellington were backed into a tight corner – one from which they could not emerge fighting – when they were 71/4 overnight.The decay of their second innings today was slow but inexorable. Leighton Morgan was out nine runs after the resumption and the remaining wickets followed at steady, though widespread intervals.Grant Donaldson and Morgan shared a partnership of 35 for the fifth wicket and Morgan, who batted soundly in both innings on debut, was 22 when he was caught by Mathew Sinclair off Andrew Schwass’s bowling. Schwass was Central’s leading wicket-taker with 3-38.Donaldson put on 52 for the sixth wicket with James Franklin in the largest and most resilient partnership of the day but he was finally out in the 55th over, after an alliance spanning 22 overs, caught by Glen Sulzberger off Jacob Oram for 40. Donaldson gave Oram his only wicket of the innings but he bowled 14 overs of needling medium pace and conceded only 13 runs.Franklin made 33 and was out, after putting on 41 with Mark Jefferson, when Wellington was 176. Jefferson followed for 23, three runs later and Wellington were 179/8. The innings finally expired 24 runs and seven overs later when Iain O’Brien was dismissed by Michael Mason.In addition to Schwass and Oram, Mason took 2-29 and Lance Hamilton 2-57.Wellington now face Auckland in their last Championship match at Eden Park from Monday while Central, now only a point behind Wellington, return to McLean Park to meet Otago.

South Africa 287 for 5 (Amla 150, Smith 52) beat England 207 (Bell 45, Patel 45) by 80 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHashim Amla proved a major headache for the England bowlers in coloured clothes as well as whites•Getty Images

South Africa became the first side to be ranked No. 1 in all three formats and did it in fitting style, with a crushing 80-run victory in the second one-day international to end England’s run of 10 consecutive wins. South Africa’s success was, not for the first time on this tour, set around a fantastic innings from Hashim Amla as he made a career-best 150 from 124 balls on a pitch that was far from easy for strokeplay.Amla’s innings, South Africa’s sixth-highest in one-day internationals, marshalled South Africa to an imposing 287 for 5 and England never really threatening to get close once Ian Bell’s sprightly knock was ended by Robin Peterson. The spinners played a key role on a helpful surface – England’s had earlier found some turn, too – and when Eoin Morgan pulled JP Duminy to deep midwicket the game was up.This match, though, was about a man who is having a defining tour. It was another day when Amla’s run-scoring feats came into clear focus as he became the fastest man to 3000 ODI runs, beating the previous record held by Viv Richards. His innings included 16 boundaries, ranging from the expansive flick over midwicket to the cover drive to the wonderfully cheeky deflection past the keeper off Tim Bresnan late in the innings.Amla and Graeme Smith added 89 for the first wicket – after being forced to battle against some lively new-ball bowling – which laid the platform for South Africa. Amla then took over with one of the finest pieces of one-day batting you could wish to see. Amla’s hundred, his tenth in one-day internationals, came off 96 balls and it was an innings full of deft placement. He toyed with the England bowlers right to the final moment when he threaded Steven Finn through backward point to reach 150; his third fifty needed just 27 deliveries.England, though, did not help their cause as far as Amla was concerned. He could have been run out twice – on 1 when Samit Patel, preferred at the last minute to Chris Woakes, was slow to the ball from mid-off, and then on 62 when James Anderson produced a poor throw from short fine leg – and was also dropped twice. The first catching chance came on 42 when Craig Kieswetter put down a thin edge off Patel and the wicketkeeper dropped another, one-handed down the leg side, when Amla had 92.It was a poor day for Kieswetter and a bad time for fallibility to rear its head, with Jonny Bairstow and Matt Prior breathing down his neck. In a tough analysis of his performance he also missed a chance offered by AB de Villiers, on 1, diving full stretch to his right. It was the hardest of his chances, but the type Kieswetter had started to pluck out of thin air.The early stages looked much like the Test series. Smith and Amla resisted whatever pressure the England bowlers were able to exert although both had moments of fortune, especially during the first spells from Finn and James Anderson. South Africa waited until the sixth over for their first boundary when Smith, in typical style, took a ball from well outside off straight past mid-off when most batsman would have driven through extra cover.

Smart stats

• Hashim Amla’s 150 is the sixth score of 150 or more by a South African batsman, but the first by a South African in England.

• Amla became the third South African to score an ODI century in England, after Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis. This was only the second ODI hundred by a South African against England in England.

• Amla has 28 fifty-plus scores in 57 ODI innings; in 2012, his ODI scores are 112, 55, 8, 92, 76, 150.

• In wins, Amla averages 72.47; in defeats, it drops to 26.18. Only three of his 28 fifty-plus scores have come in defeats, the highest of them being 65.

• South Africa’s win here is only their sixth in 18 ODIs against England in England. They’ve lost ten, with two matches being washed out.

The acceleration started towards the end of the mandatory Powerplay when overs seven to nine went for a combined 32 runs, including eight boundaries. Fourteen of those runs came off Bresnan’s opening over and he remained the most expensive bowler. Swann was introduced in the 12th over but it was Patel who caused the greater problems, particularly to Smith who was intent on trying to sweep the left-arm spinner.Smith reached his fifty from 70 balls before his eagerness to press on during the bowling Powerplay brought his downfall when he top-edged Bresnan. South Africa’s momentum stalled for a period as Duminy sacrificed himself in a mix-up with Amla (the end result of the innings showed that was the correct decision) and Dean Elgar, in his first ODI innings after the Cardiff washout, struggled to tick the scoreboard over, especially against the spinners. He had laboured to 15 off 28 balls when Swann turned one past his outside edge to take middle. It was a rare moment for Swann to enjoy in a difficult season.It took South Africa just two balls to make a breakthrough when Lonwabo Tsotsobe, the left-arm quick, speared a full delivery under Alastair Cook’s bat to take the off stump. Generally, however, the quick bowlers pitched a touch too short, which allowed Bell to score freely although his intent in using his feet also played a part in disrupting the bowlers’ length. No one, though, had the staying power of Amla.Just as the second-wicket stand was building Jonathan Trott top-edged a pull towards long leg where Elgar, having almost misjudged the chance and come in too far, took a stunning catch over his shoulder and managed to hold on when he hit the ground. It was the sort of fielding brilliance that England have lacked in recent months.Peterson’s wickets came in contrasting style. His first was the perfect left-arm spinner’s dismissal as Bell, lunging forward, was beaten by one that turned and struck his off stump. The second was the type a spinner will happily take an embellish for future reference when Ravi Bopara, trying to regain form after his time out of cricket, carved a long hop to cover.Briefly, Bopara had started to look as though form was returning with a sweetly struck square drive and a crisp pull – reaching double figures for the first time since his personal problems curtailed his Test series against South Africa – but the manner of his dismissal will bring the pressure back on him. Kieswetter’s day did not get much better when he became Elgar’s first international scalp as an outside edge rebounded off de Villiers and looped to slip; Kieswetter had done himself no favours by trying to play to leg against the turn. This batting, on a slow but hardly threatening pitch, did not bode well for the subcontinent.To highlight the excellence of what Amla had produced Morgan, one of the finest timers and placers of a ball in world cricket, struggled to adjust to conditions and was barely striking above 50 when he picked out the man at deep midwicket. As Bresnan and Swann offered limp edges to de Villiers against Wayne Parnell it did not go unnoticed that England, as a team, were struggling to match what one player, Kevin Pietersen, had scored on his own at Taunton.