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| August 2, 2003 | Saturday | Jumadi-us-Sani 3, 1424 |
Smith shreds record books with 2nd double century
LONDON, Aug 1: Graeme Smith continued to give England a one-man whipping as he completed his second double hundred in consecutive Tests at Lord’s on Friday.
The rain probably saved England in the first Test, but it will surely take floods and pestilence in the second to deter Smith’s South Africans as they ended a truncated second day on 412 for two, with a 239-run first-innings lead.
Smith, who made 277 and 85 in the first Test, closed on 214 not out, having batted for seven and three-quarter hours, when bad light cut 18 overs off the end of the day.
Fellow left-hander Gary Kirsten added a century during a second-wicket partnership of 257, but remained firmly on the undercard as the 22-year-old Smith hogged top billing with another raft of records.
Only three men — Don Bradman (three times), Walter Hammond and Vinod Kambli — have previously hit double hundreds in consecutive matches.
Only three men have scored more in a Test innings at Lord’s, and no South African has ever scored more career double centuries.
Smith, in only his 17th innings, now boasts three, equalling Kirsten’s mark. All three of Smith’s doubles have been scored well within a year.
The left-hander, with his broad bat and relentless determination, made a nonsense of England on Friday. At times, proceedings at Lord’s veered towards village cricket.
England served up cafeteria bowling and Smith bypassed all civilities by helping himself from the very start.
He clipped strike bowler James Anderson’s second ball off the leg stump for four to the vacant fine-leg boundary. Next over, Steve Harmison offered him a short, wide ball first up which Smith cut for another boundary.
Anderson and Harmison, England’s rising young pace bowlers, sunk without trace.
The 21-year-old Anderson, frustrated with his own lack of direction, soon fielded off his own bowling and shied wildly at the stumps, almost hitting Kirsten and prompting an angry reaction from Smith at the non-striker’s end.
Nasser Hussain, who quit as England captain after the Edgbaston slaughter, waded into the exchange with a few choice words of his own.
Hussain, though, was probably just feeling guilty after dropping Smith off Anderson for eight on the opening day.
Smith did not offer a genuine chance all day.
It was Kirsten, on 54, who edged Andrew Flintoff to second slip where Mark Butcher juggled and dropped the catch. Moments later, it was Kirsten again who repeated the shot, the ball this time falling just short of Butcher.
Smith has a strong bottom hand which can drag his bat across the line from off to leg. It does not much matter, however, if you never miss the ball.
Smith kept flicking away in a leg-side arc between midwicket and fine leg. Occasionally, when required, there was a powerful drive or a cut.
On 98, there was a suggestion of a chance when he pulled Anderson to short midwicket where Marcus Trescothick failed to scoop up the ball.
Perhaps it bounced just short but what Trescothick, playing with a fractured finger, was doing there defied belief.
England’s failings apart, Smith’s performance was one of real character.
When he walked off, shortly after Kirsten had played on for 108 to Anthony McGrath’s occasional medium pace, he received a standing ovation from the Lord’s members. To date, he has batted for 18 hours and 45 minutes in the series.
Meanwhile, England coach Duncan Fletcher demanded a rapid improvement on Saturday from a team who demolished the tourists in the one-day series final on the same ground last month.
“It’s been very difficult for us and I am really surprised by the way they have turned it around,” said Fletcher after watching Smith and Kirsten punished his bowlers. “But we still believe we can save the match.”
Scoreboard
ENGLAND (1st Innings) 173 (M. Ntini 5-75).
SOUTH AFRICA (1st Innings, overnight 151-1):
G.C. Smith not out 214
H.H. Gibbs b Harmison 49
G. Kirsten b McGrath 108
H.H. Dippenaar not out 11
EXTRAS (B-8, LB-8, W-5, NB-9) 30
TOTAL (for two wkts, 110 overs) 412
FALL OF WKTS: 1-133, 2-390.
TO BAT: J.A. Rudolph, M.V. Boucher, S.M. Pollock, A.J. Hall, P.R. Adams, D. Pretorius, M. Ntini.
BOWLING (to-date): Gough 21-3-87-0 (7nb, 1w); Anderson 17-3-73-0; Harmison 16-3-64-1 (1w); Flintoff 25-5-71-0 (2nb); Giles 20-1-64-0; Butcher 6-1-19-0 (3w); McGrath 5-0-18-1.—Reuters/AFP
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