LONDON, July 12: South Africa fought back in the afternoon session after losing early first innings wickets on the second day of the first Test at Lord’s on Saturday.

Resuming at seven for no wicket after England had declared their first innings closed at 593 for eight, Ashwell Prince and A.B. de Villiers took their team from 83 for four to 156 without further loss at tea.

Left-hander Prince, the most assured of the batsman, completed his eighth Test half-century from 82 deliveries with eight fours. At the interval he was on 52 while de Villiers had scored 38.

England captured the coveted wickets of captain Graeme Smith (8), Hashim Amla (6) and Jacques Kallis (7) in the opening session.

Smith was caught from the 12th delivery of the morning when a James Anderson delivery took the outside edge and flew head high to Ian Bell in the gully.

Stuart Broad replaced Ryan Sidebottom at the Nursery End and claimed Amla’s wicket, caught behind by Tim Ambrose.

Kallis squeezed a full-pitched delivery from Broad to the third man boundary for four but added only three more before Sidebottom, who had switched ends, took the outside edge.

Andrew Strauss held a fine catch low to his right at first slip.

South Africa, still in trouble at 78 for three at lunch, lost Neil McKenzie (40) from the seventh ball after the interval when a Monty Panesar delivery spun sharply to hit his leg stump.

But Prince had looked comfortable from the start, off-driving Anderson for a confident four before lunch.

After the break he continued to play correctly against the England pace bowlers, who found minimal swing or seam movement, rocking back to crack Broad to the cover boundary and driving Panesar for another four to bring up the 50 partnership.

De Villiers used his feet to off-drive Panesar to the boundary and cover-drove Sidebottom for four.

Ian Bell came of age as an England batsman on Friday with a monumental 199. He found an ideal lieutenant in the increasingly impressive Broad, who stroked 76 at No 8, as England reached a seemingly impregnable 593 for eight when Michael Vaughan declared.

Although Bell’s abundant talent has never been questioned his reaction to pressure has after a series of soft dismissals when seemingly well set.

His response at Lord’s was to help Kevin Pietersen (152) revive England from a shaky 117 for three on Thursday with a fourth-wicket partnership of 286, a record against South Africa.

After Paul Collingwood (7) and Tim Ambrose (4) had fallen cheaply either side of lunch, Bell and Broad added 152 for the seventh wicket, another England record against the South Africans.

They were assisted by some more inaccurate bowling from the South African pace attack, sloppy ground fielding and stolidly unimaginative captaincy from the world’s most experienced leader Graeme Smith who rotated his bowlers mechanically and rarely altered the field.

South Africa also did themselves no favours when Dale Steyn peppered tail-ender Sidebottom with some short-pitched deliveries after a rain break in the final session.

Smith persisted with Harris’s guileless spin, allowing Broad to play himself in, while Bell unveiled a series of exquisite strokes.

He glided Morkel to the boundary and backward point and played two immaculate backfoot strokes for four off Harris and Kallis. An on-drive of textbook perfection against Kallis brought up his 150 and the 50 partnership.

Smith took himself out of the solitary slip position in a totally defensive field setting to Makhaya Ntini’s bowing. Bell responded by cutting a boundary and feathering the next ball past Boucher to the boundary.

Left-hander Broad again looked a batsman of true Test pedigree, dealing competently with short-pitched deliveries at his body and driving fluently.

He reached his second Test fifty from 85 deliveries and a maiden century was a distinct possibility when he was bowled hitting across the line against Harris. His innings took only 124 balls and included 10 fours.

Bell was eventually out hitting a simple catch back to Harris, who rolled on the ground in gratitude. He had batted for 496 minutes and hit 20 fours and a six from 336 balls before becoming the first Englishman to perish one short of a double-century.

Scoreboard

ENGLAND (1st Innings):

A.J. Strauss lbw b Morkel 44

A.N. Cook c de Villiers b Morkel 60

M.P. Vaughan b Steyn 2

K.P. Pietersen c Boucher b Morkel 152

I.R. Bell c and b Harris 199

P.D. Collingwood c Amla b Harris 7

T.R. Ambrose c Smith b Morkel 4

S.C.J. Broad b Harris 76

R.J. Sidebottom not out 1

EXTRAS (B-14, LB-12, W-7, NB-15) 48

TOTAL (for eight decl, 156.2 overs) 593

FALL OF WKTS: 1-114, 2-117, 3-117, 4-403, 5-413, 6-422, 7-574, 8-593.

DID NOT BAT: M.S. Panesar, J.M. Anderson.

BOWLING: Steyn 35-8-117-1 (2nb, 2w); Ntini 29-2-130-0; Morkel 34-3-121-4 (5nb); Kallis 20-3-70-0 (1w); Harris 38.2-8-129-3 (4nb).

SOUTH AFRICA (1st Innings, overnight 7-0):

G.C. Smith c Bell b Anderson 8

N.D. McKenzie b Panesar 40

H.M. Amla c Ambrose b Broad 6

J.H. Kallis c Strauss b Sidebottom 7

A.G. Prince not out 52

A.B. de Villiers not out 38

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-2, W-2) 5

TOTAL (for four wkts, 59 overs) 156

FALL OF WKTS: 1-13, 2-28, 3-47, 4-83.

TO BAT: M.V. Boucher, M. Morkel, P.L. Harris, D.W. Steyn, M. Ntini.

BOWLING (to-date): Sidebottom 15-2-31-1; Anderson, 15-5-30-1 (1w), Broad 12-2-45-1 (1w); Panesar 13-2-44-1; Collingwood 4-1-3-0.—Reuters