Proteas Still Competitive

Smith, moments after
being hit in the head
by spidercam

Some context returned to the Test series Australia is hosting against South Africa in hope that they might take back the No 1 mace they held as their own for so long.

For the last three days in Brisbane, Australia batted really well and then had a lash at the South Africans when they were on a hiding to nothing and then yesterday, it rained runs like compliments at a hippy love-in. Everyone was beautiful, everyone was wonderful and only Mr Ponting had been a bad boy. For the last four days of the series, Australia was in charge.

The second day bucked that trend.

Wade misses Smith

Threatened with a diminished Jacques Kallis when and if he butts - I'm channelling Billy Bowden - and almost everything going against them, Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen started with 138 and might still have been batting if Petersen had remembered that once you leave one end, getting to the safety of the other end is best done in both a straight line and haste. Mike Hussey's direct hit found him dreamily short. The other victim - an appropriate word in this case - was the normally circumspect and resolute Hashim Amla, who wandered from his crease in a casual attempt to get to the pitch of a Dave Warner leg break and was clumsily stumped by Matt Wade. Warner, bowling on spilt screens with another blond leg spinner who liked to thump the ball when batting, should have had two but Wade's earlier bought of butter-fingitis allowed Smith to survive. Smith has never been stumped in 181 Test innings and Wade wasn't going to change that.

In the first session, the Australian's surrendered 4-22 in the thirteen overs till drinks but after CrocodileAid, all Pattinson broke loose. The big quick, standing on the wrong side of the bat for a right hand bowler, smashed 42, including more punishment for Imran Tahir. Two of his offerings were sent to the scaffolding and concrete. So many shots went their yesterday, the contractors posted a bloke to play fetch for the cricketers. Tahir finished with bowling figures he will always remember, no matter how hard he tries to forget ... 23 overs, 0-180. Warne often talks about his "disastrous" start in Tests when he took 1-150 in Sydney, as Ravi Shastri made 207 and a youth with an unbroken voice called Tendulkar made 148 but fair go. He bowled 45 overs.

If Tahir had bowled that many, they would have needed another score book to record his analysis.

Clarke finally out for 230

Michael Clarke was finally dismissed after scoring 489 runs, batting for 15 hours and facing 109 overs if the bowlers were bowling only to him. When Morkel bowled him this morning, instead of celebrating he was bemused. He could have sworn the second coming was going to happen first. No one is saying so, but Clarke made much the same footwork mistake as Ponting did yesterday, squaring up and bringing his back foot around toward mid off. Of course, he didn't land on his hands and knees.

I can also solve another mystery. In this match, especially as centuries have been notched or important wickets taken, players have been looking skyward, muttering a few words and then celebrating. One report yesterday claimed David Warner was communicating with God or a dead relative and giving thanks. Nothing could be further from the truth. On each occasion, players have looked skyward to the spidercam and checked with the tv director. A close examination of the Warner episode, using lip reading techniques from a mate of mine who was a camel toe specialist, reveals Warner saying "I'll do a running jump and then I'll kiss the helmet".

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South Africa's day. From here, Smith will be looking for his batsmen to give some heart to their work, although in the case of Kallis, his bum will also be required.