England v South Africa, 2012
A review of the Derbyshire v South Africans tour match, 2012
15-Apr-2013
At Derby, August 10-11 (not first-class). Drawn. South Africans 365-4 dec (J-P. Duminy 69, A. B.
de Villiers 97, F. du Plessis 68*) and 168-7 dec (V. D. Philander 68*; M. H. A. Footitt 4-38);
Derbyshire 174-9 dec (R. A. Whiteley 51*; L. L. Tsotsobe 4-45). County debut: A. C. Evans.
Derbyshire chose from 14 players and the South Africans 15, of whom 11 could bat and 11 field. The first day produced 440 runs for five wickets, the second 267 for 16. After the South Africans batted first by mutual agreement, de Villiers hit a fine 97 before tucking his bat under his arm and retiring out - testimony to his superstition that a batsman has only a certain number of hundreds in him, and now was not an occasion to use one up. The South Africans, satisfied with the first innings, shook up their batting order in the second: Philander, despite a blow to the nether regions, hit out for a half-century from No. 7.