A not-so-dour partnership
Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie added a record 204 together as South Africa looked to save the Lord's Test on the fourth day and while the crowd shouted about the slowness of the first two sessions, Guardian 's David Hopps believes this was
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
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Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie added a record 204 together as South Africa looked to save the Lord's Test on the fourth day and while the crowd shouted about the slowness of the first two sessions, Guardian's David Hopps believes this was positively frisky when compared to other dour innings in the history of Test cricket.
Call this dour? It was positively frisky compared with the habits of Jackie McGlew, who once entrenched himself for more than nine hours to reach a century against Australia in Durban in 1957-58. McGlew was one of Test cricket's great stonewallers. He was first pictured waving a cricket bat at four years old and it may well be that he never waved it so fearlessly again. South Africa dubbed him "the little general", with memories of Napoleon, and praised his orthodoxy but there were others who would have happily exiled him to Elba.
Cricinfo's Sambit Bal feels in the context of this match, and the series, it was a compelling day: slow, but always simmering; lacking in action, but not plot and intrigue.
In the Telegraph, Simon Hughes writes that McKenzie on the crease yesterday was entirely different from the eccentric guy batting in South Africa's middle order on their last tour to England.
It is hard to imagine someone suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ever being in an ideal frame of mind to play a major Test match innings. Such behaviour is a serious energy drain. Judging from his demeanour at the wicket yesterday he has purged himself of these affectations. He remained calm and unflustered during a crucial morning session when he would have known that early wickets spelt the end for South Africa. He has an idiosyncratic way of leaving the ball, withdrawing the bat inside the line at the last second, a method referred to as the 'curtain rail' because the movement is similar to drawing the curtains.
A thrilling final day at Lord's may be on the cards but the England papers can't stop speculating on who will make way for Andrew Flintoff in the second Test. Lawrence Booth writes in the Guardian that bringing in Matt Prior at No 6 could be an option though he adds recent research reveals Prior has so far cost England more runs in byes and missed chances than he has actually scored with the bat.
Nishi Narayanan is a staff writer at ESPNcricinfo