A fiery spell from Dale Steyn, described by Jacques Rudolph as the
"quickest I have seen in six or seven years," was the final act of the
drawn tour match at the SCG. After the South African top eight had all
batted, they chose to give their quicks a last run before the first Test
in Brisbane next week and Steyn held nothing back.
Of the batting line-up, Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla scored
half-centuries and retired out while the rest all had starts. Steyn and
Vernon Philander were the only bowlers in action for the 10 overs South
Africa spent in the field. Steyn bowled a particularly fierce and quick
spell which resulted in the wicket of Liam Davis and a serious test for
Phillip Hughes, who is pushing for a recall to the Australia squad.
Amla, who yesterday said the he preferred a match situation no matter
how insignificant the game to nets, and JP Duminy resumed the in the
morning and had one nervous moment. John Hastings drew a thick edge from
Duminy which flew at a catchable height to the left of gully. He
settled soon after and played more conservatively after that. His 31
runs came from 82 balls as he looked to spend time at the crease,
instead of score runs.
The going was a little more free-flowing for Amla, who timed his shots
particularly well through mid-wicket. He brought up his half-century
with one such stroke and then retired to allow AB de Villiers to bat.
Like all the batsmen, de Villiers took some time to find his rhythm and
the partnership between him and Duminy seemed to trudge along although
it only lasted two overs and four balls. Andrew McDonald managed to
extract some awkward bounce, Duminy chopped one and it was the first
genuine wicket of the day.
De Villiers and Rudolph scratched around for a while and just as de
Villiers was finding the middle of the bat he was given out in strange
fashion. A massive appeal for lbw from Hastings was initially thought to
be reason he was given out, although it looked too high and was certain
to go down leg. The third umpire then confirmed that de Villiers was
caught off the inside edge.
Rudolph also spent a long time at the crease. He scored 39 runs but
batted for 108 balls and started of particularly defensively. He tucked
into Steve Smith and hit the only six off the South African innings of
him, over mid-wicket. His other impressive strokes off Smith were a
stunning drive to long-on off the front foot and a replica which went
wider through long-off off the next ball.
He didn't find the going as good against the other spinner, Glenn
Maxwell, who he tried to drive. A thick edge was the result and Rudolph
was caught at slip. Faf du Plessis, who is unlikely to play in the Test
XI, batted for more than 10 overs while Philander also had some time in
the middle. Once Smith was satisfied that all his batsmen had shown
their mettle, he declared the South African innings and seemed to have
given his bowlers instruction to have a quick burst.
Philander maintained control but Steyn let loose and sent down
fireballs. He took the wicket of Liam Davis in his second over when the
opener played a pull too early and was caught behind. But Steyn tested
his own wicketkeeper as well with one of his bouncers. De Villiers had
to leap to catch it and it was just out of reach. The ball hit his
fingers which left him wringing his hand in pain after removing the
glove although he was able to continue and team management confirmed no
damage had been done.
Hughes faced a barrage of quick deliveries but held his own to score
what Australia A captain McDonald called, "the best 1 not out I have
ever seen."
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