Another day, another captain's innings. Graeme Smith's century on the
second afternoon in Adelaide might not have had the elegance of Michael
Clarke's double-hundred on day one, but it was no less important for his
side. After Australia piled on 550 in less than four sessions, South
Africa needed somebody from their top order to anchor a hefty reply.
That man was Smith, who finished the day unbeaten on 111, having had
support from Alviro Petersen in a 138-run opening stand.
South Africa did not bat with the carefree attitude that the Australians
did on Thursday, scoring at 3.23 runs per over. But that was only
natural. When the opposition has such an enormous headstart, a certain
amount of vigilance is required to ensure the situation does not become
diabolical. The boundaries might be expected to flow more freely on the
third day, if they again start solidly. They will begin on 2 for 217,
with Jacques Rudolph on 25 alongside Smith.
It was a day on which the Australians discovered that the benign
Adelaide Oval pitch that had been their friend over the first four
sessions could just as easily become an enemy. Morne Morkel found
something from the surface in the opening session, completing his first
five-wicket haul against Australia to make sure South Africa would not
spend another full day in the sun. Australia's bowlers toiled for little
reward.
It took a run-out to break the opening partnership. On 54, Petersen
pushed the ball to mid-on and set off for a run, but found himself on a
collision course with his partner Smith. After taking a wide berth to
get around his captain, Petersen compounded the problem by not sliding
his bat in his reach for the crease, although it may not have saved him
from Michael Hussey's direct hit in any case.
The only breakthrough made by an Australian bowler came through the
occasional legspin of David Warner, who lured Hashim Amla (11) out of
his crease. Amla played the wrong line and despite the wicketkeeper
Matthew Wade struggling to grasp the ball cleanly at first, was so far
down the pitch that he couldn't get back in time to avoid being stumped.
It wasn't Wade's first shaky moment. On 46, Smith, who has never been stumped
in a Test career spanning 182 innings, advanced down the pitch and
tried to flick Michael Clarke through leg and when he missed, Wade, who
appeared to have lost sight of the ball, fumbled and lost the chance to
take the bails off.
The Australians also thought they had Smith caught behind on 78, when
James Pattinson came around the wicket and nipped a ball away off the
seam. Smith dabbed at the ball and was given out caught behind, but when
he asked for a review, there was no evidence from Hot Spot that his bat
had touched the ball and the decision was overturned. They were
important moments for Smith, just as Clarke had had some close calls in
his innings.
Otherwise, Smith played well, leaving the ball and waiting for those he
could dispatch or work through the gaps. He brought up his century from
his 198th delivery, with a cut behind point for four off the bowling of
Nathan Lyon, and it was typical of his innings - wait for the bad ball.
Smith battled what appeared to be cramp during his innings but he should
return fresher on the third day, and notably for South Africa, the team
has never lost a Test in which Smith has scored a hundred.
They can also take heart from the fact that twice in the past decade, a
team has lost having posted a 550-plus total batting first at Adelaide
Oval - something that outside Adelaide has only happened once in Test history.
South Africa's chances of victory might be slim, and not helped by the
fact that Jacques Kallis has a hamstring injury and will struggle when
he bats, but they know Adelaide can provide them with as many runs as it
did Australia.
The Australians added 68 to their overnight score for the loss of their
last five wickets and the majority of their runs came from the No.9,
Pattinson, who played some impressive strokes in reaching his best
first-class score of 42. He crunched Dale Steyn for a pair of boundaries
through the off side and cleared the rope twice off Imran Tahir before
he was the last man out, edging Steyn to Smith at slip.
The day had started on a positive note for South Africa when Morkel
bowled Clarke, who added only six to his overnight score and was
dismissed for 230. The rewards kept coming for the hard-working Morkel
when he had Wade caught behind for 6, trying to drive a delivery that
angled across him, and his five-wicket haul arrived when Ben Hilfenhaus
hooked a short ball and was caught at fine leg for a duck.
Morkel's previous best in an innings against Australia was three
wickets, and he finished up with 5 for 146 from 30 overs, his workload
having increased significantly due to Kallis being unavailable. There
was also a moment of relief and joy for Rory Kleinveldt, who claimed his
first Test wicket when he had Peter Siddle caught at slip for 6. The
umpire called for a replay to check that Kleinveldt, a serial no-baller,
had not over-stepped, and by a matter of millimetres his wicket stood.
It was all part of a much more pleasant day for South Africa than day one.
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