Johannesburg, Aug. 7 : South Africa, who lead the ongoing Test series against England 1-0, would be favourites to become number team in the longest version of cricket, heading into the final match at Lords.
Senior cricket writer, Rob Houwing believes the Proteas could take lots of positives from the second rain-affected Test match at Headingley, which ended in a draw.
“Probably the most pleasing aspect for coach Gary Kirsten out of the Headingley draw will have been that all of the batsmen who either failed or did not get the opportunity at the crease at The Oval now do have meaningful runs beneath the belt,” Houwing wrote in his column for Sports24.com
“Alviro Petersen led the way most admirably with his weighty, career-best 182: that 533-minute vigil after a pretty lean spell leading up to the game was the major “security” initiative in ensuring that South Africa would firmly deny England the opportunity to square matters at 1-1,” he added.
Houwing further said: “But with AB de Villiers, Jacques Rudolph and JP Duminy also spending decent time in the middle, the jigsaw is looking close to complete ahead of Lord’s, with some niggling injuries to key personnel likely to be the only significant Proteas worry as the series heads south for the climax. At least they have 10 days to ensure clean bills of health.”
© ANI
