England v South Africa - Fourth Test

The Oval, London

England: JB Hobbs, *L Hutton, KF Barrington, DI Gower, GP Thorpe, +AJ Stewart, IT Botham, FS Trueman, AV Bedser, DL Underwood, JB Statham.
South Africa: BA Richards, TL Goddard, *WJ Cronje, RG Pollock, DJ Cullinan, JN Rhodes, +DT Lindsay, MJ Procter, NBF Mann, AA Donald, NAT Adcock.

Debuts: Nil
Umpires: Khizer Hayat (PAK) & CJ Egar (AUS)
Toss: England

With so much on the line anticipation was high at The Oval, and the fact that this was also the 200th ATG Test only added to the sense of occasion surrounding the game. South Africa maintained faith in the same XI that had started the previous three Tests, but England reconstructed their batting line-up after the debacle at Old Trafford; Hammond was dropped for the first time in his career, and Knott's recall lasted all of one game as Stewart came in for his first Test at home and his first as wicket-keeper.

At 2-1 down England needed to force the pace, but after Len Hutton won his third toss in a row we were treated to a soporific first day as the hosts crawled to a score of 193-3. Graham Thorpe took an incredible 105 minutes and 73 deliveries to get off the mark, and as tightly as the South Africans were bowling, there seemed little excuse for such a poor rate of production. The one bright spot was the performance of David Gower, who went on to record just the second century of his stop-start ATG career on the second day as England eventually posted a reasonable total of 377. Gower and Thorpe's 124 run partnership for the fourth wicket took all of 54 overs to put together, and England's bowlers now needed to show some bite in order to reignite their push for a series-saving victory.

Wickets fell at regular intervals in South Africa's reply as the visitors' batsmen again mostly failed to capitalise on solid starts, and it was not until Cullinan and Procter hooked up in a 114 run stand for the sixth wicket that the Proteas looked like they could get on top. With Graeme Pollock unable to bat due to a broken finger he sustained whilst fielding, Daryll Cullinan stepped up and justified the selectors' faith by moving serenely to 99, but then both he and Procter fell in consecutive overs to the new ball as England struck back. Cullinan's innings ended ingloriously when he patted a simple return catch back to Statham, and South Africa's total of 326 gave England a lead of 51 with two days play remaining.

England would now need to bat far more positively than they had in the first innings, but Adcock and Goddard were unerring in their persistence and the score slumped to a disastrous 97-6 as England fell apart on the fourth afternoon. Three wickets went down with the score on 86, and although Botham and Trueman - with an innings-high 43* - restored a little pride to the proceedings, a total of 174 provided South Africa with a target of 226 and over a day in which to get them.

Early breakthroughs from Trueman and Statham rocked the tourists though, and with the scoreboard reading 33-3 early on the final day - effectively 33-4 in the absence of Pollock - England had roared right back into contention. Cullinan and Rhodes had both endured a disappointing series up until this point, but Cullinan was clearly buoyed by his first innings here, and with Jonty Rhodes also finding his feet, South Africa took back control. The pair added 142 for the fourth wicket before finally being parted when Cullinan was run out by Hutton for 56, but Rhodes and Lindsay took the tourists to within 26 runs of victory before Trueman removed both partners in consecutive overs to England one last hope of salvaging the game and the series.

It was not to be for England, though. Rhodes' 94 had been enough, and Mike Procter ended the match in emphatic style by hooking Bedser into the crowd to hand the hosts just their second ever series defeat and to provide South Africa with a conclusive, and deserved, 3-1 series win. For the second match in a row England's second innings batting had let them down, but full credit to South Africa and their skipper, Hansie Cronje, who has now led his team to back-to-back victories in his first two series in charge.

1st & 2nd innings scorecards

(click to enlarge)

Scores
ENG 1st Inns 377 (Gower 146, Stewart 51)
SAF 1st Inns 326 (Cullinan 99, Procter 61; Statham 4-80)
ENG 2nd Inns 174 (Trueman 43*; Goddard 4-31)
SAF 2nd Inns 226-7 (Rhodes 94, Cullinan 56; Trueman 4-47)

SOUTH AFRICA WON BY 3 WICKETS


Man of the Match: DJ Cullinan