England v South Africa - Tour Match

MCC v South Africans
Edgbaston, Birmingham
4 Day Game
Umpires: DJ Constant & BJ Meyer
Toss: South Africans

MCC: DL Amiss, *JM Brearley, MW Gatting, AJ Lamb, KWR Fletcher, P Willey, +PR Downton, JE Emburey, CM Old, GR Dilley, M Hendrick.
SAF: BA Richards, TL Goddard, *WJ Cronje, RG Pollock, DJ Cullinan, JN Rhodes, +DT Lindsay, NBF Mann, AA Donald, PS Heine, NAT Adcock.

South Africa warmed up for the Test series with what turned out to be a regulation draw against MCC, and the tourists will be very pleased with the form of their batsmen ahead of the series opener at Lord's. South Africa's first innings was dominated by Barry Richards, who made full use of a placid Edgbaston pitch to pummel a magnificent 178 at better than a run a ball. He missed out on recording a century before lunch on the first day by just five runs, and by the time he finally holed out to Fletcher off the persevering Hendrick, his opening stand with Goddard was worth 269 and we had not even yet reached the tea interval.

Goddard eventually fell an unlucky thirteen short of his hundred, but a fluent Cronje managed to join Richards in three figures, and of South Africa's top six, only Rhodes, with 12, failed to make an impact. MCC's reply was centred around a workman like century from Dennis Amiss on his home ground, but with the tourists' attack bowling far more tightly than their hosts' counterparts, and the manner of MCC's progress to a total of 357 did not make for particularly entertaining viewing. Donald managed to find some life in what remained a very flat surface, and Neil Adcock just about won his private battle with Peter Heine for a place in the Test team, although neither looked particularly threatening. South Africa's brief second innings simply served as further batting practice, and attention now turns to Lord's for what promises to be a keenly fought first Test.

Scores
SAF 1st Inns 500-5 dec. (Richards 178, Cronje 118, Goddard 87, Cullinan 50*, Pollock 42)
MCC 1st Inns 357 (Amiss 105, Gatting 58, Fletcher 58; Donald 4-98)
SAF 2nd Inns 136-5 (Richards 48, Lindsay 47)

MATCH DRAWN

Match Scorecards
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