1st Orange Test: Australia v South Africa at Adelaide, 14-18 Dec 2001 CricInfo Live Report

1st Orange Test: Australia v South Africa at Adelaide, 14-18 Dec 2001
John Polack

Australia 1st innings: Toss - Australia, Lunch - Day 1, Stumps - Day 1,

VIGOUR REPLACED BY RIGOUR AS SOUTH AFRICANS HIT BACK

Mental strength will undoubtedly be a pre-requisite for success in this series between Australia and South Africa. And so it was that lapses of concentration cost the Australians dearly as the three-match battle opened at the Adelaide Oval today, robbing them of dominance that might have been expected when they had reached a mark of 1/182 in mid-afternoon.

By stumps, the hosts had been reduced to a mark of 6/272 by a resilient South African team that refused to be overwhelmed at any stage of a combative day's cricket.

All the portents for a satisfying start for the locals were in place as a massive first day crowd of 19,266 filtered into the ground in fine conditions; captain Steve Waugh won the toss for the first time at Test level this season; and Justin Langer (115), Ricky Ponting (54) and Matthew Hayden (31) unfurled a particularly impressive beginning to the innings.

For as propitiously as things began, though, Australia was never able to completely snuff out the fight that was being taken to them by the tourists.

Even the resilient Langer, who maintained an individual purple patch to register a fourth century in the space of six Test innings, became all but becalmed as the combination of disciplined bowling and sustained pressure loosened Australia's grip. The Western Australian left hander had played some sparkling strokes on the way to three figures, timing the ball delightfully to both sides of a wicket that played truly all day. And the century itself was even raised with a sweetly struck six over mid wicket.

But five wickets fell as only 60 runs were added through a period of play on either side of tea. And only 69 runs in total were scored in an absorbing closing session to the day.

There had been nothing in the first three and a half hours of action to hint at Australia's impending decline. Langer added 80 in a fortifying opening stand with Hayden and then another 102 runs came in a freewheeling association with Ponting.

Hayden's innings ended late in the first session as he miscued a drive at Lance Klusener (1/28) and lobbed a catch to mid off. And then the run out of Ponting from a badly misjudged Langer call, as he pushed a Claude Henderson (3/55) delivery to Boeta Dippenaar at cover, proved a pivotal turning point.

It was left arm spinner Henderson who capitalised best on the Australians' mistakes, tying the batsmen down with turn and bounce and provoking the appearance of frustrated strokes as his opponents tried in vain to regain command. Steve Waugh (8) looked particularly unlucky to end on the wrong side of a decision from umpire Srinivas Venkatraghavan on a catch at silly point. But there was little doubt about the departure either of Langer to a top edged cut to slip or Adam Gilchrist (7) to a mistimed pull.

Tearaway fast bowler Nantie Hayward (1/67) had helped in the cause by luring Mark Waugh (2) into feathering a drive at a leg cutter in the shadows of tea, and captain Shaun Pollock (0/48) had been typically miserly in each of three accurate spells.

The South Africans' day hadn't been without some lapses of its own, though, and Ponting was twice permitted to escape brushes with death in his innings.

The right hander should have been caught by Gary Kirsten at 6 as he edged Jacques Kallis (0/28) to third slip, and then dodged another bullet at 26 when a top edged hook at Pollock landed the ball in the hands of Dippenaar at deep square leg.

Pollock had cleverly outwitted Ponting by surprising him with a bouncer of sharp pace. What he hadn't counted on, though, was the sight of umpire Simon Taufel stretching his arm sideways to indicate that the South African captain had slid past the line of the bowling crease after planting his front foot.

The two errors were threatening to become very expensive as the Australians made their way toward their stronghold at 1/182.

But the tourists were swiftly able to expose frailties in the Australian middle order that have been uncovered more than once this summer. Therein, they crowned an engrossing start to the series.::Tea - Day 1::Australia 1st innings::Proteas scramble back around more runs for Langer Two wickets late in the afternoon session have revived South Africa's hopes after early Australian domination on the opening day of the First Test at the Adelaide Oval. After the Australians had reached a position of considerable strength at 1/182 half an hour before tea, they were reduced to a total of 3/203 by the time that the adjournment ultimately arrived.

That the score was still as healthy as this was due largely to the play of opener Justin Langer (104*), whose fourth century in the space of five Tests has represented the early highlight of the match.

For 90 minutes of the middle session, Langer and Ricky Ponting (54) had demoralised the Proteas with an exhibition of batting that offered them few hopes of making inroads.

Though it was his call - for a scampering single from a push straight to Boeta Dippenaar at cover - that was largely responsible for the departure of Ponting, it has been Langer who has again proved the dominant figure in Australia's innings.

The supremely determined left hander has discovered a purple patch of form since returning to the Australian Test line-up only four matches ago and has maintained his momentum today with an innings littered with delightfully timed strokes to both sides of the wicket.

He might have been the victim of a run out himself if a throw from Herschelle Gibbs had made contact with the stumps as he attempted to complete a cheekily run single from a nudge into the off side shortly after lunch. But, otherwise, there have been few anxious moments for the Western Australian.

Having added 80 in a fine opening stand with Matthew Hayden (30), he soon found another excellent ally in Ponting, though the Tasmanian survived at least two rather fortuitous brushes with death. The right hander should have been caught by Gary Kirsten at 6 as he edged Jacques Kallis (0/28) to third slip, and then dodged another bullet at 26 when a top edged hook at Shaun Pollock (0/39) landed in the hands of Dippenaar at deep square leg.

Ultimately, it was only Ponting's departure to that misjudged call that genuinely served to interrupt Australia's otherwise authoritative progress.

The situation brightened further for the South Africans when Mark Waugh (2) wafted at a Nantie Hayward (1/59) leg cutter to feather a catch to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher five minutes before the interval.

AUSTRALIANS SET EARLY PACE IN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE

The opening two hours of this world championship duel between Australia and South Africa have passed. And gone primarily the home team's way, with Justin Langer (44*) and Matthew Hayden (31) producing another characteristically imposing opening stand to help guide the Australians to a mark of 1/88 by lunch.

In front of a big crowd at the Adelaide Oval, the Australians started impressively with little in the attack or in the conditions to trouble them. So impressively, in fact, that it looked for much of the morning that Langer and Hayden were destined to raise their fourth century stand in the course of a mere six partnerships at Test level together.

They efficiently weathered a manful start from new ball duo Shaun Pollock (0/18) and Nantie Hayward (0/31) - though both bowlers operated at good pace, and adhered to a generally disciplined line and length through the initial overs.

And, having seen most of the shine off the new ball, they then extended their horizons to accelerate the scoring rate when Hayward was relieved by Makhaya Ntini (0/20) at the Cathedral End. Each of Ntini's opening three deliveries were half volleys outside the line of the off stump, and each was sent clattering to the short square boundary through the off side by Langer.

It was as though the Australians were sending a signal to the South Africans that any attempt to defeat them on home soil will necessarily rely heavily on far better support bowling for Pollock than generally arrived in the opening 90 minutes.

Only when Lance Klusener (1/7) and Jacques Kallis (0/12) were paired together at the bowling crease in the lead-up to lunch did better fortunes await the Proteas.

The biggest appeal of the morning - and a justifiably imploring one at that - came with Hayden's score at 30, and the total at 79, when Kallis straightened an inswinger along the line of middle stump to rap the muscular left hander on his front pad.

And, only a few minutes later, the experienced Klusener finally found a way through for his team when he lured the Queenslander to miscue a drive at a delivery of fullish length and lob a catch to Ntini at just over head height at mid off.

The pair also did an excellent job in restricting the flow of runs that had been proving so damaging through the preceding half hour in particular.

The pitch was continuing to play truly all the while, though, and Langer and Ricky Ponting (7*) continued to assert the advantage that the home side had established with its win at the toss.

The batsmen's cause was also helped by a bad miss in the last over before lunch when a waist-high catch was dropped at third slip, by Gary Kirsten, as Ponting (then on 6) pushed forward with uncertainty at Kallis.

HEAVYWEIGHT SHOWDOWN UNDER WAY IN ADELAIDE

Conditions are fine in Adelaide, and play is under way in the much-anticipated First Test between Australia and South Africa at the Adelaide Oval. And, after the opening two overs, the Australians have reached a score of 0/7 in what might well represent the calm before the storm.

Against a typically picturesque backdrop in Adelaide, a large crowd is already in attendance and keenly watching as the opening salvos are fired in this battle between the world's two finest teams. It has been four years since the sides have met at this level, and there's plenty for which to play as they renew acquaintances.

A failure to win in either this three-match series, or a return three-match contest in South Africa in February and March, would see the Australians surrender their mantle of world Test champions.

To that end, they gained an important early boost when captain Steve Waugh won the toss and chose to bat first on a straw-coloured pitch. It was the Australian skipper's first such moment of joy for the summer after New Zealand's Stephen Fleming won all three tosses in the recently-completed trans-Tasman series.

The Australians elected to make leg spinner Stuart MacGill their twelfth man after several days of speculation around the country about whether the home team would choose to play two slow bowlers in their eleven. That leaves them with six specialist batsmen in their line-up, along with wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, leg spinner Shane Warne, and pace trio Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee.

For the South Africans, meanwhile, veteran paceman Allan Donald has not made the final eleven after a desperate and ultimately unsuccessful race against time to ward off injury concerns and prove his readiness. Instead, the Proteas will rely on the pace triumvirate of Shaun Pollock, Nantie Hayward and Makhaya Ntini, spinner Claude Henderson, and all-rounders Jacques Kallis and Lance Klusener to do the vast bulk of their bowling. Boeta Dippenaar has been preferred to Jacques Rudolph in something of a surprise in the batting line-up.