Tour match: New South Wales v South Africans at Sydney, 20-23 Dec 2001 CricInfo Live Report

Tour match: New South Wales v South Africans at Sydney, 20-23 Dec 2001
Claire Killeen

South Africans 1st innings: Lunch - Day 1, Tea - Day 1, Stumps - Day 1,

FIVE FOR MACGILL AFTER PROTEAS' GREAT START

South Africa felt the sting of leg spin once again today as Stuart MacGill produced season-best figures to halt a brilliant top order batting exhibition on the opening day of the tour match against New South Wales here in Sydney.

The tourists finished the day at 6/375, leaving Boeta Dippenaar (78*) and captain Shaun Pollock (14*) to continue the batting tomorrow.

But MacGill troubled them consistently with a mixture of guileful flight and ripping leg breaks, countering the Proteas’ march to a score of 1/231 at one stage of the afternoon.

The South Africans started well on a warm and sunny day, winning the toss and receiving the chance to bat first on a generally true pitch. The trend was then confirmed as Herschelle Gibbs (145) and Gary Kirsten (31) took advantage of the presence of a weakened New South Wales attack to add 67 runs for the first wicket before Jacques Rudolph (52) joined a super-aggressive Gibbs to garner another 164 for the second.

The saviour for the home side, after a stint as twelfth man for last week’s First Test, was clearly MacGill (5/125). The 30-year-old took 3/0 in a stretch of seven deliveries on either side of the tea interval to spark a mid-innings collapse and confirm that he remains very much in the reckoning for further berths in the impending Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.

The locals were deeply indebted to him on a day when the unavailability of eight top-line players might otherwise have made things grim. Four were missing due to their recovery from Test duties (namely, Steve Waugh, Mark Waugh, Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee); opener Michael Slater had rolled his ankle at yesterday’s final training session; left arm fast bowler Nathan Bracken was a late withdrawal with a back complaint; all-rounder Shane Lee is still battling a knee problem; and right arm paceman Stuart Clark was being rested.

After snaring Kirsten with a leg side stumping in his opening over, MacGill was forced to endure punishment at the hands of both Gibbs and Rudolph.

But he remains a strong believer in the principle that the best time to hunt for a wickets is close to the break and he maintained suitably firm resolve to scupper the Proteas’ plans in stunning style at the end of the second session.

“Whether you’re a quick bowler or spin bowler, when you get a little bit of a sniff - a hint of an opening - you tend to dive straight in there.

“I thought either side of the break that there were a few opportunities, a few nerves perhaps and then with new bats in you try to push them in just a bit harder.

“It was quite good to get a couple of quick wickets."

Gibbs and Rudolph had earlier been in superb form on the path to a century and half-century respectively.

The right and left hander combined brilliantly, forcing the home side on to the back foot and compelling captain Michael Bevan to turn to as many as six bowlers in the quest for a breakthrough.

Rudolph eventually fell to medium pacer Shawn Bradstreeet (1/79) as he played over a delivery that kept low and crashed into off stump.

But it was only when the belligerent Gibbs fell, after an innings littered with scintillating strokes through the off side, that the key wicket was claimed.

The 27-year-old had taken a liking to all of the bowlers and even had the better of MacGill in their exchange, pounding one delivery contemptuously into the sightscreen for six just to confirm the position. So dominant was he for a period that MacGill’s concession of runs even came to include a stunning 21 boundaries in total, as well as that six.

“MacGill got the ball to turn quite a lot, quite sharply. I’ve played against him before and I know what he is capable of but you can’t let that bother you; you just have to get on there and score runs,” said Gibbs.

“He still gets the ball in the spots and spins it more than ‘Warnie’ (Shane Warne) does. He is a good bowler.

“It was a matter of applying yourself.”

It was indeed a ball that turned sharply, spinning well away outside off stump, that ultimately cost Gibbs his wicket. Albeit that his demise was as much to do with the fieldsman as the bowler – Mark Higgs at cover effecting a spectacular one handed interception, high in the air to his left, of a ball travelling at high pace.

Gibbs’ loss immediately proved significant. Justin Ontong (0) fell to a feint outside edge just before tea, and Lance Klusener (0) drove around another delivery from MacGill just after, to ensure that the South Africans had suddenly lost 4/8 in a stunning mini-collapse.

Dippenaar, engaged in a contest within a contest to hold on to his own Test berth, then joined with Mark Boucher (44) in another century stand to revive the flagging cause brilliantly. Ten boundaries arrived in a rapidfire and attractive half-century as the hundred partnership was raised from only 132 balls.

Again, it needed MacGill’s touch for New South Wales to strike back – as he trapped a deceived Boucher on the line of the crease.

His bowling is likely to re-assume crucial importance when play resumes tomorrow.

GIBBS RAMPANT BEFORE MACGILL INSPIRES FIGHTBACK

An impressive century by Herschelle Gibbs (145) has lit up South Africa’s innings in the tour match against New South Wales here at the Sydney Cricket Ground today. But not enough to guard against a revival led by Stuart MacGill that has seen the Proteas head to tea at a scoreline of 4/235.

Gibbs played a magnificent innings, taming the New South Wales bowlers into submission and forcing captain Michael Bevan to use as many as six bowlers in an effort to break the right hander’s skill and concentration.

MacGill (3/87) was eventually the man to do it. After bowling 17 overs between the breaks and being clattered to all parts of the ground, the experienced leg spinner finally got his man.

The 27-year-old chased a wide and sharply turning delivery, smashing it toward Mark Higgs at cover, who was forced to leap high to his left to reel in a spectacular one-handed catch.

It was a much-needed breakthrough for New South Wales as Gibbs and two partners had, until then, demoralised the attack.

With Gary Kirsten (31), he added 67 runs for the first wicket. And, then with Test aspirant Jacques Rudolph (52), came another 164 in an impressive union for the second wicket.

Rudolph did not play with the same flashy aggression as Gibbs but was just as effective in adding to the Blues’ frustration. His was a compact innings: he was tight in defence and hit some lovely drives through the off side on the way to a classy half century. More importantly, he timed the innings well and the significance of his effort could not have been lost on team management as they weigh up the options for upper order batting positions in next week’s Second Test against Australia.

At the other end, Gibbs took to the bowlers – especially MacGill - in the midst of an innings full of blazing strokeplay. At the start of one particularly memorable over, he charged down the pitch to send the ball sailing high over the bowler’s end before it came to a halt as it smashed into the sightscreen.

Some half-chances were being missed all the while by New South Wales, and these were serving to provide great nuisance value to the bowlers.

MacGill was especially unlucky, unable to convert a top edge from Rudolph into a leg side catch for wicketkeeper Brad Haddin when the 20-year-old left hander’s score was stationed at 34.

It took the re-introduction of medium pacer Shawn Bradstreet (1/38) into the attack – and a ball that kept very low on the line of off stump – to finally conquer Rudolph’s defences and usher Boeta Dippenaar (0*) to the crease.

The wicket of Justin Ontong (0) was the next to fall – his demise occurring from the very last delivery of a MacGill over before tea. Haddin completed a catch as the youngster, defending at the leg spinner, attained a feint outside edge.

SOUTH AFRICANS PRODUCE IMPRESSIVE START

South Africa is in a strong position against New South Wales at lunch on the opening day of the teams' tour match here at the Sydney Cricket Ground today.

Against a weakened New South Wales bowling attack, the South African batsmen have made a positive start to the innings after winning the toss and electing to bat on a warm and sunny day.

With Herschelle Gibbs (74*) and Jacques Rudolph (22*) currently in occupation of the crease, the score is on a healthy 1/130 at lunch.

Gibbs and Gary Kirsten (31) produced a comparatively slow start but built a steady partnership of 67 runs with Kirsten dominating the early scoring.

He timed the ball impressively to both sides of the wicket and also ran exceptionally well between the wickets, often turning regulation singles into well judged twos.

Kirsten's innings eventually ended when he was stumped impressively down the leg side by wicketkeeper Brad Haddin off the bowling of leg spinner Stuart MacGill (1/32). MacGill's strike, which came in his very first over, didn't necessarily arrive from his greatest-ever delivery - but a ball spinning further away down the leg side was nevertheless enough to have Kirsten misreading its path off the pitch and finding himself stranded well out of the crease as Haddin enthusiastically dived to his left to remove the bails.

New South Wales, for its own part, is fielding a slightly underdone side. The home side is missing eight of its top players. Four are unavailable due to their recovery from Test duties (namely, Steve Waugh, Mark Waugh, Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee); opener Michael Slater rolled his ankle at training last night; left arm fast bowler Nathan Bracken has a back complaint; all-rounder Shane Lee is still battling a knee problem and right arm paceman Stuart Clark is being rested.

MacGill, aiming to keep his name before the national selectors as they formulate their squad for next week's Second Test in Melbourne, has been the best of the bowlers so far. Aside from making the only breakthrough on a pitch that is playing well in favour of the batsmen, another opportunity was missed off his bowling when captain Michael Bevan grassed a tough chance off Gibbs' bat at slip in the leg spinner's second over.