Swann, Broad bring South Africa down by Rohit Sakunia

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Scorecard:	South Africa v England
Player:	MV Boucher, GP Swann, SCJ Broad
Event:	England in South Africa 2009/10

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DateLine: 30th December 2009

 

Dale Steyn in his post match comments yesterday had spoken about the importance of Boucher playing a stellar and someone from down the order doing what he did a year back at Melbourne to come anywhere close to saving the game. He also promised coming to bat having seen his batting videos of last year.

 

Though he spoke all this, he kept admitting that the only real way a defeat could be escaped would be via the help of rain and bad light. Nature though didn't come to rescue and miracles do not happen all the time. Boucher couldn't do much and neither could the tail wag as South Africa lost the game even before the umpires would have called lunch.

 

Starting the day, precariously placed at 76 for 6, South Africa could only keep an English victory at bay for 18 overs. The protagonists of yesterday, Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad again combined to send the remaining hosts batting back with an addition of a mere 57 runs.

 

The first to head back to the pavilion was Morne Morkel, found plumb in front of his wickets to a fuller, flatter delivery from Swann. Then Broad dismissed Mark Boucher and with this wicket, all hopes of a miraculous Test save came crashing down. Paul Harris and Dale Steyn tried to avoid the inevitable but only could do that for a while adding 21 runs for the ninth wicket.

 

Then after a barrage of short deliveries from Broad, a fuller one from Anderson did Harris in as he ended up chipping one slowly to mid on where Broad took an easy catch. The last wicket fell almost immediately as Steyn was found stuck on the backfoot and the umpire had no doubt in raising his finger. Swann was the wrecker-in-chief for the tourists claiming five wickets in the second innings as the South Africans fell short by an innings and 98 runs.