Proteas in England
England stall Proteas
2012-07-23 14:15
London - Ian Bell batted doggedly as England
set out to try to save the first Test against South Africa on the fifth
and final day at The Oval on Monday.
WIN: A limited edition signed Graeme Smith bat
Live scoringNeeding 252 to avoid an
innings defeat, England were 177 for five at lunch. Bell was on 36 not
out after batting for 208 minutes, facing 166 balls.
The only
wicket to fall was that of Ravi Bopara, who was bowled off an inside
edge by Dale Steyn for 22 in the seventh over of the day.
Resuming at 102 for four, England added 75 runs in 28 overs during the morning.
Steyn
bowled an accurate spell at the start of the day but his wicket came
off a short, wide ball, which Bopara tried to punch to the off side,
only to get a thick inside edge which caused the ball to crash into his
stumps.
Bell was dropped by stand-in wicketkeeper AB de Villiers
off leg-spinner Imran Tahir when he was on 20, with De Villiers failing
to hold a thin edge in Tahir's first over of the day, shortly before the
morning drinks break.
Bell and Bopara put on 50 for the fifth
wicket and Bell found another useful partner in Matt Prior (29 not out)
as the pair added an unbeaten 60 for the sixth wicket.
Teams:
England - Andrew Strauss (captain), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott,
Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Matt Prior (wk), Stuart Broad,
Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, James Anderson
South Africa - Graeme Smith (captain), Alviro Petersen, Hashim
Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers (wk), Jacques Rudolph, JP Duminy,
Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir