Adelaide 2012: Day Two

Day Two in Adelaide provided, yet again, another opportunity to remark that there's no game that's quite like Test cricket.Watching Smith and Rudolph grinding out the runs late in the afternoon, of course, you might take that commentbin a negative sense, but consider the way things have turned around in the past twenty-four hours.

Yesterday morning, at 5/482 you'd have thought anything less than 600 would be unsatisfactory, and 700 quite achievable, but South Africa obviously sat down after stumps, took a good analytical look at the situation and decided to take it back to basics.

The formula, one imagines involved keeping it tight and building pressure, and didn't it work like a charm.The bowling looked like the paper rating was accurate, knocking Clarke over early took the 700 out of the equation, getting Wade not long after removed 600 from the calculations and at 9/504 you'd be reckoning on getting change out of 525.

Pattinson tonked and got us past that and his 42, the highest score for the innings that didn't stretch to three figures, got the total to 550 with a little four over cameo before lunch to keep things interesting.

That four over spell coincided with The Actor arriving to fit the aluminium gates into the fence, so I missed that cameo, and, indeed, much of the middle session, so I can't really comment on how we bowled.

I got back to the TV in time for the Petersen run out, which was one of those things that happen when you veer away from the basics and have two batsmen running on the same side of the pitch. That's not an issue when you've got a right arm bowler operating over the wicket, but Lyon, from what I recall, was going round the wicket, which put Smith on the right side to interfere with Petersen's running path.

It was rather sloppy work from Petersen as well, too casual, failed to stretch out and slide the bat after covering extra ground, more than likely expecting the throw to go to the other end. A timely reminder that you ignore basic principles at your own risk.

It was one of those little reminders that you don't always need ten good balls to wrap up an innings.

The stumping that took care of Amla wasn't the sharpest bit of keeping I've ever seen, but in the end Amla was far enough down the track to make the untidy glove work immaterial.

So, having missed a chunk of the day, where do we sit now?

Day One had two results possible, with a South African victory more or less ruled out. Australia bats long, gets a long bowl at a follow on target between 450 and 500, and the worst outcome is a draw.

Now, with the Proteas sitting semi-pretty on 2/217 and Smith on 111 there's the rather unnerving stat indicating they've never lost a Test where he's scored a ton, and the distinct possibility that if they can bat long and end up around par by stumps, with two days to play they could bat on further and set up a nasty little second innings scenario on a wearing pitch.