11 lines
1.7 KiB
Text
11 lines
1.7 KiB
Text
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Vaughan endures day to forget
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This was England's worst day for a long time, and was capped by captain Michael Vaughan being fined 100% of his match fee.
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Match referee Clive Lloyd's decision followed criticism from Vaughan of the umpires' handling of the bad light decisions on the second day.
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The bowling throughout the day was awful and, two balls from the close, Geraint Jones dived directly in front of Marcus Trescothick at first slip and dropped Herschelle Gibbs on 136. Having declared, and sacrificed the possibility of reaching a century, Michael Vaughan must have been horrified by the manner in which his bowlers responded. Briefly the conditions were ideal, with low cloud hanging over the ground, and although this was soon replaced by clear blue sky which made batting easier, the direction of Steve Harmison in particular was woeful. His first eight overs conceded only nine runs, simply because the batsmen could not reach the ball. Far too many deliveries went down the leg-side and even Matthew Hoggard was below his best, four wickets notwithstanding.
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Understandably James Anderson was rusty having not played a match since 4 December but Harmison's day was made complete when he hobbled off with a calf strain. Graeme Smith and Gibbs got away to a flier but were separated in the 16th over when Smith was trapped lbw to Hoggard for 29. This has been a disappointing series so far for the South African captain and his demise was all the more embarrassing because he fell over and was flat on the ground when umpire Bucknor finally raised his painfully slow finger. The bowling was still erratic, but Hoggard struck again six overs later when Rudolph laced a wide half volley to gully where Ashley Giles took a stinging catch that dislocated his right thumb.
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FLZT-426
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