Will a tricky pitch get trickier?
What will this rain do to the pitch conditions? I know the cover is on but lack of play, moisture etc
– Leo
Yesterday was interesting on this front. When play initially got underway the pitch actually played fairly true, with very little seam movement to speak of. When it resumed later after another break in play however the ball started talking. How much that was down to the skill of Scott Boland and how much was down to some added moisture in the wicket is hard to know.
The covers have been in place for many, many hours now so it should be pretty sweaty under there. If and when play does resume you’d have to imagine the conditions will be very good for bowling.
Smith ‘anxious’ after head knock in first Test
Steve Smith said he was anxious after being hit on the head and facing the prospect of another concussion after a blow playing against South Africa in the first Test last week.
Smith has previously suffered multiple concussions in his career, and he had to go through concussion protocols after a bouncer from Anrich Nortje hit him on the helmet last Monday.
“I was a little bit anxious after the hit, to be honest,” Smith said on Sunday in a TV interview during the first of many rain delays in Gqeberha.
“It was a decent knock, and the rest of that day, I wasn’t travelling too well, and I think it was more to do with anxiety, of hoping not to feel what I felt in the past, waking up the next morning and things like that.
“So, yeah, fortunately, I woke up well. I passed all the tests, and things recovered pretty quickly.”
Read more here.
Some rainy hours to fill
Here’s hoping Dean. Cricketers have various ways of amusing themselves when it’s raining. Do you and Simon have any special time fillers ?
– Phillip
Depends where we are, Phillip. If we’re at the grounds, it pretty much just becomes a food-scrounging exercise. In the office, you’re looking at either classic catches on the wheely chairs or, if it’s the middle of the night and the joint is empty, perhaps a sneaky game of hallway cricket. Don’t tell the boss.
Simon loves a rain delay though, because it gives him a chance to talk nonsense with our dear readers. Nothing gives him more pleasure than a good tangent.
Scott Boland’s brilliance and a touching family moment in the rain
If you prefer your summaries to be even shorter than the full debrief, then check out the things you might have missed in our quick hits from day one.
Yes, there were only four, but frankly I think Henry Hanson went gangbusters to even find that many.
What happened on day one
Not a whole lot, if we’re honest.
In fact, just 12.2 overs were possible on a soggy day one in Gqeberha.
That was enough time for South Africa to score 20 runs.
But Scott Boland needed just two balls to dismiss Aiden Markram (11) and David Bedingham (0) in successive deliveries.
I mean, that pretty much sums it up, but if you did want some more detail, here’s the full run down.
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