Many eyebrows were raised at the completion of the recent lowscoring one-day series between New Zealand and India. Even NewZealand cricket’s top man, Martin Snedden, was quite displeasedwith the state of pitches in the series. Ironically enough,Snedden is one person who would know more about getting smackedaround the park; he holds the dubious distinction of being theonly bowler to have conceded more than 100 runs in a World Cupinnings!But say what you will, the nature of the one-day game is suchthat it is geared for instant entertainment, and that invariablyinvolves the ball flying to all directions in the field. The NewZealand series was an aberration at best, and rarely have bowlershad such a good time in a one-day series. In fact, even the fastbowlers have had the benefit of the new ball and early-morningmoisture to help them; it is the spinners who have been thewhipping-boys of spectacle called one-day cricket.

Indeed, there was even a time when spinners were unwanted in oneday cricket. That changed when Imran Khan used Abdul Qadir as anattacking option during the 1983 World Cup. Qadir obliginglysnapped up four wickets against New Zealand, and then fiveagainst Sri Lanka. Mind you, Qadir was a complete leg-spinbowler, a master of his craft; he had a deadly googly thatbamboozled even the very best of batsmen, and in 1983, Qadir waspossibly at the peak of his powers.Spin played a large role in Indian one-day victories as well, andthat is a factor that most people do not recall about Indiawinning the Benson & Hedges World Championship in 1984/85. On thebouncy tracks down under, India employed spin as a mode of attackto claim wickets, a ploy that no team had effectively pursuedbefore. I was then the manager of the Indian team, and it was apleasure to see Laxman Sivaramakrishnan and Ravi Shastri bowl intandem, picking up wickets at regular intervals.One absolute necessity for this strategy to work is the presenceof an astute captain who is willing to set fields for spin andattack without qualms. Imran was a sharp leader, and so was SunilGavaskar; both knew the psyches of their bowlers only too well,and they ensured that the spinners got the fields they wanted andbowled with the sole objective of taking wickets.

On the other hand, if spinners bowl only to restrict, it becomesa totally different ball game. For starters, it would allow abatting side on 180 for two in 40 overs to easily add around 100runs in the remaining 10. That scenario would change completelyif two spinners picked four wickets between them in theirallotted 20 overs. Any team that loses four wickets in the middleovers will struggle to make it to 235, and that is why I believethat spin will have an important role to play, not just in thisWorld Cup but in all one-day internationals.A close analysis will reveal that it is the teams without qualityspinners that go in for bits-and-pieces medium-pacers to seethrough the middle overs. The really good spinners – Shane Warne,Muttiah Muralitharan and Saqlain Mushtaq – have taken the art ofone-day spin bowling to dizzying new levels. The game, in fact,owes Warne much for reinventing spin; he always looks to attack,whatever the situation, and even the fielder on the midwicketfence becomes an attacking position when Warne weaves his magic.As I mentioned earlier, it takes a very good captain to see to itthat a spinner succeeds in one-day cricket, and Warne was luckyto start his career under the experienced and wily Allan Border.Even Mark Taylor was quick to recognise the significance ofWarne’s attacking role when he took over the captaincy, and oneof the consequences – Warne’s match-winning performance in the1996 World Cup semi-final against the West Indies at Mohali – issimply unforgettable.

Being an off-spinner myself, there is no way I can ignoreMuralitharan’s contribution to this arena. The amount of turn hegets on any surface makes him a very special talent, and it was apleasure to give him the CEAT International Cricketer of the Yearaward last Tuesday. I am sure Arjuna Ranatunga deserves much ofthe credit when people talk about the mercurial rise ofMuralitharan, but the genial off-spinner’s own qualities havehelped in no small measure. I was quite moved when Muraliapproached me after the awards ceremony for some help; he wantedmy advice on how to bowl to batsmen who are adept at playing thesweep-shot. If not for the prodigious turn alone, I admire Muralifor still wanting to constantly learn and perfect his art, evenat the peak of a brilliant career.Murali and Warne’s success over the recent years has made onething clear – spin is no more a mere sidekick to fast bowling. Itcan be devastatingly attacking in its own right, and as aspinner, I am proud that spin is holding its own – and doingrather well at that – not only in Test cricket but in the one-daygame as well.

KINGSTOWN – The score has been settled.With due care and diligence, Barbados completed a comfortable victory over Windward Islands with a day to spare here yesterday to reverse last year’s stunning defeat.Set 148 to win after rounding off the Windwards’ second innings in the first over after lunch, Barbados achieved a seven-wicket triumph in their opening Carib Beer Series contest without alarms, and with another 12 minutes still available on the penultimate day.Wary of an Arnos Vale Playing Field pitch that has been slowish throughout the match, Barbados initially approached their task with caution and were lifted by Sherwin Campbell’s fighting, unbeaten 66 that occupied the three-and-a-half hours Barbados needed to wipe off their modest target.It was sweet revenge for Barbados after losing to the Windwards for the first time in 19 years last season."This was a very good performance. To win your first game of the season is always special, especially against a team that beat you last year," said Barbados coach Hendy Springer.It was also a relief to start the tournament with maximum 12 points after the disappointment of last season when Barbados endured three successive defeats and finished fifth in the standings."We always wanted to start on a positive note," said captain Courtney Browne. "Over the last two years, the Windwards have been playing us well. That is something we had to look at. We needed a win to go forward."We’ve got India `A’ coming up next weekend and it is very important to go to India `A’ and Jamaica with a win behind your name."Campbell overcame an uncertain start to play solidly at times, but he was never at his best. The type of determined qualities he displayed, however, often does a lot for teams when chasing what are seemingly straightforward targets.Fellow opener Philo Wallace was also watchful, and his 32, along with Floyd Reifer’s 26 and Dwayne Smith’s 18 were equally important contributions.After adding 58 with Campbell, Wallace gave a return catch to leg-spinner Rawl Lewis, and Kurt Wilkinson duplicated his dismissal six runs later before Reifer arrived to provide some impetus to the innings.Reifer eventually skied a cross-batted shot to cover, but Campbell and Smith took Barbados home. There might have been some concern for the visitors in the middle of the morning session.As lunch approached, they had claimed just one wicket and the Windwards were gradually building a lead, but Barbados quickly regained the initiative by collecting the last four for 16 runs in 20 minutes either side of lunch.John Eugene resumed as the Windwards’ main hope of setting Barbados a difficult total, but was undone by a delivery from Ian Bradshaw that found the edge as it moved away on pitching.It was Barbados’ sole success in the first hour and three-quarters in spite of good bowling from Bradshaw and left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn, who operated in tandem for most of the session.Benn should have removed Orlanzo Jackson but Browne missed a stumping that did not prove too costly in the end.It required a big risk from the Windwards to end a potentially worrying seventh-wicket stand between Jackson and Darren Sammy.The pair were together for close on an hour when they attempted a non-existent single when the ball had only gone as far as backward short-leg.It was quickly swooped on by Wilkinson at forward short-leg and once his return was relayed to keeper Browne, Jackson was found wanting by some distance.By then, Tino Best was into the attack and got the ball to move around, but his direction centred too much on leg stump.When he was presented with a left-hander, Deighton Butler, it suited him just fine and he induced him into snicking a catch to the keeper.A typically enthusiastic Best fired in an unplayable yorker at Kenroy Peters with the last ball before lunch and after a short delay because of rain, Benn ended the Windwards’ resistance in the first over after the break when Sammy’s firm push was smartly caught by Wilkinson under the bat.It was Benn’s only wicket of the day but his fifth in the innings.SCOREBOARD:WINDWARDS 1st Innings 156BARBADOS 1st Innings 232WINDWARDS 2nd Innings(overnight 150-5)D. Smith lbw Benn 55R. Currency b Benn 41K. Sylvester c Reifer b Benn 19+J. Murray lbw b Hurley 6J. Eugene c wk Browne b Bradshaw 20*R. Lewis lbw b Benn 0O. Jackson run out 30D. Sammy c Wilkinson b Benn 23D. Butler c wk Browne b Best 3K. Peters lbw b Best 0S. Shillingford not out 0Extras (b1, lb6, w1, nb11) 19Penalty runs 5TOTAL (all out – 74.4 overs) 223Fall of wickets: 1-91 (Smith), 2-109 (Currency), 3-116 (Murray), 4-143 (Sylvester), 5-144 (Lewis), 6-173 (Eugene), 7-207 (Jackson), 8-210 (Butler), 9-223 (Peters), 10-223 (Peters).Bowling: Bradshaw 15-3-46-1 (w1, nb3), Best 7-1-17-2 (nb1), Hurley 21-2-57-1 (nb5), Thomas 2-0-23-0 (nb2), Benn 29.4-7-68-5.BARBADOS 2nd InningsP. Wallace c and b Lewis 32S. Campbell not out 66K. Wilkinson c and b Lewis 2F. Reifer c Sammy b Butler 26D. Smith not out 18Extras (b2, nb4) 6TOTAL (3 wkts – 59.2 overs) 150Fall of wickets: 1-58 (Wallace), 2-64 (Wilkinson), 3-115 (Reifer)Bowling: Butler 10-1-40-1 (nb1), Peters 7-5-4-0, Jackson 13-2-27-0, Sammy 4-1-17-0, Lewis 13-4-29-2 (nb1), Shillingford 12.2-4-31-0.Result: Barbados won by seven wickets with a day to spare.Points: Barbados 12, Windwards 0.Umpires: Goaland Greaves, Harry Rajkumar

The Nine Network will broadcast live Australia’s matches in the SuperSix series of the 2003 Cricket World Cup.The Nine Network will also screen both World Cup semi-finals live onTuesday, March 18 from 7.00pm and on Thursday, March 20 from 11.30pm, aswell as the World Cup Final on Sunday, March 23 from 7.00pm.Times shown for Sydney and Melbourne. Please check your local guide.Friday, March 7: 7.00pm to 2.45am – Australia v Sri LankaSaturday, March 8: 11.40pm to 2.45am – Zimbabwe v New Zealand (secondsession only)Tuesday, March 11: 7.00pm to 2.45am – Australia v New ZealandFriday, March 14: 11.40pm to 2.45am – India v New Zealand (secondsession only)Saturday, March 15: 11.15pm to 7.15am – Australia v KenyaTuesday, March 18: 7.00pm to 2.45am – First Semi-finalThursday, March 20: 11.30pm to 7.15am – Second Semi-finalSunday, March 23: 7.00pm to 2.45am – World Cup Final

Sri Lanka’s batsmen, faced with New Zealand’s daunting 515 for 7, sparkled in the morning, wobbled in the afternoon and consolidated in the evening. When a thunderstorm forced a premature close for the second consecutive day, they were comfortably placed on 267 for 4.With a double strike soon after lunch, Sri Lanka were in danger of following on, but an unbroken fifth-wicket stand worth 133 runs between Hashan Tillakaratne, used to such rearguard action, and Mahela Jayawardene, who needed to make up for his horrendous dropped catches yesterday, gave them a fighting chance of saving the game.Having negotiated a testing spell from Shane Bond, New Zealand’s most penetrative bowler, Tillakaratne and Jayawardene settled down and were rarely troubled in the evening. Jayawardene put his dismal World Cup form to bed, easing his way to his 17th fifty, finishing the day on 58 not out. Tillakaratne, who came agonisingly close to being trapped lbw when padding up to Darryl Tuffey late on, was unbeaten on 71, his 19th half-century in Tests.Sri Lanka were not out of trouble yet, but assuming that they score the 49 runs needed to avoid the follow on, they would expect to bat out the final day on a featherhead surface still offering the bowlers scant assistance. The first priority tomorrow will be seeing off the second new ball, which was taken minutes before the rain. Even if they did collapse spectacularly, Stephen Fleming may be forced to bat again to refresh his tired bowlers.After their disastrous two overs on Saturday evening, when Marvan Atapattu had been dubiously adjudged lbw to the fifth ball of the innings, Sri Lanka had made a spirited start to the fourth day. Chaminda Vaas, the nightwatchman, scored just 4 before edging to Fleming at first slip, but Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya then rallied, adding 103 from 184 balls for the third wicket.Sangakkara, freed from the exhausting burden of keeping wicket, was especially impressive. Aggressive from the outset, he kick-started his innings with a flurry of early boundaries off Bond. He should have been dismissed early, but the New Zealand catching was nearly as shoddy as Sri Lanka’s on the previous two days. Bond missed a low return catch when Sangakkara mistimed a punched drive on 11 and Fleming grassed a low chance at slip off Jacob Oram when on 23.Undeterred, Sangakkara remained positive, greeting Daniel Vettori’s introduction with another string of boundaries. Aware that Vettori represented a key threat, Sangakkara disturbed his length, driving through the covers when full and sweeping in front of square when Vettori pulled back. He breezed to his tenth Test fifty off just 73 balls.Jayasuriya – now back opening the innings after a failed experiment in the middle order during the last tour to South Africa – was slow in comparison but certainly no slouch. Characteristically strong through the off side, he completed his 23rd Test fifty in the last over after lunch.Going into lunch on 114 for 2, Sri Lanka were well positioned. The pitch – slow and flat – held few fears and clear blue skies offered little encouragement for New Zealand’s pace bowlers. However, the cruel dismissal of Jayasuriya, who was bowled for 50, swung the initiative back to the visitors. Playing defensively, Jayasuriya jabbed down at a short delivery from Bond only to watch in horror as the ball bounced back over his head to neatly dislodge his leg-stump bail. (114 for 3).Shortly afterwards, Sri Lanka slipped deeper into the mire when Sangakkara pressed the self-destruct button. Over eager to attack the offspin of Paul Wiseman, he walloped two straight boundaries but perished when aiming an expansive legside swat. The ball spun, took the leading edge and Oram held a fine catch running backwards from extra cover (134 for 4).Bond, who troubled the batsman with his extra pace, finishing the day with 2 for 64, dominated the New Zealand bowling. Darryl Tuffey, his new-ball partner, and Oram were tight but rarely threatening. Wiseman’s best moment was the dismissal of Sangakkara while Vettori toiled away for 21 overs without success.

Worcestershire County Cricket Club retained their unbeaten tour record against a strong Kwa-Zulu Natal Invitation XI in Phalaborwa, on the edge of the Kruger National Park in South Africa, yesterday.On a slow damp wicket with movement for the ball off the seam, Worcestershire were asked to bat first and reached a final total of 189 all out. David Leatherdale top scored with 67 helped by Vikram Solanki with 42. In reply the Invitational XI struggled to reach a final total of 152 with David Leatherdale once again leading the way with 4 wickets backed up by Chris Liptrot with 3 wickets and Mark Harrity with two wickets to help secure a 37 run victory and a third successive victory.The final tour game will take place on Friday against an NCD Invitational XI before the squad fly home on Monday. The team will travel to Hove to take on Sussex next Wednesday and Thursday.Overseas Player Nantie Hayward flies in next Tuesday to join the team during the final weeks of pre season training before the opening 4 day game against Hampshire at New Road on Friday 18th April.

A Derbyshire Scorpions XI will play an inaugural fixture under the new Twenty20 Cup rules at the County Ground, Derby against a Derbyshire Premier Cricket League XI.The match – beginning at 5.30pm on Friday May 16 – will be played in coloured clothing and with a white ball, and admission to the 20 over per side game will be free of charge to spectators. Refreshments will be available on the evening. This shortened variety of the game takes less than 3 hours from start to finish.The purpose of the fixture is twofold – to promote the relationship between the respective organisations, and to provide a flavour of the exciting new competition being introduced to spectators in 2003."This provides a great test for the professionals against the best of the recreational game in Derbyshire – and should give everyone a glimpse of the thrills and spills that Twenty20 is intended to provide. The game is designed to attract new supporters to cricket, and we hope that local people will support their Club and County," said Derbyshire CCC Chief Executive, John Smedley.In the Twenty20 Cup regional zones, Derbyshire Scorpions will play three away fixtures and two home against County opposition – the home games will be versus local rivals Nottinghamshire Outlaws on Thursday 19th June, and the Durham Dynamos on Monday June 23rd.Twenty20 Cup Ticket information

Former Hampshire medium-pace bowler James Schofield is set to make his ECB Southern Electric Premier League debut for BAT Sports against Liphook & Ripsley at Southern Gardens tomorrow, 11.30am.Schofield, 25, had intended to play for BAT at the start of the season, but has continued to suffer from the back injury which seriously affected and eventually curtailed his Hampshire career."Schoey had a run out for us in the SEC Cup a fortnight ago and is set to play his first all-day game tomorrow," said BAT skipper Richard Dibden."He got Matthew Hayden with the first ball he bowled in First Class cricket a couple of seasons ago. Let’s hope he can make a similar start for us !"BAT’s final selection will depend upon whether all-rounder Damian Shirazi is required for MCC groundstaff duty at Lord’s."The YC’s may have to be at Lord’s to bowl at the England and Pakistan players before Sunday’s one-day international, so we’re not certain how things stand selection-wise at the moment," Dibden added.BAT, two points ahead of South Wilts in the leadership race, will expect to beat Liphook, although Dibden acknowledges the toss could be crucial."Liphook drew six of their seven `time’ games last season and aren’t an easy side to bowl out – as Havant found out a few weeks ago," he said.Havant continue their title defence at fourth-placed Bournemouth – a match which commands BBC Radio Solent’s live coverage tomorrow afternoon.Luke Sears returns to the Havant side which had the edge in last week’s draw with BAT, but premier wicket-taker Phil Loat is unable to travel and plays in the 2nd XI against Rowledge."Not having Phil aboard is a bit of a blow, but we’ve got two other quality spinners in Richard Hindley and Matt Cox, so our attack remains well balanced," said Havant captain Paul Gover.Hampshire Under-19 all-rounder Chris Wright, who joind Havant from Liphook this season, has signed an Academy contract … with Middlesex.Bournemouth, with four wins in five matches, have begun the season in a positive manner and are liable to give Havant a run for their money.Western Australia’s Adam Voges is desperate to put a score on the board after bagging two ducks in the past fortnight."To be fair, he’s not really had the rub of the green, but Adam is liable to explode with a big one very soon," said Bournemouth captain Matt Swarbrick.David Kidner is out of the Bournemouth line up and replaced by fellow left-armer Matt Mixer.Second placed South Wilts are forced to shuffle the pack at Bashley, where Hampshire left-armer Jimmy Tomlinson and Tim Lamb notable are absentees.Adam Smith returns to the seam attack, with Dan Webb taking over the keeper’s gloves from Lamb.John Whiting is back for Bashley, who looked a much stronger outfit with Australian Brad Thompson back in their ranks last week.Andover have fitness worries over all-rounder Mark Miller ahead of their tough-looking visit to the Rose Bowl.Miller cricked his neck last night and may miss out playing against the on-song Hampshire Academy players for whom he prepares the Nursery Ground pitches. The Academy have won their last two games, beating Bournemouth and Portsmouth.Promising KES batsman Alex Richardson returns after a finger injury, while Charlie van der Gucht is added to the side which Giles White will captain.With both clubs in the bottom three, Calmore’s visit to Portsmouth’s Southsea seafront ground will have major implications in the relegation zone.The pair have each won only one game – Portsmouth’s solitary success coming against Liphook & Ripsley on the opening day of the season and Calmore’s against the Hampshire Academy one week later.Portsmouth’s lean run continued with a seven-wicket defeat by Corsham in the ECB Club Championship last weekend, whereas Calmore need to halt the habit of getting themselves into good positions … only to toss potential wins away."We ought to have beaten both Liphook and last week Bournemouth, but in both games we threw away a terrific advantage," lamented skipper Tom Pegler.

They are winless after seven County Championship matches, and staring relegation full in the face, but Kent’s prospects for the season have increased tenfold after it was announced that Muttiah Muralitharan would be joining them for the remainder of the season.Murali is the most prolific wicket-taker in world cricket, with 459 wickets in 82 Tests and a further 342 in 223 ODIs. He played a similarly truncated season for Lancashire in 1999, in which he picked up 66 wickets in just seven matches – and in one of those he didn’t even bowl. He returned two seasons later and repeated his success with 50 wickets in another seven-match stint, and almost single-handedly saved Lancashire from relegation.Murali will be available to play for Kent from July 21, initially as a replacement for Andrew Symonds, who will be on international duty with Australia. He will then fill in for Kent’s other overseas player, Mohammad Sami, who returns to Pakistan in September for their series against Bangladesh.”We are thrilled to have Murali with us for the latter part of the season,” said Kent’s director of cricket, Ian Brayshaw. “As we found with Steve Waugh last year, to have a player of such international standing has a huge impact throughout the Club and it will be a particularly good opportunity for our younger players to learn from one of the world’s greatest bowlers.”Murali’s first appearance for Kent will be on July 27, in the National League fixture against Yorkshire at Scarborough.

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Two wickets late in the day from Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison put England on top for the second day running in the third npower Test against South Africa at Trent Bridge. After building a large total of 445 in which Alec Stewart rolled back the years with a combative 72, England reduced South Africa to 84 for 2 on a misbehaving pitch. And to make Michael Vaughan even happier, they dismissed Graeme Smith for less than 200.Stewart now has a maximum of five more innings to overhaul Viv Richards’s total of 8540 Test runs (he currently has 8398) and he gave the initiative back to England after a sticky morning in which they lost three wickets. He shepherded the tail with some intelligent singles and booming boundaries and belted 11 fours in all, latching on to anything short or wide. He whipped Andrew Hall through midwicket for four and signalled the 400 next ball with a square cut for two. But he saved the best shot of the lot to bring up his fifty with a thumping back-foot drive off Hall.With the exception of Makhaya Ntini, the bowling was a much more demanding prospect for England than yesterday. Pollock again led the way on a two-paced pitch, and it was he who struck early. After his stirring century yesterday afternoon, Nasser Hussain slipped straight back to his intense self, but he was unable to find the same fluency as he was trapped lbw in front of off-and-middle (322 for 4). That ended an enterprising partnership of 104 between Hussain and Ed Smith.Smith showed none of his first-day nerves as he brought up his debut Test fifty, but any thoughts of a century were dashed when Jacques Kallis came up with the perfect awayswinger, which Smith nibbled through to Mark Boucher (334 for 5).

Smith was caught flat-footed as the ball wobbled away from him, but it was an impressive start from England’s bright new spark. He walked off to hearty applause in the knowledge of that, but whether he knows he is the 15th Smith to play for England, and that his 64 is the highest score on debut by any of them, is doubtful – even if he does have a double-first from Cambridge.Andrew Flintoff also unusually took his time, but never got going. He paid for his caution, and lack of footwork, when he edged Hall to Pollock at first slip for a 20-ball duck (347 for 6). Hall, like Kallis, was moving the ball away to good effect and Flintoff, like Smith, played away from the body to his peril. Ashley Giles (22), Kirtley (1) and Harmison (14) all hung around to give Stewart some valuable support, as he used all his nous to guide England towards 450.James Anderson opened with James Kirtley, the debutant, whose first ball in Test cricket went for four when Gibbs clipped him through midwicket. But Kirtley settled down to a tidy spell, finding the odd hint of away movement, although Anderson continued to struggle. He was determined not to feed Smith’s leg-side craving, but instead gifted two half-volleys outside off stump in the same over, which were both crashed to the boundary boards as Smith and Gibbs made a solid start.While Smith was subdued by his Bradmanesque standards, Gibbs was starting to fire. He clipped Flintoff past square leg and caressed a breathtaking cover drive in the next over. But, as in the second Test, his downfall was an inside-edge off Steve Harmison. It was a better ball than at Lord’s, full and straight with a hint of movement in to Gibbs, and it cannoned into middle stump off the bat (56 for 1).Harmison wasn’t brought on till the 16th over, and that wicket gave him the gee-up he and England needed. Bowling in tandem with Flintoff, they cranked up the pace and put the pressure on with aggressive and hostile deliveries. Bowling around the wicket to Smith, Flintoff forced him to play and miss a few times, and after he edged one just short of Marcus Trescothick at first slip, Flintoff wondered what he had to do to get shot of him.Well, the answer came in his next over as Smith’s charmed life came to an end in the most bizarre of circumstances. Leaping back to defend another quick Flintoff short ball, his left foot slipped back too far and trod firmly on his own stumps (66 for 2). Smith sauntered off shaking his head while Flintoff celebrated a deserved change of fortune.The two Jacques, Rudolph and Kallis, dug in till the end and Rudolph was lucky to survive an lbw shout from Anderson with four overs to go. They’re still 361 behind and with the wicket playing some tricks, they’re up against it.Click here for the Wisden Verdict

Ian Botham must be relieved. At last English cricket fans can stop talking about the great escape of Headingley ’81, and can start banging on about The Oval ’03.It remains to be seen whether quite as many videos are sold of this one, but England’s comeback here was equally remarkable. You could have got long odds – 40/1 apparently – on an England victory on Thursday night, after a performance which left the watching journalists struggling for synonyms for “lacklustre”. Herschelle Gibbs had scored boundaries at will, Gary Kirsten was uncharacteristically positive, the umpiring breaks hadn’t gone England’s way, and the beer was too warm.England actually started to turn it around late on that first day, with three late wickets and a decent new-ball burst from Jimmy Anderson. Still, South Africa’s 362 for 4 seemed decisive. The revival continued next morning when they managed an early wicket – something they had signally failed to do in more helpful conditions at Headingley – and polished off the tail in a fashion that sowed the first seeds of a sensation.South Africa still finished with 484. Only six previous times in Test history had a score that big in the first innings of a match led to defeat (since you ask, these were: Australia 586 v England at Sydney in 1894-95; West Indies 526 for 7 dec v England at Port-of-Spain in 1967-68; Australia 520 v South Africa at Melbourne in 1952-53; England 519 v Australia at Melbourne in 1928-29; England 496 v Australia at Headingley in 1948; and Australia 490 v West Indies at Bridgetown in 1998-99).The optimistic best-case scenario then had England running up 600 and bowling South Africa out cheaply again on a belter of a pitch. Amazingly, it came to pass: Marcus Trescothick played within himself for 219, and Graham Thorpe played out of his skin for a comeback century. Alec Stewart mucked up the script by succumbing for 38, although his partnership with Trescothick was an important one. But even Sam Mendes would have ensured a wrinkle or two in the screenplay.And then came Flintoff. Another early wicket on the fourth morning would have put South Africa back in the box-seat for the draw they needed to claim the series. Instead Flintoff remembered his lines and smashed the ball to all parts, including one straight six off Makhaya Ntini that threatened those journalists in the airless Oval press box. A lead of 20 or so became 120, Martin Bicknell bananaed the ball around, Stephen Harmison conjured up one special over, and South Africa were gasping for breath.Even the weather was on England’s side. It saved them at Edgbaston, and it held off here (the original forecasts for Sunday and Monday were terrible). And it helped that the diffidence that marked the final Test of South Africa’s last two tours here, in 1994 and 1998, returned to haunt them. Graeme Smith will look back on this summer and wonder where it all went wrong.In the second innings Trescothick added a forthright 69 not out to his double-century, but despite his two fine knocks this wasn’t quite Tresco’s Test in the same way as ’81 belonged to Botham. Thorpe, Flintoff, Bicknell and Harmison played vital roles too, while Stewart’s long farewell kept the crowd involved throughout the match. This was a remarkably resilient team effort from a remarkably resilient team.Steven Lynch is the editor of Wisden CricInfo.Day 5 Bulletin: England square series with nine-wicket win