South Africa, having chosen to bat first, were 175 for five wickets when bad light stopped play on the first day of the second Test against England at Kingsmead on Saturday.
Captain Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis guided South Africa to 67 for two at lunch after England had made a double early breakthrough. Despite losing the toss and being asked to bowl, England enjoyed an excellent early spell of pressure, removing two batsmen in the first 10 overs as the hosts crashed to 10-2.
Opening bowler Jimmy Anderson got the tourists off to a fine start by making a good-length delivery leap off the pitch at Ashwell Prince (2), which the left-hander could only edge to Graeme Swann at third slip.
Hashim Amla then tried to play a straight delivery from Stuart Broad but missed the ball and was adjudged lbw for two. England’s fast bowlers held sway for the first hour on a pitch that always threatened the batsmen with its pace and bounce.
South Africa scored just 15 runs in the first 13 overs but the softening of the ball, combined with the hot sun and a north-easterly wind, allowed conditions to ease as Smith and Kallis increased the run-rate in the second hour. Both batsmen showed their class as they raised their fifty partnership off 77 balls, with Smith ending the session on 29 and Kallis on 28.
{{/usCountry}}South Africa scored just 15 runs in the first 13 overs but the softening of the ball, combined with the hot sun and a north-easterly wind, allowed conditions to ease as Smith and Kallis increased the run-rate in the second hour. Both batsmen showed their class as they raised their fifty partnership off 77 balls, with Smith ending the session on 29 and Kallis on 28.
{{/usCountry}}Smith was struck a painful blow on the left hand by Anderson and required lengthy treatment, reviving memories of the test against Australia at Kingsmead in March when Mitchell Johnson broke his right hand. The first test of the four-match series ended in a draw.
Smith was particularly watchful, scoring only 10 runs off 62 balls before he struck his first boundary when Anderson, in his second spell, allowed him enough width to hit a meaty square cut.
Fast bowler Dale Steyn, who was ruled out of the drawn first Test at Centurion shortly before the start because of hamstring injury, returned to the South African team in place of Friedel de Wet.