Anderson claims early wicket

James Anderson
12 April 2012

England at last prised out Jacques Kallis at Centurion this morning as South Africa progressed to 298 for five in the first hour.

After a chastening first day of this four-Test series, the tourists needed to shift Kallis early and, thanks to James Anderson, they did get their man for the addition of only eight runs to his overnight 112.

There was still the small matter of removing JP Duminy, though, before England could be confident of conceding less than 400 in their hosts' first innings.

Duminy passed his half-century in a fifth-wicket stand of 124 with Kallis, the left-hander cover-driving Anderson for his sixth four to add to his one six from 120 balls.

A scorching sun again made the task still more difficult for England's three-man pace attack.

There were enough warning signs, too, from a pitch of occasional uneven bounce to again alert England to the value of each run scored by South Africa. In that context, the dismissal of Kallis was key.

Anderson cracked the code with a perfectly-pitched delivery, drawing Kallis into a forward push on off-stump and taking the edge when it bounced and held its line, giving Paul Collingwood his third catch of the innings at second slip.

Yet, even with the cornerstone gone after a five-hour stay, South Africa were probably quietly happy with their work so far, having been put in yesterday on a pitch dappled with green.

Graham Onions certainly found plenty in the surface to disconcert Kallis several times this morning before giving way to Stuart Broad at the Hennops River end.

But Duminy (54no), in company with new batsman Mark Boucher, still appeared to have more to give before England could get into what looked on paper a vulnerable tail.

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