Oh, Sweet England…

Once again, England, we can count on you to fail to seize the initiative when handed to you on a golden platter. This time, England had a cracking start to day 2 of the Third Test with South Africa–taking the final four Proteas wickets for just 12 runs. Jimmy Anderson tore through the rest of South Africa’s lineup, getting both Morne Morkel and Friedel de Wet for ducks, while neither Jacques Kallis nor Dale Steyn added to their overnight totals before getting sent back to the dressing room. South Africa closed their first innings with a score of 291, which I think could be classified as a below-par score for a first innings.

England was poised to seize the initiative and really put the South Africans under pressure. Then, Andrew Strauss fell to the sixth ball he faced as he was caught behind by Boucher off Morkel. The collapse was on. Trott managed just 20, while Kevin Pietersen’s mighty struggles continue–he was caught and bowled by Steyn for naught. Collingwood looked less than 100 percent as he fell for 19. Ian Bell managed to stem the tide a bit, and then Matt Prior and Stuart Broad formed a solid tail-end partnership to bring some respectability. Alastair Cook had the top English performance of the day with 65 off 136 balls. Once again, Steyn and Morkel caused problems, and once again, England lacked the batsman with Kallis-like grit to push them onward.

England ended day two at 241 for 7, still needing 50 runs to draw level. If today’s opening 90 minutes is any indication, England will not add significantly to that total. It will be up to the bowlers to try and remove South Africa cheaply or face defeat once again in Cape Town.