When all hope seems lost, there is still hope. Seems ironical? Not really. This may not be the ideal Test. But it has had enough drama from sunken hopes to revived charge, from dull despair to respite. The match is far from over. One could say, it has just begun…again.
South Africa survived on hope as Hashim Amla guided them safely through till stumps at the end of the third day’s play. There was still an uphill battle to course; but now there was a ray of hope. It faded quickly though as South Africa sunk further to five wickets and it appeared it was curtains for the day as far as the visitors are concerned.
Then began the revival, slow but steady South Africa began to rebuild again from the midst of the ruins. And then came on an edifice, not structured to bear one strong innings in response but enough to ensure there would not be an awkward fall. The empire would not rise, at least not today.
Arrested development
The journey took one specialist batsman and a gritty spinner with an unlikely took in hand, the bat. They toiled, they stood their ground and they built in short steps and in long. England who looked like they would be chasing less than eighty runs wee beginning to see their task stiffen, if only marginally. South Africa began to see their lead grow, albeit slow and steady. Each run gave hope of another.
A bond grew and it stopped the bleeding of wickets. Runs flowed and so did confidence. What began as a gloomy day was getting brighter. Hope was in the air and there would be another chance to live. AB de Villiers proved once again that when South Africa seemed dry for a drop, there is always a little more in the tank. The innings he built with Paul Harris has perhaps changed the course of the match. South Africa looked like they were burying themselves chasing a dead rubber. But the game came alive. A century partnership suddenly gave something for the bowlers to knock on and the fielders to stay alive. AB may have missed a century by three runs but if South Africa manage to pull off a miracle at the Oval, his innings will perhaps be more valuable to him and his team than some of the centuries he will perhaps have made or will make in the years to come.
Die another day
What Test would be complete without the elements having a say in how a game of cricket shaped. Dark clouds came and dimmed the lights around the ground. The batsmen waited for the day to end; the bowlers, for their day to begin. This was no time to shy. But it was a battle that would count for the fifth day.
For an English revival, it has shown signs of life. Considering cricket in England in recent times, perhaps there is where they will feel satisfied, sit back and sit on the laurels that passed them by. If England manage to pull themselves above and beyond the cross bar, they will take a little sheen off the South African series victory, though that would be hard in the series that waited sixty-five years to make history.
If South Africa push it beyond England, it will be yet another sign of the growing self-belief within this team. After their batting shock in the first innings and patches of revival in the second day, they will seek solace in the loss but knowing Graeme Smith, will look to make amends at the next foreseeable opportunity. On the contrary, if England manage to win this Test, and not fall into the sedate trap on drinking themselves to the bone, it may just set them wondering on the what if’s – would the series have been any different if the change of guard happened sooner?
