England Lions draw with South Africa A in Paarl
Wednesday 14th January 2015
Jonathan Trott completed a remarkable double-century and there were freewheeling fifties for the Yorkshire bowlers Liam Plunkett and Jack Brooks as the first four-day match between England Lions and South Africa A faded to an inevitable draw.
Trott, who resumed the last morning on 176, picked up where he had left off by maintaining impeccable concentration and technique in the energy-sapping Paarl heat, which reached 42 degrees on the hottest day yet.
When he declared the Lions innings on 624 for eight half an hour before lunch, the captain remained unbeaten on 211 after batting 13 minutes short of 11 hours, and facing 403 balls.
It was the fourth double-century of his career in first-class cricket, his first since he made 203 for England against Sri Lanka in Cardiff in 2011, and his second-highest score, with the declaration denying him the chance to beat the career-best 226 he made against Bangladesh at Lord’s in 2010.
South Africa A made 92 for two in their second innings before the teams agreed on a draw at tea, meaning that Trott had been on the field for all but 10 overs of the match.
Boyd Rankin trapped the first-innings centurion Gihahm Cloete lbw in a determined post-lunch spell, and Adil Rashid had Stiaan van Zyl caught behind by his Yorkshire team-mate Jonny Bairstow in his best spell of the tour so far.
There were no wickets for Plunkett or Brooks, but they had both made a major impact in the morning session. Plunkett, who was on 31 overnight, moved to a 72-ball half century with eight fours and two sixes before he hooked Chris Morris to Cloete at long-leg.
Mark Wood fell cheaply but Brooks relished the opportunity to score only the second half-century of his career in first-class cricket.
He lofted Dane Piedt, an off-spinner who made his Test debut last year, over midwicket for one six, and hooked the home captain Rory Kleinveldt for another.
Brooks then reached his fifty from 37 balls with consecutive fours, and equalled his previous career-best of 53 by clipping his next ball for three, before Trott declared to leave him not out.
The teams now head north to Bloemfontein for another four-day match, which starts on Sunday, with South Africa A set to be boosted by the return of several players who were drafted into the senior Proteas team for the Twenty20 series against West Indies, including Justin Ontong and Marchant de Lange.
See Lions squad members Sam Billings and Adam Riley in action this summer with a Kent Cricket Membership.
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