England Lions toil against South Africa A in Paarl
Monday 12th January 2015
Liam Plunkett led a battling bowling performance in fierce Boland heat on the first day of England Lions’ major winter challenge against South Africa A.
The Paarl pitch is renowned as a featherbed, with more than 1,000 runs scored for the loss of 15 wickets in the last four-day match here, so the Lions had a fair idea of what was coming when the home captain Rory Kleinveldt won the toss and chose to bat.
But they stuck to their task admirably, with Plunkett deserving more than the two wickets he picked up in a probing post-lunch spell, and Mark Wood desperately unlucky not to take a scalp on his 25th birthday.
There was a bonus wicket for Adam Lyth, who had Khaya Zondo smartly stumped by his Yorkshire team-mate Jonny Bairstow in the first of two overs of his occasional off-spin late in the day, and Boyd Rankin also claimed one success thanks to a good low catch by Sam Robson.
But the home team underlined the depth of talent in South Africa, and the quality of opposition that the Lions will face from their A-team on this tour, as the 22-year-olds Gihahn Cloete and Theunis de Bruyn each scored a century on debut to build an imposing first-day total of 379 for four.
Wood caused trouble for both Cloute and Stiaan van Zyl in his new-ball spell. Van Zyl, who has batted in the middle order in South Africa’s last three Tests but was promoted to open here to confirm him as a possible successor to Alviro Petersen in the senior team, survived a huge lbw appeal and was then beaten on the inside and outside edge in consecutive balls.
But, having ridden his luck, van Zyl showed his class in making 65 in an opening stand of 122 with Cloute.
Plunkett broke their partnership in an excellent spell immediately after lunch. He had Cloute missed at first slip on 42 but also found van Zyl’s outside edge in his next over with Alex Lees holding on low to his right.
The same Yorkshire combination struck again four overs later as Plunkett induced a loose drive from Andrew Puttick, an old schoolboy team-mate of the Lions captain Jonathan Trott in Cape Town junior cricket, and the tourists sniffed an opportunity with the home team on 132 for two.
But de Bruyn, a stylish right-hander from Pretoria, joined Cloute to add 150 for the third wicket before the opener cut Rankin to Robson in the gully on 123. De Bruyn, though, ended the day unbeaten on 126.
“It was a tough day,” agreed Plunkett. "I've just said to the boys that's the start of the tour. I thought we could have had a couple more out if we'd had a bit of luck, and we missed a couple of chances. But that's cricket. The test for us now is to come back tomorrow and go again.”
England Lions team:A Lyth, SD Robson, AZ Lees, IJL Trott*, JM Vince, JM Bairstow†, AU Rashid, LE Plunkett, MA Wood, JA Brooks, WB Rankin.
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