Two games, two strong performances and two convincing wins, but England’s opening week of the South Africa tour has also been one of contrast within the squad. Emerging batsmen have defied the selectors to leave them out of the one-day side, but pace bowlers have already started to drop.
At the Diamond Oval yesterday, Joe Denly presented an increasingly strong case to retain his opening position with a stylish 82 from 85 balls against a depleted Warriors. He put on 175 with Andrew Strauss, whose own prominent start continued with an unbeaten 117 to add to his 72 against Diamond Eagles two days earlier.
But a relative embarrassment of riches among the top five is not reflected at the lower end of the scorecard. James Anderson, Tim Bresnan and Sajid Mahmood represented the only fast-medium bowlers fit enough to play here as Graham Onions and Stuart Broad continued to receive treatment.
At least initial pessimism over Broad has been calmed by scans revealing no serious damage to his right shoulder, injured in the field on Friday. He carried drinks yesterday with his arm out of a sling. However, demands on that part of his body are enormous and there will be no relish to jeopardise his tour with a premature comeback.
Onions was able to bowl, albeit gingerly off no more than six paces, before the game, but the arrival of Liam Plunkett among others early next week means that England can call on temporary replacements at short notice if the worst does come to the worst before the first 50-over international on November 20.
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Whichever of the batsmen is ultimately omitted will feel unlucky, assuming that Kevin Pietersen maintains his schedule for recovery. Denly stood vulnerable after Jonathan Trott struck an accomplished 85 against Diamond Eagles, but the Kent player regained ground with an innings of growing confidence that included two sweet straight sixes.
His freedom to stroke the ball was affected only briefly when he was grazed above the right wrist by the medium pace of Darryl Brown. At that point, Strauss had been responsible for the bulk of the scoring, hitting off the front foot as frequently as he unveiled his favoured pulls and cuts. Their stand came from 178 balls.
“It was quite tricky to begin with because the pitch was a bit slow and they were bowling cutters,” Denly said. “The more I bat with Straussy the more I enjoy it and it makes life easier for me when he is batting so well. I think the left-hand, right-hand combination also works well at the top.”
When South Africa toured England last year they sought to unsettle Michael Vaughan, as Graeme Smith reveals in a newly published diary spanning 2007-09. They bagged their prey when Vaughan resigned, a near-broken man, after the Edgbaston Test. This time, Smith is taking any opportunity to query the approach of Strauss.
Yesterday, the South Africa captain repeated an earlier thought that his opposite number is deliberately becoming more outspoken having assumed the leadership. He has changed, Smith believes, from being a figure who went about his business unnoticed to somebody altogether more outspoken.
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It would have been hard to miss Strauss yesterday as he danced down the pitch to drive the floaty swing of Andrew Birch and then hit the bowler over long-off.
Earlier, Graeme Swann coped impressively at both ends with a strong crosswind. The fact that his three wickets came from two stumpings and a catch off his own bowling shows how he confused batsmen with flight and changes of pace. Adil Rashid, as the second spin bowler, caused far less trouble. Among the seam bowlers, Anderson suffered a frustrating time, Bresnan was accurate and Mahmood inconsistent, beating the bat one minute but straying off line the next.
Warriors
J P Kreusch st Prior b Rashid 32
R R Jeggels c and b Swann 30
C A Ingram st Prior b Swann 18
A Jacobs not out 83
*† D J Jacobs c Strauss b Mahmood 50
C A Thyssen st Prior b Swann 2
P J van Biljon not out 17
Extras (b1, lb8, nb1, w12) 22
Total (5 wkts, 50 overs) 254
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J Theron, D L Brown, A C R Birch, C R Dolley and S Ntshona did not bat.
Fall of wickets: 1-60, 2-82, 3-93, 4-223, 5-228.
Bowling: Anderson 9-0-50-0; Bresnan 10-1-40-0; Mahmood 7-1-36-1; Swann 10-0-26-3; Rashid 8-0-47-1; Collingwood 6-0-46-0.
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England XI
*A J Strauss not out 117
J L Denly c Ntshona b Brown 82
A N Cook c Kreusch b Theron 34
P D Collingwood not out 12
Extras (b4, lb1, nb2, w4) 11
Total (2 wkts, 40.5 overs) 256
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E J G Morgan, † M J Prior, T T Bresnan, A U Rashid, G P Swann, J M Anderson and S I Mahmood did not bat.
Fall of wickets: 1-175, 2-228.
Bowling: Birch 7-0-58-0; Theron 7.5-1-30-1; Brown 5-0-36-1; Kreusch 2-0-17-0; Dolley 6-0-39-0; A Jacobs 10-0-50-0; Ntshona 3-0-21-0.
Players a side: England, 11; Warriors, 12 (11 batting and 11 fielding).
Umpires: M Erasmus and B G Jerling.