da heads bet： Plays of the day for the fourth day of the first Test between Australia and South Africa in Perth
da supremo： Brydon Coverdale at the WACA20-Dec-2008
Graeme Smith became the fourth South Africa batsman to reach 6000 runs © Getty Images
Australia’s drinking problem
It’s amazing how often a wicket falls immediately after drinks. On thethird day Ricky Ponting departed on the fourth ball following a breakand from the first delivery after the next drinks interval AndrewSymonds skied a catch to mid-on off the spinner Paul Harris. On thefourth day Mitchell Johnson became the third Australian in the inningsto suffer a concentration snap in the first over after a drinks breakwhen he tried to launch an expansive drive off Morne Morkel and edgedto slip.A truly cracking shot
A different kind of break caused a problem for Johnson earlier in hisinnings. When he mistimed a drive off Dale Steyn his bat cracked and areplacement was hurried out from the dressing room so he could safelyface the final ball of the over. Johnson had pulled Steyn for fourearlier in the over and the first delivery with the new bat proved theruns were coming because of the wielder and not the wood – heimmediately pulled another short one forward of midwicket for anotherboundary.Smith’s 6k
Graeme Smith has struggled to produce his best against Australia butthe rest of his Test career has been so successful that he has becomethe fourth South Africa batsman to score 6000 runs. He reached themilestone when he moved from 6 to 7 with a single worked through legoff Peter Siddle and acknowledged the crowd’s applause with a coupleof muted bat-raises, well aware that he had more important prioritiesin this game.Siddle in a flap
It’s challenging enough for a No. 11 to face a fast bowler of MakhayaNtini’s quality without any added obstacles. Peter Siddle wastherefore lucky to survive when a seagull flew across the pitch nearhis eyeline just as Ntini’s delivery was speeding towards him. Siddletried to pull out but when he saw the ball heading close to the stumpshe hung his bat out in hope. The ball missed the bat and the stumpsand Siddle was fortunate as there was no dead ball call from theumpire Asoka De Silva.Lee spreads his wings
Jason Gillespie made famous the tactic of flapping his arms whilerunning in to bowl in an attempt to put the batsman off and now BrettLee has tried the same thing. Lee didn’t get a wicket in the firstinnings and was also without a breakthrough in the second when hespread his arms during his run-up to bowl to Graeme Smith. It wasn’tquite a Gillespie flap, more sedate like an umpire signalling wide,and Smith calmly bunted the ball away without damage.Aleem’s apology
The umpire Aleem Dar ended Matthew Hayden’s innings on the third daywith an awful decision to adjudge him caught and bowled off his pad.The moment was particularly unwelcome for a batsman struggling forform but at least Dar later recognised his error. “I got it wrong,”Dar told the . “I thought it was an inside edge butit wasn’t. I thought Matthew was very good about it. I get along verywell with him and he is a very nice fellow. I plan to speak to himabout it.”Day-night Test cricket works a treat
Cricket Australia is keen to pursue the idea of playing Tests at night and the late start, slow-over rates and rain delays meant it was almost trialled at the WACA. Play went on until 8pm – 10pm in some of Australia’s eastern states – by which time the light was fading but not enough to halt play. And Jacques Kallis got into the spirit with a limited-overs style display in the final overs. He swatted Peter Siddle for a six and a four to square leg and then pounded a couple of boundaries off Jason Krejza. It was an uncharacteristic approach from Kallis, particularly given the enormity of South Africa’s task, but it gave the fans something to cheer at the end of a long, long day.
