SA V ENGLAND

IN PORT ELIZABETH

THE gripping series between South Africa and England heads off to St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth this week for the third Test.

Unlike the previous two venues, SuperSport Park in Centurion and Newlands in Cape Town, the tourists actually have a favourable record at the oldest ground in the country since South Africa’s return from isolation in 1992.

Dec 26-30, 1995, 4th Test South Africa: 428 & 162/9d England: 263 & 189/3 Match drawn

The fourth Test of England’s first to South Africa post unity is remembered for being Paul Adams’ debut Test.

“Gogga Mania” had gripped the country during that summer and everyone was calling for the left-arm wrist-spinner with the “frog in the blender” action to have a crack at the English.

Adams didn’t disappoint by claiming 3/75 from 37 overs in the first innings, but could not prevent England from batting out 92 overs in the second innings to draw the Test.

Dec 9-13, 1999, 2nd Test South Africa: 450 & 224/4d England: 373 & 153/6 Match drawn

The Proteas had their own Ben Stokes back in 1999 and his name was Lance Klusener.

Just like Stokes now has the ability to turn a game on its head in a session, so did “Zulu”.

Klusener struck a scintillating 178 from just 221 balls (25x4, 2x6) before Mike Atherton responded with 108 for England.

The Test is also remembered for the “claimed catch” by England’s Chris Adams that raised the tension between the two teams.

Dec 17-21, 2004, 1st Test South Africa: 337 & 229 England: 425 & 145/3 England won by 7 wickets

The English celebrated their first Test win in South Africa since Durban 1964 – bar the contrived Hansie Cronje Test in 2000 – in Port Elizabeth in 2004.

Although Boeta Dippener struck a century for the Proteas, the tourists’ opener Andrew Strauss was superb in PE, posting 126 and 91 not out.

The only consolation for the Proteas was that the St George’s Park Test was the birth of AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn’s Test careers, with Steyn rubber-stamping his arrival with a memorable yorker that cleaned up Michael Vaughan.

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