DURBAN, South Africa, 28 December 2004 — Jacques Kallis hit a majestic century as South Africa moved into a dominant position on the second day of the second Test against England at Kingsmead yesterday.
Kallis was last man out for 162 in a South African total of 332, a first innings lead of 193. England were 30 for no wicket in their second innings at the close.
Kallis, with good support from the lower order batsmen, had the England bowlers virtually on their knees as they toiled in hot weather. England’s attack was a man short, with left-arm spinner Ashley Giles unable to take the field because of a back spasm.
A measure of Kallis’ superiority on a pitch described by England coach Duncan Fletcher as two-paced was that no other batsman in the first innings scored a half-century.
The match was evenly poised when Shaun Pollock joined Kallis with South Africa on 118 for six, still 21 runs behind England’s first innings total of 139.
At that stage no partnership in the match had been worth more than 31. But Kallis and Pollock put on 87 for the seventh wicket in a crucial stand before Pollock was out for 43.
As the England bowlers flagged, Kallis then shared stands of 38 with Nicky Boje, 50 with Makhaya Ntini and 39 with last man Dale Steyn before he was caught on the square leg boundary. The last four wickets put on 214 runs, with Kallis making 120 of them.
Kallis, who reached his 18th Test century off 186 balls with 13 fours, added another eight fours and a pulled six off Andrew Flintoff before he tried to hit Matthew Hoggard for another six and was held above his head by Paul Collingwood on the boundary. He faced a total of 264 deliveries in an innings which is likely to be remembered as one of his career highlights.
England had fought their way back into the game at the start of the day, reducing South Africa’s run scoring to a trickle with a preponderance of short-pitched bowling.
Martin van Jaarsveld and Hashim Amla could score only a single each despite batting for 27 and 42 minutes respectively at the start of play. All the while, though, Kallis kept the score moving without looking in any danger.
AB de Villiers lifted the tempo in a brief innings of 14 but it was Pollock who proved the ideal partner for Kallis as South Africa’s two most experienced players came together.
Pollock was always looking to be aggressive, while Kallis waited for the right balls to hit and put them away efficiently.
Pollock seemed unlucky to be given out for 43 when he played a leg glance against England captain Michael Vaughan, bowling off-spin, and appeared to miss the ball. He made his runs off 84 balls with five fours.
The partnership of 87 was scored in 113 minutes off 164 balls which represented a good scoring rate in a match where batsmen had been unable to play their strokes with much confidence.
Kallis played some scintillating strokes as the remaining wickets cost England dearly. Number ten batsman Makhaya Ntini, who went in when the second ball was only four overs old, hit Matthew Hoggard for six over long-on, then pounded Steve Harmison for three fours off four balls in the arc between mid-on and mid-off.
Hoggard, with three for 58, and Harmison, three for 91, were England’s most successful bowlers but Harmison, who had three for 31 at one stage, took some heavy punishment in the later stages of the innings.
England started their second innings under floodlights, with clouds moving in towards the end of the day, but Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss safely negotiated 11 overs before the close, although Strauss edged both Pollock and Ntini dangerously close to gully.
