DURBAN: Off spinner Graeme Swann claimed five wickets for the second time this series as England beat South Africa by an innings and 98 runs in the first session of the fifth day of the second Test Wednesday.
South Africa was dismissed for 133 in its second innings after adding just 57 runs before losing its last four wickets just 70 minutes into the final day’s play.
Swann finished off the match by trapping tail ender Dale Steyn lbw for three runs to finish with figures of 5-45 and claim the man of the match award for the second time in the series.
Swann has taken 14 wickets in the first two Tests.
South Africa staggered to 76-6 by stumps on the fourth day needing 156 runs to make England bat a second time. England’s first success of the morning came after just 11 balls when Swann forced Morne Morkel back onto his stumps and trapped him in front for 15 with a quicker ball. Morkel had batted grittily for 51 minutes starting on Tuesday afternoon and hit three fours.
Next to go was the last recognized batsman Mark Boucher, giving seamer Stuart Broad his fourth wicket of the innings.
Boucher gloved the ball down leg to wicketkeeper Matt Prior, but England had to wait for third umpire Steve Davis to call it out after on field umpire Amiesh Saheba originally called it not. Boucher’s 29, with three fours, came in 91 minutes.
Paul Harris batted for an hour to make 36, the highest score of the innings. He hit five fours and was the ninth man out when he mistimed a flick to the leg-side off James Anderson and was caught by Broad (4-43) at mid-on.
Eight balls later Swann struck the final blow by getting Steyn.
After the first Test in Pretoria ended in a draw, Wednesday’s win puts England 1-0 up in the four-match series, with the third Test starting in Cape Town on Jan. 3.
South Africa will reflect that that they were simply outplayed by England, whose bowlers were more effective.
The Proteas top six batsmen, too, will realize that they owe the team a big effort in the third Test.
The collapse of South Africa’s batting on Tuesday afternoon when application was needed to try to erase a 231-run first innings deficit was a poor effort on a pitch still good for batting.
