England already face a tremendous battle to keep their lead in the series alive after a thoroughly depressing performance with the bat on the first day of the final Test.  | The front-foot no-ball law is not easy: a raised foot counts as being grounded and part of it has to be behind the popping crease |
From the distance of the commentary box, it looked as if key players failed to control their nerves on the big occasion. Jonathan Trott's truly awful innings almost defies description, only to say that he looked nothing like the calm and organised figure who has impressed in his previous three Tests. He aimed big shots to virtually every ball he faced before playing another casual defensive stroke to Morne Morkel and was plumb lbw for five. Maybe this sorry effort was an aberration but, for the first time, it certainly raises questions about his character. Kevin Pietersen was little better. He almost ran out Alastair Cook in a typically panic-stricken attempt to get off the mark and then, on seven, he aimed an ambitious pull shot at Morkel and dragged the ball to mid-on. All of this happened after Andrew Strauss fell to the first ball of the match, brilliantly taken by Hashim Amla at short leg. You often see reflex catches in that position, but what made this one stand out is that Amla had to move quickly and low to his right. His reaction time was recorded at little over half a second, and it created the worst possible start for England: the captain out to the first ball. Cook looked pretty comfortable until he was given out lbw to Morkel by umpire Tony Hill. After some consultation with Paul Collingwood, Cook decided to review the decision and the first replay suggested that Morkel might have delivered a no-ball. That was certainly the view of the England dressing room who reacted furiously when the third umpire - Daryl Harper - continued with the replay and confirmed his colleague's decision. The front-foot no-ball law is not easy: a raised foot counts as being grounded and part of it has to be behind the popping crease. The foot is also allowed to slide when it lands, even if that takes it beyond the line. | 606: DEBATE |
The best that can be said about Mr Harper's decision was that it was very borderline either way, and it is debatable whether the wicket should have been allowed to stand. It will not have endeared England to the Umpire Decision Review System, which is supposed to eliminate these flash points, one bit. Ian Bell and Collingwood added 76 before Collingwood gave a catch to point off the leading edge, and only Bell can claim to have been dismissed by a clever piece of bowling when Dale Steyn produced a brilliantly disguised inswinger which nipped through the gate and rattled his stumps for 35. The tail was swept away. The only resistance came from Graeme Swann, who swung the bat merrily for 27 as he and James Anderson added 25 valuable runs for the last wicket before Steyn claimed his fifth wicket when he had Swann caught behind. Ryan Sidebottom beat the bat a couple of times but the decision to prefer him over Graham Onions was a surprising gamble since Sidebottom is so short of match practice. South Africa's openers Graeme Smith and Ashwell Prince safely negotiated 12 overs before bad light stopped play.
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