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Johannesburg
25 - 28 Nov 1999
South Africa won the toss and put England in to bat. Seventeen balls later, England's worst nightmare eventuated with the loss of four wickets with two runs on the board - one of which was a leg bye. England never recovered from this start, managing to stage a partial recovery bat were dismissed before tea for 122 with debutant Chris Adams top scoring on 38 and Donald taking 6 for 53.
South Africa started batting and continued until declaring on the third morning at 9 for 403 - a lead of 281 runs. Cullinan top scored with 106 while Gough was the most successful English bowler with 5 for 70. England then batted a second time with little chance of saving anything without a long period of rain. They were eventually dismissed on the fourth morning for a more impressive 260 with Stewart top scoring with 86 but with every other score in the batting column in single digits. Donald finished a mighty effort for the match taking 5 for 74 for the innings and 11 for 144 for the match.
Second Test
Port Elizabeth
9 - 13 december 1999
England won the toss and sent South Africa in to bat. The decision paid off with South Africa losing 4 for 91. However, the English attack could not capitalise and by the end of the day South Africa had recovered and was 6 for 253 with Klusener and Cullinan making the big contributions. On the second morning, South Africa motored into the distance adding nearly 200 runs for the last 4 wickets, eventually being dismissed for 450. Klusener top scored with 174 (scoring more than half of the last 200 runs) while Tufnell took 4 for 124 for England. England finished the second day well placed at 1 for 139.
England batted their way back into the game during of the third day, while South Africa kept the pressure on and the wickets fell evenly though the innings. By the fourth morning England had been dismissed for 373 giving South Africa a 77 run lead and a draw looming as a possibility. Atherton scored the first English test ton of the year (1999) and top scored with 108 while Hayward took 4 for 75.
South Africa then started the target setting process while England played very tight cricket in the field. South Africa only managed 4 for 186 by the end of the day off 84 overs and an overall lead of 263. On the final day South Africa declared at 4 for 224 setting a target of 302 for an unlikely English victory off 77 overs. Kallis ended with the highest score of 85 not out while Caddick managed 2 for 29 off 18 overs for England.
From an English stand point it could best be described as "England fails to crumble" as they successfully played out for a draw ending at 6 for 153 lead by Captain Hussain not out on 70.
Third Test
Durban
26 - 30 Dec 1999
England won the toss and batted for two days amassing 9 declared for 366 by the end of the second day's play. Captain Hussain top scored with 146 while Donald, Pollock, Adams and Cronje each bagged 2 wickets. However, with a run rate of just less than 2.2, the test already looked condemned to a draw.
South Africa commenced their first innings on the third morning and Caddick ran through them taking 7 for 46 to see the home side bundled out after tea for 156, a mere 11 runs short of the follow on target. Pollock top scored with a timely 64 in an otherwise forgettable innings. A result could still be achieved, but only by England.
However, England could not produce a similar performance twice in a row and South Africa batted out the rest of the match reaching 7 for 572 before a draw was agreed before stumps on the final evening. Kirsten top scored with 275 while Flintoff and Butcher each took two wickets.
Fourth Test
Cape Town
2 - 5 Jan 2000
England won the toss for a third time in a row and again elected to bat. By stumps on the first day England had achieved 5 for 215 after losing two late wickets before stumps. They were eventually dismissed on the second morning for 258 with Atherton top scoring with 71 and Donald returning to form with 5 for 47. South Africa commenced their first innings and by stumps was 1 for 200.
On the third day South Africa batted until after tea gaining a first innings lead of 163 with a total of 421. Cullinan top scored with 120 while Kalis also made 105. For England, Silverwood was the best of the bowlers taking 5 for 91. England had only one over before stumps to began wiping away the deficit and ended at 4 runs for no loss. England were dismissed on the fourth day for a total of 126, 37 runs short of forcing South Africa to bat again. Atherton again top scored with 35 while Adams took 3 for 42 for South Africa. At this point, South Africa had won the series.
Fifth Test
Centurion
14 - 18 Jan 2000
Hussain again won the toss but this time he sent South Africa in to bat. After rain interuptions South Africa finished the first day's play at 6 for 155 with England looking for a consolation win. However, rain prevented play on both days two and three and by day four the wetness of the outfield caused no play to be possible. This left only one day to play and expectations of a draw.
On the final day, South Africans declared their innings closed at 8 for 248 with Klusener not out on 61 as the top scorer. For England, Gough, Caddick and Mullally shared the honours with two wickets apiece. Then the unexpected occurred. England declared their first innings at 0 for 0. South Africa then declared their second innings at 0 for 0 - clearly colluding to give some hope of a result.
England then needed 249 to win on this last day off a maximum of 75 overs. Except for a small case of the wobbles when losing wickets at 5/228, 6/236, 7/236 and 8/240, England won this interesting test with 5 balls to spare and two wickets in had. Stewart (73) and Vaughan (69) were the best batsmen while Pollock and Hayward each took three wickets in an Allan Donald free test.
