McKenzie comes of age in Adelaide
Colin Bryden - 16 December 2001

Neil McKenzie and Mark Boucher shared an outstanding partnership but it was not quite enough to get South Africa out of trouble on the third day of the first Test at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday.

McKenzie and Boucher put on 141 for the seventh wicket but Australia took what could prove to be a crucial 65-run first innings lead. Australia added three more runs in as many overs before the close.

As Shane Warne, who took five wickets in an innings in Adelaide for the first time, put it with his usual in-your-face Australian positivity, "I'd rather be in our position than theirs, 70 runs ahead and 10 wickets in hand on a pitch that's deteriorating."

McKenzie gave an indication of what to expect from South Africa's bowlers on Monday. "We'll have to bowl tight lines and lengths and be really stingy."

The harder the Australians have to work in the second innings, the fewer overs South Africa will have to bat out at the end - unless, of course, South Africa produce a bowling miracle and skittle the world champions to set up a possible victory.

McKenzie made 87 and Boucher 64 as they both produced memorable performances in their first Test appearances against Australia.

There are no tougher opponents in world cricket and when Australia are on top their players and spectators combine to create an intimidating cocktail of noise, pressure and aggression.

The aggression was taken to extreme levels at the end of the South African innings when Brett Lee engaged in a disgraceful assault on the last two batsmen, Makhaya Ntini and Mornantau Hayward.

Making no attempt to do anything than intimidate the batsmen, Lee, who bowls at up to 150 kmh, hit Ntini on the helmet with two successive deliveries, the batsman being quite unable to do anything to counter the fast, short-pitched balls. The second flew off Ntini's helmet past the wicketkeeper and the batsmen ran a leg bye.

Two bouncers are all that are allowed under Test playing conditions but Lee roared in again and sent down a third which went past Hayward's head. In his follow-through, Lee finished almost under the nose of the tailender. Australian umpire Simon Taufel said and did nothing. Yet another short-pitched ball whistled past at chest height as Hayward retreated towards square leg and still there was no warning or no-ball.

Taufel could also have invoked the clause about dangerous bowling, under which umpires are instructed to take the relative skill of batsmen into account. Perhaps match referee Ranjan Madugalle will be more assertive.

Warne, who took the last three wickets to finish with 5/113, admitted that he had hoped McKenzie might be his "new Daryll" as a batsman to be mesmerised - "but jeez, he played well. I'll have to keep searching."

McKenzie came in after South Africa had lost nightwatchman Claude Henderson, Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis in quick succession but he looked calm almost from the start. His shot selection was outstanding, with 16 boundaries in an innings of 168 balls.

He admitted he had some luck, being caught behind off a Lee no-ball when he had 53 and later surviving what would have been a close lbw call if Lee had not sent down another illegal delivery. But he again showed impressive temperament as well as skill. "You grow as a player the more you get into that (type of) situation," he said. He's grown tall already.

© Sunday Times