South Africa 'not impressed' by ball change on day three in Durban
Tuesday 29 December 2015 09:05, UK
South Africa were left frustrated on day three of the first Test against England after the umpires decided to change a ball that had started to reverse swing.
The Proteas thought their luck had come in when Alex Hales smashed Dane Piedt for six against an advertising board, causing damage to the surface of the ball.
Umpire Rod Tucker was initially happy to continue with the original but he and colleague Aleem Dar made the decision to call for a replacement when Hales departed 10 overs later.
South Africa captain Hashim Amla was seen in lengthy conversation with the officials at the time, with team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee later seeking clarification from match referee Ranjan Madugalle.
Dr Moosajee said: "The reason I have been given is that when it hit the advertising board, or the LED screen, a chunk of the ball came out. Because there was unnatural wear and tear they have the right to change the ball.
"Obviously at first we were not very impressed but they are the match officials and we have to take their word on these kind of things. Maybe it was because of an unnatural amount of reverse swing.
"If the match officials make a call, as much as I have my own opinion in it, I have to respect it."
Dr Moosajee confirmed categorically that the umpires had not raised any concerns about the South African side's conduct in regards to the ball.
"No, not at all, and I think the umpire and match referee will confirm that," he said. "If there are issues around a team changing [the condition of] the ball then you need to give a warning as well as five penalty runs. Obviously this ball was changed after it went to the boundary."
At the end of the third day, the South African players looked as though they had suffered some unnatural wear and tear too. They closed 261 runs behind, with England 172 for three in their second innings and piling on the pressure.
Three straightforward drops did not help the South Africa cause, while there are major fitness doubts over pace spearhead Dale Steyn.
He left the field twice in the middle of overs with a shoulder injury and although the news is not as bad as it could be, his participation in the remainder of the game, and the second Test in Cape Town is under a cloud.
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"He found the pain and discomfort troublesome but the results of the scans are inconclusive," said Dr Moosajee. "There are no tears to the muscles, tendons or ligaments and we are treating it as a shoulder spasm or stiffness for now.
"We will trial him in the warm-up and if he gets through that we may allow him to bowl. Further assessment will be done after the first Test before we make a call on Cape Town."
England all-rounder Moeen Ali took three wickets in the morning session to hasten South Africa's first-innings decline, finishing with 4-69.
He is sure to have a big role to play in the conclusion of the match - possibly as a number eight batsman and certainly as the tourists' frontline spinner on a wearing pitch.
But he was in typically cautious mood as he assessed the state of the game.
"It was a great day, probably our best of the three so far, but we want at least [a lead of] 350 and we know there's a long way to go for that," he said.
"The last two days a lot of wickets have fallen in the first session so we have to play well to build that lead.
"And it will be the same thing with the bowling. Hopefully wickets will come but I'll try not to get too carried away with the spin.
"I'm not going to stand here and say I'm a world-class bowler or anything like that. It's mainly being patient and learning about the art of bowling spin. It's tough but I feel like I'm learning quite a lot.
"We are going to have to play really well over the next two days to win the game."
Live coverage of the fourth day of the first Test between South Africa and New Zealand begins at 7.30am on Sky Sports 2 on Tuesday.
