DURBAN, South Africa, (Reuters) – Andrew Strauss  scored a combative half-century as England reached 103 for one  when bad light ended play on the second day of the second test  against South Africa at Kingsmead yesterday.

Strauss’s 54 eased England’s blushes after a last-wicket  stand of 56 from South Africa took them to 343 all out in their  first innings.

The England left-hander’s bold total came off 67 balls and  included nine fours.

The frustrated South African attack eventually claimed  Strauss’s wicket in the fifth over after tea when Morne Morkel  bowled him off the inside edge with a delivery that cut back.

Fellow opener Alastair Cook made a slow start but then  blossomed to reach the close on 31 not out, while Jonathan Trott  was not shy to play his strokes as he ended the day on 17.

“I came out of the shower and Andrew had 30 already,” Graeme  Swann said of his captain.

“It was an important innings because he wrestled the initiative away from South Africa. He seems to have a new lease  of life and he just blazed away,” the spinner told a news  conference.

Dale Steyn had scored an exuberant 47 as South Africa’s first innings came to a rousing end.

Captain Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers scored top-class half-centuries after South Africa had won the toss and elected to bat on a lively pitch.
Bowlers careless

“It wasn’t easy out there, it was a struggle for me, especially if the bowlers hit the right areas. I would have liked to have pushed on after getting to 50,” De Villiers said.

He said South Africa’s bowlers had been careless with the new ball.

“We let it slip in our first session with the new ball, we didn’t pay enough attention to the basics and we were a little bit short. We didn’t stick to our lines and lengths, our bowlers were slow to adapt.”

On a day which was played entirely under floodlights, Swann  finished with four for 110 in 35 overs to take his year’s haul  to 49 wickets in 12 tests, second only to Australia’s Mitchell Johnson (58 in 13). But the off-spinner suffered heavy punishment from Steyn, who hit three sixes off him.

Seamer Jimmy Anderson was called into service and he had Steyn caught behind to end the innings 52 minutes after lunch.

De Villiers and Mark Boucher had resumed yesterday morning  on 175 for five.

The pair added another 58 runs before England used an umpire  decision review to dismiss Boucher (39) after Swann had spun a  delivery back into the his pads to trap him leg-before.

De Villiers reached his 19th test half-century but was dismissed for 50 before lunch caught behind by Matt Prior off  Stuart Broad.