LONDON, (Reuters) – England captain Andrew Strauss was left with a “sour taste in the mouth” after his team suffered a crushing innings and 12-run defeat by South Africa in the first test yesterday.
In a battle between the world’s top two teams, and with England’s number one ranking on the line, Strauss had expected his men to flourish in the familiar conditions but instead floundered as South Africa dominated the contest to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.
““Most of my regrets are that we did not come out with a draw,” Strauss told reporters. “”We should have done that.” Strauss especially rued how England lost wickets at times in the match when he thought they could have done better like on Friday morning when they plummeted from their overnight 267 for three to 385 all out. In the second innings on Sunday, England lost four key batsmen to close 102 for four, en route to being 240 all out. South Africa had far less trouble on a placid batting surface at The Oval, as they posted a huge total of 637 for two. Hashim Amla broke the national batting record with 311 not out. “Losing four wickets last night was a body blow for us,” said Strauss.
“The South Africans did get it reversing today and with more wickets in hand we could have batted out the day.
Scoreboard
England first innings 385
South Africa first innings 637-2 dec
England second innings:
A.Strauss c Philander b Tahir 27
A.Cook c de Villiers b Philander 0
J.Trott c de Villiers b Steyn 10
K.Pietersen b Morkel 16
I.Bell c Kallis b Steyn 55
R.Bopara b Steyn 22
M.Prior c Kallis b Tahir 40
T.Bresnan not out 20
S.Broad c de Villiers b Steyn 0
G.Swann c Petersen b Steyn 7
J.Anderson lbw b Tahir 4
Extras 11-b, 15-lb, 12-nb, 1-w) 39
Total (all out, 97 overs) 240
Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-32, 3-57, 4-67, 5-117, 6-203, 7-210, 8-210, 9-218
Bowling: Morkel 16-0-41-1, Philander 19-6-29-1, Steyn 21-6-56-5, Tahir 32-7-63-3, Kallis 7-1-22-0, Duminy 1-0-3-0
