Phil Lythell
Sport News 24/71st test evenly poised after early England breakthrough
By Phil Lythell, on 16th December 2009, 12:45 UTC
England and South Africa will both be reasonably happy with the first session of the opening test match at Centurion.
Andrew Strauss' team got off to a dream start when Proteas captain Graeme Smith was dismissed without scoring when he nicked a Stuart Broad delivery to Matt Prior.
England thought they had got a second a short while later when Graeme Onions thought he trapped Ashwell Prince in front of his stumps with umpire Steve Davis's finger backing him up. However, a referral to the TMO was made and the ball appeared to strike Prince too high to hit the stumps and the decision was correctly overturned.
His partner Hashim Amla had no such reprieve and had to return to the pavillion when a sharp slip catch from Paul Collingwood off Onions' bowling saw him depart for 19.
Prince almost followed him two balls later when he clipped a James Anderson delivery square on the leg side but Alastair Cook's prodigious leap was not quite enough to snatch the ball from the sky.
South Africa went into lunch at 70 for 2 with the game very much level-pegging.
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