The key for me was the pace. You see a lot of batsmen survive seam, swing and turn when the pitch takes pace off the ball, but you see fast turnarounds when the wicket gains a bit of bite. At the end of day 1, I remarked that it was a pretty easy pace aside from the seam movement. Day 2 brought a welcome brightness to the pitch. It was no shock that Morne Morkel, whose back of a length area was frustrated by dull bounce on day 1, turned rather unplayable on the second day, even with the old ball in the first innings.
While several players acquired similar dismissals in both innings, the change in fortune for Clarke was most telling. In the first innings, while he was not comfortable from the get-go, he was rarely impeded in hitting more than two thirds of the balls he faced. In the second he only managed to hit one ball.
Pretty much every batsman failed the test of the conditions and on a wicket that isn't exactly unsafe, that is far too many, but I would offer that a pitch that both seams and zips is the grail for fast bowlers. It's not a matter of hitting a length and hoping the ball stays low or something, but applying the skills. To face elite fast bowling on such a wicket is a supreme test, not only of technique and talent, but also of the mind, of fighting the mental pressure and believing that you can survive without throwing in an awful hoick. The most common score in cricket is zero and it would be a very different game if that were not true.
Looking to day 2 I felt there was a hope for Australia with 250 on the board, but the game has now lurched forward 3 days in a heartbeat. I think South Africa will have the innings we expected from them yesterday and chase the meagre target like the pitch never bore a single threat.
