Cullinan, Kallis put S. Africa in command

By Ted Corbett

CAPE TOWN, JAN. 4. England fought as hard as any team should at Newlands today but the fourth Test against South Africa ran away from it after tea and must be gone forever, even though Mark Butcher survived a trying over from Paul Adams at the end. South Africa's daunting batsmen built a lead of 163 and an innings defeat is the most likely result.

The temperatures soared to 35 degrees Celsius but even when Daryll Cullinan pushed a short single for his five hour century the English fielders were still trotting briskly about their work and the only blemish was a drop at square leg by the 12th man Darren Maddy when Cullinan was on 89.

Cullinan, like Kallis before him, played with authority and style and a comparison tells the whole story. South African batsmen have scored six centuries in four Tests while England has made only two; nearly 1,000 runs in its last two innings; and had one innings of at least 400 in the last ten of its last 11 Tests.

South Africa began at 200 for one, a score that ensures anyone a peaceful night, but Silverwood's third ball of the day drew Gary Kirsten into a forward shot outside the off stump and gave Alec Stewart a simple catch. Jacques Kallis went smoothly to his first century of the series, making us wonder not for the first time why this multi-talented batsman does not score more runs.

Twenty-five more balls brought him only another five runs before Gough's best ball so far rose and he deflected it off the face of the bat to first slip. Hansie Cronje, who has not yet reached fifty in the series - and whose head has been demanded by some critics - was out for nought when he steered a rising ball from Andrew Caddick into the gully to give Michael Vaughan, an alert fielder, another catch.

Lunch came at 267 for four and immediately after Jonty Rhodes, greeted like a returning hero, was taken low at third slip by Chris Adams. He was Silverwood's third victim, which should have silenced those critics at home who have been vocal in their damnation of his wicket-free third Test and in between his successes there were a number of deliveries that might have had a more telling result.

Silverwood has a high action, plenty of pace and he is willing to learn. Why the selectors have left him out of the side for three years is difficult to understand; unless you are as big an admirer of selectors as I am.

Silverwood's Yorkshire teammate Darren Gough burst through an appalling cross batted shot by Lance Klusener and at 307, Shaun Pollock was snapped up by Adams in the slips off Caddick. As Pollock trudged off it looked as if England had fought its way back into this match but, Daryll Cullinan, already clearly on his way to a century, and Mark Boucher, who might have been out half a dozen times for all he knew where the ball was, eased the score to 342 at tea.

The decisive blow came at 367 when Maddy, substituting for Andrew Flintoff dropped a hard hook shot by Cullinan on 89 at square leg off Gough. Maddy had a half chance to get the ball a second time but the chance was lost. That drop cannot have helped the recovery of Flintoff, just returning to the players' balcony on crutches after a visit to a specialist. His winter tour ends tomorrow. Boucher was lbw at 397, Allan Donald caught at 405 and Cullinan finally out for 120 in almost six hours.

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