A century on his debut by Marcus North and a ferocious onslaught from Mitchell Johnson lifted Australia to a first innings total of 466 on the second day of the first Test on Friday.North and Johnson slaughtered the bowling in an eighth-wicket stand of 117, a record for Australia against South Africa.North fell for 117, stumped by Mark Boucher off spinner Paul Harris, but Johnson then terminated the left-armer's spell by hitting him for 26 runs in an over that included three sixes and two fours.Johnson finished with a career-best 96 not out, falling short of a maiden test century of his own as Morne Morkel had Peter Siddle (9) and Ben Hilfenhaus (0) caught in the slips off successive deliveries to end the innings on the stroke of tea.Johnson's innings included 10 fours and five sixes and was noteworthy for the power and timing of his attacking strokes.North, who had started the day on 47 not out, was more obdurate but equally damaging to the South African cause in a composed, mature innings that lasted almost six hours and 233 deliveries. The 29-year-old is the first Australian to score a hundred on Test debut against South Africa.New-ball bowler Dale Steyn was the most successful South African bowler with four for 113, while Morkel finished with three for 117 but was unfortunate not to claim more wickets.
No comments:
Post a Comment