Escape for England Cricket Team

Hosts left in a pickle by defiant No.11 By Ryan Daniels

ANDREW STRAUSS admits he should never have doubted Graham Onions could pull off a second amazing escape as England saved the third Test in CapeTown in dramatic fashion yesterday.

It was No.11 Onions who kept out the last over at Centurion as the tourists began their four-Test series against South Africa with a nerve-jangling draw – and he was at it again at Newlands.

Morne Morkel made things even tougher for the Durham tailender than Makhaya Ntini had last time. But the 27-year-old came through just as well for a precious nought not out which kept England 1-0 up with one match to play and in an unbeatable position in the series.

Ian Bell (78) and Paul Collingwood (40) had shut out the Proteas for 57 overs in a 112-run stand and it seemed sure, after beginning the last day on 132 for three, they would not end up facing another precarious situation. But they did, leaving Strauss fearing the worst when Onions and Graeme Swann had to keep South Africa at bay for the final 17 balls.

‘I was thinking, “We’re in this situation again and it’s not often the end of the story is the same”,’ said the England captain. ‘I was feeling pretty comfortable until Graham went in there. But he did a great job again.’ Strauss admitted the tourists should never have put Onions – and Swann – in such a position on the final day of such a crucial Test match.

But he admired the way the pair showed such battling spirit to escape defeat. ‘I always feel as batsmen we should apologise to him [Onions] for having put him in that situation – although I thought it was an unbelievable partnership between Collingwood and Bell,’ he added. Onions claimed he too was hoping Bell and Collingwood would save him from an arduous spell in the middle all over again.

‘Ian and Paul got us into a fantastic position – and with ten overs to go I was thinking, “I’m quite happy with my trainers on and nothing to worry about”,’ he explained. ‘All of a sudden a few wickets fell and I was next into bat. ‘It was a lot worse waiting to go into bat than actually being out there.