Cricket: Vaughan hits out to give England lift
England A 263-4 v Gauteng
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Your support makes all the difference.MICHAEL VAUGHAN and Darren Maddy shared an opening stand of 151 as England A made 263 for 4 on the opening day of the three-day game against Gauteng in Johannesburg yesterday.
Vaughan, the captain, and Maddy, who made 76 and 73 respectively, gave England the perfect start - but the loss of three wickets in the space of 20 balls put the brakes on.
Having won the toss, Vaughan opted to bat on a good pitch that promises to turn later in the match. He and Maddy batted with great care, appearing determined to build the long partnership. The scoring rate was never more than steady but, at the same time, neither batsman looked in trouble.
Adam Bacher, the South African Test batsman who is captaining the provincial side, tried six bowlers before lunch in an attempt to break the partnership, but without doing so. After the interval he turned to frustrating tactics as a means of making the breach, with Zander de Bruyn bowling negatively outside the off stump.
Vaughan and Maddy, however, seemed content to wait for the bad balls and they scored 10 fours each. It was the fall of Maddy's wicket which sparked a minor collapse, though. He fell leg before to the left-arm wrist spinner Goolam Bodi.
Robert Key, normally an opening batsman, had been forced to sit in the pavilion for 58 overs during Vaughan and Maddy's partnership. After that wait, his stay in the middle was a short one before he touched a ball from Wayne Kidwell behind, having made a single. Only the wicketkeeper appealed, but Key was still sent on his way.
It was a disappointment when Vaughan was the next man out, pulling a short ball from Bodi straight to the man posted at deep midwicket for that purpose.
Matt Windows and Andrew Flintoff were batting comfortably together until, when their partnership had added 46, Windows hit a full toss from Bodi straight to the covers and departed for 28.
Flintoff was still there at the close on 46, beginning to find his range and play some of the big shots that can so intimidate bowlers, with Vikram Solanki lending elegant support on 23 not out. If the pair can re-establish themselves this morning, they could yet take England through to a total in excess of 400.
First day of three; England A won toss
ENGLAND A - First Innings
*M P Vaughan c Kidwell b Bodi 76
D L Maddy lbw b Bodi 73
R W T Key c Pothas b Kidwell 1
M G N Windows c Koenig b Bodi 28
A Flintoff not out 46
V S Solanki not out 23
Extras (b2, lb1, w1, nb12) 16
Total (for 4, 91 overs) 263
Fall: 1-151, 2-156, 3-164, 4-210.
To bat: G P Swann, C M W Read, P J Franks, S D Thomas, D A Cosker.
Bowling: Veenstra 19-7-33-0; Kidwell 16-1-53-1; de Bruyn 11-4-38-0; Masimula 10-4-22-0; Crookes 18-2-58-0; Bodi 16-2-52-3; Bacher 1-0-4-0.
GAUTENG: *A M Bacher, S G Koenig, A J Seymore, Z De Bruyn, D N Crookes, G Toyana, N Pothas, R E Veenstra, G Bodi, E W Kidwell, W B Masimula.
Umpires: B Lambson and C Schoof.
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