Derbyshire v South Africans - South Africa tour of England - Tour Match - Day 1 – Live Score and Update
South Africans 365/4d v Derbyshire 75/1 (22.0 ov) - Derbyshire trail by 290 runs with 9 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
With South Africa leading the three-match Test series against hosts England, the stakes are now higher than ever before with the Proteas on the verge of dethroning England from their number-one status in Test cricket.
Nonetheless, England after losing the first Test by an innings and 12 runs, bounced back in the Leeds Test to keep the series hanging in balance.
While England is caught up in the Kevin Pietersen fiasco, the visitors are focussed on their game.
After being put into bat by Derbyshire in their two-day warm-up match, at County Ground, Derby, on Friday, August 10, the South Africans bulldozed a gigantic total of 365 for the loss of four wickets before declaring their innings.
In reply, the hosts clobbered 75 runs for the loss of one wicket and now trail by 290 runs.
The day began with JA Rudolph and HM Amla opening the innings for the tourists. However, the opening stand failed to yield a daunting total, as with only 17 runs on the board the South Africans lost the wicket of Rudolph, who was dismissed by AC Evans after scoring 15 runs off 16 deliveries.
The partnership between Amla and middle-order batsman JP Duminy then humbled Derbyshire, as the two batsmen forged a patient rebuild phase.
The South African pair took the score to 71 before Derbyshire grabbed their second wicket of the day by dismissing Amla, who had his stumps shattered by RA Whiteley after scoring 42 runs.
Duminy was then joined by AB de Villiers as this pair also proved a menace for the fielding side, with their bowlers getting smacked all around the park without remorse.
Derbyshire bowlers failed to contain the batsmen which allowed this pair to take the score to a massive total of 228 before de Villiers retired hurt on a score of 97 off 96.
Duminy was next to go, as he lost his wicket after jabbing a knock of 69, leaving his side standing on 242 runs.
F du Plessis and JA Morkel stayed unbeaten with knocks of 68 and 49, as the South African batting dominated the opposition.
From Derbyshire, WL Madsen stood unbeaten on 20 and UT Khawaja on 36 runs, as the day ended.
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