England draw the Leeds Test against South Africa - Cricket News Roundup – Part 1 – August 07, 2012
England on Monday drew the second Test against South Africa, keeping the series alive and would now be going to Lord’s with a mission to
defeat the Proteas to save their number-one team status in Test cricket.
Requiring 253 to win, the hosts managed to score 130 runs for four on the final day before stumps.
Pacer, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 on a second innings total of 258.
England captain Andrew Strauss has backed his decision to send Kevin Pietersen as an opener on the final day in pursuit of 253 runs.
Speaking on the matter, the left-handed opening batsman insisted, “We put Kev up there; he played magnificently well in the first innings. He had the opportunity to take the game away from South Africa in a way he is only capable of playing.”
However, KP scored only 12 runs before losing his wicket.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 player.
“There are obstacles and I'll decide what happens at the end of the next Test," said the English all-rounder.
KP, who hit a staggering 149-run knock in the first innings to save England from annihilation after his side was hammered by the Proteas for a mammoth tally of 419 in the first innings, has expressed anger towards the ECB for allegedly leaking the contents
of his private meetings with the board officials.
“The politics is what I have to deal with personally. It's tough being me playing for England,” he said.
The all-rounder was named as the player of the match for his outstanding performance with the bat and ball.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AJ-Strauss-c964, believes team unity is at its highest level, without choosing to comment on the Kevin Pietersen issue.
Strauss, who led England to a Test draw against South Africa at Leeds, insisted his side did not need any distractions before going into the third and most crucial Test against the Proteas to salvage their top-spot in the longest format of the game.
“I hope the Kevin issue isn't going to be a distraction. The truth is we want as few distractions as possible in making sure we win this third Test match. I'm not here to talk about Kevin Pietersen,” explained the English skipper.
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