ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the third day of the second Test between South Africa and Australia, at the Wanderers
Brydon Coverdale and Firdose Moonda at the Wanderers19-Nov-2011Colour of the day
The Wanderers was pretty in pink as the Gauteng Cricket Board teamed up with the McGrath foundation to host the first Pink Test outside Australia. Pink Tests are an initiative started by the McGrath foundation, a body started in honour of Glenn Mcgrath’s late wife, aimed at raising money for and awareness about breast cancer. The banners of the stadium’s main sponsor, Bidvest, were replaced with pink ones, and the scoreboard was decorated with pink on every side. Plenty of the 15,000 fans who attended the match were dressed in pink, some of them received pink caps and ribbons in a bid to raise awareness about the disease, and a message from Glenn McGrath was relayed over the big screen during lunch. There were also a mobile unit where women could learn how to perform self-examinations.A fitting tribute
Basil D’Oliveira did not play cricket for South Africa but few men have had such an influence on cricket in the country, albeit not through his own doing. It was fitting, then, that the players and umpires lined up for a minute’s silence before the first ball was bowled in recognition of D’Oliveira, who died overnight at the age of 80. The South Africa players also wore black armbands to remember D’Oliveira, who was born in Cape Town, played for England, and was at the heart of one of cricket’s biggest controversies when England’s tour of South Africa was called off in 1968 due to the South African government’s refusal to accept his presence in the visiting squad. South Africa’s isolation from international cricket followed soon after.Toe-crusher of the day
Two weeks after being hit in the nets by Pat Cummins, Michael Hussey was still talking about the bruise the delivery had left on his body. Little wonder, then, that AB de Villiers was in serious pain after he copped a Cummins yorker on the foot shortly before lunch. de Villiers took off his shoe and asked for some attention from the physio, and there was a delay as the pain was numbed. It didn’t seem to bother de Villiers in the long run: he was still at the crease when the players went off for bad light.An unwarranted jeer
Ricky Ponting is used to raising the ire of opposition fans, but the widespread booing around the Wanderers when he came on to bowl late in the day was not a good look for the locals. A legend of the game, Ponting deserved better. For the record, his one over of gentle medium pace cost eight runs without a wicket. Ponting bowled some useful offbreaks during the recent series in Sri Lanka, but hasn’t taken a Test wicket since 2005. Fluff of the day
Brad Haddin, Australia’s wicketkeeper, has already copped a fair amount of criticism for his skills with the glove and the bat, and it may get worse. Hashim Amla called AB de Villiers through for a quick single after driving to mid-off. de Villiers got off to a slow start and Usman Khawaja was quick to throw the ball to the striker’s end, where, if Haddin had broken the stumps in time, de Villiers would have been out by some distance. Instead, replays showed that Haddin had taken a few seconds too many to remove the bails and had allowed de Villiers to get in comfortably.
