Gilchrist flays South Africa again

Australia's Adam Gilchrist produced another scintillating exhibition of batsmanship on Saturday to put South Africa in trouble on day two of the second Test.

Replying to the hosts' first innings 239, Australia were dismissed for 382.

South Africa were seven without loss in their second innings when bad light brought play to a close 10 overs early, the hosts still trailing by 136 runs.

Gilchrist's sixth Test century was not quite as brutal as the double hundred he smashed in world record time two weeks ago in Johannesburg, but was surely just as demoralising, coming after South Africa had reduced Australia to 185 for six.

Gilchrist saved his best to last, though, launching a withering assault as his partners ran out.

By the time Glenn McGrath was adjudged leg before to Makhaya Ntini, the left-hander had scored 138 off just 108 balls, including 22 fours and two sixes.

Of the 65 runs Australia added for the last three wickets, Gilchrist scored 63 in an astonishing display of powerful strokeplay.

Australia's lead was earned almost entirely thanks to a partnership of 132 for the seventh wicket between Gilchrist and Shane Warne.

The leg-spinner playing his 100th Test used a combination of the improvised and the orthodox, his 63 off 66 balls demonstrating how his batting has improved in the latter part of his career.

Paul Adams ended the partnership with the wicket of Warne, caught in the slips by Jacques Kallis, and the pair combined again to remove Jason Gillespie for a duck as the spinner claimed his 100th test wicket.

In between, Kallis picked up the wicket of Brett Lee, caught in the covers for a duck.

The hour after lunch had belonged to the South Africans, with Adams taking two wickets in consecutive overs shortly after the interval.

FULLISH DELIVERY

Ricky Ponting, on 47, got a bottom edge through to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher off a delivery which kept a little low, and Steve Waugh departed for a duck, bowled by a fullish delivery which brushed his pads on its way to hitting the stumps.

Ntini then made it four wickets in eight overs with the wickets of Mark Waugh and Damien Martyn.

Both batsmen played uncharacteristically loose shots, Mark Waugh, on 25, carving straight to Herschelle Gibbs in the gulley and Martyn edging to Boucher for two.

Resuming on 46 without loss overnight, Justin Langer was the first Australian to go, chasing a wide delivery from Ntini and dragging it on to his stumps. He made 37 from just 34 balls and hit seven fours.

There was little respite for the South African bowlers as Matthew Hayden continued the form which has seen him score four centuries in his past four test matches, all against South Africa.

Particularly strong driving straight and punching off his legs, Hayden looked impregnable until he fell into Kallis's well laid trap, hooking a short ball straight to Andrew Hall on the fine leg boundary.

Hayden made 63 from 92 balls and hit 10 fours, and his dismissal was a huge relief for Gibbs, who dropped the big left-hander on 56, getting both hands to a powerful cut at point but failing to hold on to a sharp chance.

Mail Cricket Editor