Cricket Fourth Test: Gary Kirsten is to Test match batting what the Songs of Leonard Cohen are to easy listening: best appreciated with a tub of Prozac to hand.
Take him out of his green, one-day uniform and he bats with all the vitality of the workhouse. Leave the entertainment to the Flash Harrys, he might say, and let me get on with my batting drudgery. I'm not in this for fun.
But for hour upon hour yesterday, six and a quarter in all, the immovable object served his country immensely with his 18th Test century, his second in successive innings.
First of all he shored up a South Africa innings that was on the point of imploding on a slate-coloured bowling morning. Later, as the sun burst through and the pitch lost much of its skittishness, he took them to a position from which, even without the skills of Shaun Pollock, they will reckon to compete strongly. It was resourceful, skilled, brave and dogged, although a sharp rap on the fingers of his left hand by the second new ball will have called for the ice bucket in the evening.
In the middle session, while the talented Jacques Rudolph was completing an accomplished half-century as his contribution to a fifth-wicket stand of 95 that rescued South Africa from 21 for four, he added just 15 runs to his lunchtime score. He had descended into a state of suspended animation that left many wondering if the scoreboard numbers would actually start to count backwards, like the calendar in the Time Machine.
There was the element of luck, too, that most Headingley successes demand. On 28, in Andrew Flintoff's opening over, he looped a gentle catch to backward point only to hear the umpire call a no-ball. Then on 42 he steered another Flintoff delivery towards third man and Nasser Hussain, standing wide at fourth slip, was able only to parry a sharp chance high to his left.
By the close, South Africa had reached 260 for seven, the final session dominated by an unlikely unbroken partnership of 118 for the eighth wicket between Kirsten and the debutant Monde Zondeki.
In the final over of the day, the youngster angled Flintoff, armed with the second new ball and sending the speed gun beyond 90 mph, to third man for his 10th boundary and sheepishly acknowledged the applause for his first first-class half-century in only his 16th first-class match.
His partner, having missed the previous Test at Trent Bridge because of an elbow injury, had found himself pottering to the crease before the first over of the day was through and will resume this morning on 109, having expanded his game in the later stages with some neat drives and precise cuts to hit 16 fours.
England will recognise that they handed over the initiative, unable to turn the screw when South Africa stood at 142 for seven midway through the afternoon.
Before play, the England captain Michael Vaughan and coach Duncan Fletcher, in what might be seen as an effort to rest their pace bowlers during matches as well as between, opted to play five seamers rather than a more sensible four.
There was a new cap for Kabir Ali and what must seem like a new one for Martin Bicknell, who has spent a decade on the sidelines.
It gave Vaughan too many toys to play with, too many bowlers to keep happy and interested. James Kirtley shared the wickets with Kabir, Bicknell and Flintoff, but not one of them was able to push on.
l Guardian Service
SOUTH AFRICA first innings
G Smith c Stewart b Kirtley2
H Gibbs c Stewart b Bicknell0
G Kirsten not out109
J Kallis c Vaughan b Bicknell6
N McKenzie c Stewart b Kabir Ali4
J Rudolph lbw b Kabir Ali55
M Boucher c Vaughan b Flintoff16
A Hall c Smith b Flintoff0
M Zondeki not out50
Extras (lb-10, w-1, nb-7)18
Total (for 7 wickets, 90 overs) ... 260
Fall: 1-2 2-2 3-16 4-21 5-116 6-142 7-142
To bat: M Ntini, D Pretorius
Bowling: Kirtley 24-9-64-1 (w-1), Bicknell 20-10-32-2 (nb-1), Ali 18-3-60-2 (nb-3), Anderson 11-5-39-0, Flintoff 17-4-55-2 (nb-3)
