What with all the pre-match fuss over the rehabilitation of Graeme Hick and Ian Salisbury, and the subsequent arrival of the latest boy wonder in Andrew Flintoff, it has been easy to overlook the return to the England team of Mark Butcher as Mike Atherton's opening partner after an absence, through injury, of two Tests.
But back he most assuredly is, and were it not for a decision of stupefying incompetence by the New Zealand umpire Steve Dunne, it is not fanciful to suggest that he might have marked the occasion with his first Test century.
Before he was deemed lbw to Allan Donald, Butcher made 75 in around 31/4 hours of quality batting against the best new-ball attack in the business, sharing an opening partnership of 145 with Atherton, who made 58 before he became Donald's first victim of the match.
It set England on the road to overhauling South Africa's firstinnings total of 374 - Angus Fraser five for 60, Darren Gough four for 116. But by stumps they had also lost both Nasser Hussain for 22, lbw to Steve Elworthy - unluckily perhaps although not as much as Butcher - and Alec Stewart, who having played positively for his 19 swatted flatfootedly at Jacques Kallis and edged to second slip. Ian Salisbury, the nightwatchman, survived the last 20 minutes in brave fashion and with Mark Ramprakash took the score to 202 for four.
The ball swung and seamed yesterday for all the South African pacemen in a manner that had eluded their England counterparts on the first day, so the batting of both Butcher and Atherton was all the more creditable, not least their willingness to punish anything loose. By tea, the pair had already posted their third century opening stand together, Butcher having completed his half-century. Shortly after the interval Atherton took 10 off three balls from Donald - a cover drive, a hook when the inevitable bouncer followed, and another drive down the ground - to reach his own 50, out of 115.
Both batsmen had started an assault on the wrist spin of Paul Adams, in much the same manner as Hansie Cronje had employed against Salisbury, when Atherton, much to his evident disgruntlement, waved his bat at a wide delivery from Donald, operating at the other end, and saw Mark Boucher dive to scoop up the edge from in front of first slip's bootlaces.
Donald had waited 13 overs for that success, and in his next over, with Dunne's co-operation, he removed Butcher. Bowling round the wicket, from virtually on the return crease, Donald slanted the ball into Butcher and struck him on the pad. For Donald to appeal at all, never mind so vehemently, bordered on the sort of behaviour that the panel of international umpires is trying to remove from the game.
Donald knows the geometry of the situation, which dictates that it is impossible for a ball delivered in such a manner to conform to the conditions of the lbw law. He knows, unless the batsman is virtually treading on his stumps, or the ball straightens dramatically (neither of which occurred here), that it cannot be out.
Probably he recognised a weak official and was taking advantage. Perhaps Dunne was simply jetlagged. But although this delivery was missing leg-stump by another set, up went Dunne's finger and off, without a murmur, went Butcher. Although the second new ball was not four overs old when play began, it still took England an hour and a quarter to dispose of the last three South African wickets, as 72 runs were added, principally by Steve Elworthy, who on his debut made 48 from 52 deliveries, including seven fours.
He lost Cronje early on, for 126, when the South Africa captain edged to second slip, where Hick took the sharp catch that gave Fraser his fifth wicket. But then he shared a 49-run partnership for the ninth wicket of which Donald made only four.
