South Africa vice-captain Ashwell Prince apologised to his team-mates despite a gutsy century in his maiden Test innings against England and on his first visit to Lord's here on Saturday.Sadly for Prince, his 101 couldn't prevent England bowling out South Africa for 247 and enforcing the follow-on after the home side had piled up an imposing 593 for eight declared in the first of this four-Test series.
Left-arm spinner Monty Panesar did the bulk of the damage with four for 74 and South Africa, at stumps on the third day, were 13 without loss - still needing a further 333 runs to make England bat again.
The Proteas were in a parlous position when Prince came in at 47 for three but the 31-year-old left-hander fought hard, and played some fine shots too, in a near five-hour innings featuring one six and 13 fours. Prince, whose wife and baby son were among the crowd, was hard on himself for being dismissed shortly before the close.
"I thought I let the team down, getting out just a few overs before the end of the day's play," he said.
"The last thing I wanted was to have the captain and Neil McKenzie go out again tonight and face a few overs.
He added: "It's a proud moment for me - but having said that, it would have meant a lot more if it was more meaningful for the team."
Prince, often regarded as a blocker, showed intelligent judgment while making his eighth hundred in his 42nd Test.
"People call me 'obdurate' but I just played the ball," he explained.
"I try to do that every time. If it's a good ball, respect it, and if it's there to hit, hit it."
No comments:
Post a Comment