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2nd match: South Africa v England at Port Elizabeth, 9-13 December, 1999

Mohandas Menon

• This match was the 1475th in Test history.

• This match was South Africa's 237th and England's 763rd in Tests.

• This match was the 117th meeting between the two sides.

• This match was the 18th to be played at this venue. England was playing its 8th match at this venue.

• Nantie Hayward became the 274th South African to appear in Tests.

• Lance Klusener's 174 was now the second highest score by a South African against England at home. The best still remains as the 176 by Herbie Taylor at Johannesburg (Old Wanderers) in 1922-23.

• It was the second highest score by a South African No 7 in Tests. The highest still remains as the 182 by Dennis Lindsay against Australia at Johannesburg (New Wanderers) in 1966-67. However it was the highest by a South African No 7 against England. The previous highest was the 129 by "Tuppy" Owen-Smith at Leeds in 1929.

• Although Klusener's 174 was the sixth highest individual score by a No 7 batsman in Test history, his score now becomes the highest by a left handed batsman at this position. The previous highest score was the unbeaten 151 by New Zealand's Richard Hadlee against Sri Lanka at Colombo (CCC) in 1986-87.

• Klusener's hundred was also the highest at this venue. It betters the previous highest of 167 by Australian Lindsay Hassett in 1949-50. The previous highest by a South African was the 137 by Graeme Pollock against England in 1964-65.

• The partnership of 119 between Klusener and Mark Boucher was South Africa's best for the eight wicket against England. The pair surpassed the previous best of 109 (unbeaten) between Bruce Mitchell and Lindsay Tuckett at the Oval in 1947.

• The partnership also betters South Africa's previous best at home against England for this wicket. "Nummy" Deane and Buster Nupen had put on 95 at Durban in 1927-28. It was also the best at this venue by any team for the 8th wicket. The previous best was the 86 run partnership between South Africans Peter Carlstein and Hugh Tayfield against Australia in 1957-58.

• The 18 no-balls conceded by England in the first innings equals the maximum against South Africa. England had conceded similar number of no-balls against South Africa at The Oval in 1994.

• The second wicket partnership between Mike Atherton and Hussain was the highest for the 2nd wicket by any team at this venue. The previous highest was the 126 run partnership between Barry Richards and Ali Bacher against Australia in 1969-70.

• When he took the wicket of Hussain in the first innings, Allan Donald became the highest wicket-taker for South Africa against England. He went past the previous record of 75 wickets (in 15 matches) by off-spinner Hugh Tayfield. Donald at the end of the match has 78 wickets in 15 matches.

• Boucher's catch of Flintoff in the second innings was his 100th dismissal (98ct+2st) of his career. He now becomes the third South African after Dave Richardson (152 dismissals in 42 matches) & John Waite (141 in 49) and the 22nd keeper in Test history to do so. However by reaching this target in his 23rd Test match, Boucher has now become the quickest to reach this milestone in least number of matches. The previous record were jointly held by Australian Wally Grout and by fellow South African Dave Richardson, who achieved their landmark in 24 matches. Interestingly, Boucher in his debut Test against Pakistan at Sheikhupura in 1997-98 could not manage a single dismissal. This means Boucher has reached the 100th dismissal mark in his last 22 matches.

• Incidentally, Boucher also became the youngest keeper at 23 years and 10 days to achieve this milestone. He also reached this landmark in least number of days from debut. He needed just 2 years and 58 days to do so.

• The unbeaten partnership of 126 between Jacques Kallis and Jonty Rhodes was the highest by any team at this venue for the fifth wicket. It betters the previous best of 104 runs between Englishmen Phil Mead and Frank Woolley way back in 1913-14. South Africa's previous best at this venue was the 88 between Lee Irvine and Dennis Lindsay against Australia in 1969-70.

• This was Hussain's first drawn match in 5 matches as captain. He earlier four matches resulted in one win and three losses.

• This was the first drawn match for South Africa after four successive wins.

• South extended its unbeaten run without defeat to twelve matches since November, 1998.

• It was South Africa's 12th consecutive match without defeat, which began from November, 1998 when it beat West Indies by four wickets at Johannesburg. Prior to this unbeaten sequence South Africa had lost two successive Test matches in England at Nottingham and Leeds in July and August last year. South Africa's previous best unbeaten sequence was the 10 Tests from December 1994 to January, 1996. The sequence had then ended when India beat them by 64 runs at Ahmedabad in November, 1996.

• It was South Africa's first drawn Test after ten successive wins at home beginning with its 259 run victory over Pakistan at Port Elizabeth in March last year and it ended with the victory in the previous Test at Johannesburg against England. This means South Africa now equals the record held by India for the maximum home victories in a row. India from December 1988 (v New Zealand at Hyderabad) to November, 1994 (v West Indies at Bombay) had won 10 home Test matches in a row.