SOUTH AFRICA IN BEAUTY

A superb new-ball spell by South Africa’s Dale Steyn and a

magnificent catch by Neil McKenzie had Australia rocking at 78 for
three at lunch on the
first day of the first Test on Thursday.

Australia won the toss and elected to bat first but 20-year-old debutant Phillip Hughes fell in the first over for a duck, edging an awful cut at a Steyn bouncer into the gloves of wicket-keeper Mark Boucher.

Fellow opener Simon Katich (3) survived some scares outside off stump before McKenzie terminated his 40-minute innings with a stunning one-handed catch in the gully, diving full length to intercept a back-foot drive off Steyn.

South Africa made another breakthrough 45 minutes before lunch when Morne Morkel had Michael Hussey caught at second slip by Jacques Kallis for four to leave Australia on 38 for three.

Ricky Ponting survived to the break and played some top class strokes in a defiant 49 not out.

The Australian captain had a major let off, however, in the second over before lunch when he edged Steyn into the slips only for Graeme Smith to drop a comfortable catch. Ponting hooked the next delivery into the crowd beyond fine leg.

Michael Clarke is in with Ponting, on 17 not out. Steyn has taken two for 23 in eight overs.

ANTI DOPING

Director General of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) David Howman lavished

praise on the ICC for its effort to free cricket from
performance-enhancing drugs.

Speaking at a WADA symposium held for the world’s sports media in Lausanne, Switzerland this week, Howman said ICC did a commendable job by uniting the cricket world against drugs.

“We are substantially encouraged and I think the progress that has been made, even in the last four or five months has been significant,” Howman was quoted as saying by an ICC statement.

“The ICC has done a huge amount in this area, both from a leadership point of view in becoming code compliant and in terms of bringing in some of the countries that we know are pretty difficult to run anti-doping programmes in.

“If you put all that together, that is great progress and we have worked together with some people who have been responsible for that and we are heartened by their commitment,” the WADA chief said.

Howman also took the occasion to warn that the sporting community in general could never drop its guard in the war against drug cheats.

“I think we win a lot of battles and the more battles you win the closer you are to winning the war,” Howman said.

“(But) in every aspect of society you are going to find a few cheats. We find them in the legal profession or journalistic profession and so on. There are much fewer drug cheats in sport now than 10 years ago,” he said.

The ICC became a signatory of WADA in July 2006 and has been testing at its events since 2002.