Kevin Pietersen made all the headlines on day one with one of the best innings seen at Lord's for several years. Will Kev and Ian Bell really punish Graeme Smith for electing to bowl first? Keep apace with the action and the latest from the Betfair markets. Ed Hawkins is in the hot-seat once again.

18.14 RAIN STOPPED PLAY South Africa 7-0
That might be it for the night. England have had 3.2 valuable overs but they've wasted them.Sidebottom and Anderson did not make the batsmen play.

18.01 South Africa 0-0
England's field: four slips, two gullies, mid on, mid off and deep backward square (Monty). They are going to have a real go tonight. The draw has come out to [1.51]and England are [3.10]. Smith played and missed at the first one but England's best hope of getting him is a leg before. Vulnerable to the ball that swings in, he often tries to play around his front pad.  read more »

Don't worry Jacques, it's sunny this morning! Ed Hawkins is at Lords for the first Test against the Proteas and he'll see play start on time. Stay up to date with the cricket, and the odds, in his live blog.

18.41 England 309-3
England are in charge after seeing off South Africa's battery of pacemen, largely thanks to the brilliance of Kevin Pietersen. The first session was something of a phoney war after the much-hyped Proteas fast-bowlers looked gun shy. But after lunch, they bowled bullets and with three wickets for three runs in 13 deliveries showed what they are capable of. From there it was the KP show. His century will have warmed the wallets of many top-bat punters who were on him to put his old country to the sword. England are on the cusp of a first-innings 400 for the first time in 12 months. It would take something remarkable for them to lose from such a position. Rain is forecast for tomorrow which could juice up the pitch and gives hope for those of us who were hoping for wickets with the new ball. The prices are: England [3.85], South Africa [7.80] and the draw [1.63]  read more »

Don't worry Jacques, it's sunny this morning! Ed Hawkins is at Lords for the first Test against the Proteas and he'll see play start on time. Stay up to date with the cricket, and the odds, in his live blog.

18.41 England 309-3
England are in charge after seeing off South Africa's battery of pacemen, largely thanks to the brilliance of Kevin Pietersen. The first session was something of a phoney war after the much-hyped Proteas fast-bowlers looked gun shy. But after lunch, they bowled bullets and with three wickets for three runs in 13 deliveries showed what they are capable of. From there it was the KP show. His century will have warmed the wallets of many top-bat punters who were on him to put his old country to the sword. England are on the cusp of a first-innings 400 for the first time in 12 months. It would take something remarkable for them to lose from such a position. Rain is forecast for tomorrow which could juice up the pitch and gives hope for those of us who were hoping for wickets with the new ball. The prices are: England [3.85], South Africa [7.80] and the draw [1.63]  read more »

It's backs to the wall time for England at Headingley, with the home side trading at [100.0] for victory before the off. Cricket betting maestro Ed Hawkins is on hand to keep us updated throughout the fourth day's play

18.30 SA win by 10 wickets
A fully deserved victory for South Africa, who won virtually every session in the Test. England will name their squad for the third Test at Edgbaston - which starts on Wednesday week - on Saturday and it would be a surprise if the names Pattinson and Ambrose are included. England have to go back to four bowlers with Andrew Flintoff as one of them. If they do that, they have a chance of squaring the series in Birmingham. It is their most successful ground. I'll be blogging for that, too so join me again.  read more »

It's backs to the wall time for England at Headingley, with the home side trading at [100.0] for victory before the off. Cricket betting maestro Ed Hawkins is on hand to keep us updated throughout the fourth day's play

18.30 SA win by 10 wickets
A fully deserved victory for South Africa, who won virtually every session in the Test. England will name their squad for the third Test at Edgbaston - which starts on Wednesday week - on Saturday and it would be a surprise if the names Pattinson and Ambrose are included. England have to go back to four bowlers with Andrew Flintoff as one of them. If they do that, they have a chance of squaring the series in Birmingham. It is their most successful ground. I'll be blogging for that, too so join me again.  read more »

TheBangalore franchise has named its team as the Royal Challengers and Rahul “The Wall” Dravid is the captain.  read more »

As many had feared they would be in the first Test, England were comprehensively outplayed here. Once again, England avoided picking their strongest side. For those frustrated with the innate caution in their recent selection, the decision to select Darren Pattinson, out of nowhere, was utterly incongruous.

Pattinson did certainly not disgrace himself, and outbowled Stuart Broad. However, this will probably prove to be his sole Test, for he lacks pace, does too little with the ball and, while accurate, is not metronomic. England would have been better off selecting the in-form Simon Jones or Steve Harmison, both of whom have proved they possess the ability to get out the best batsmen, whilst Chris Tremlett, who performed so admirably against India last summer, must be bewildered as to why England seem so willing to pick him in squads, but so reluctant to pick him in the starting XI.  read more »

I was in the Tavern Stand at Lord's yesterday for the third day of the first Test, watching England move into a position of such strength that it even appeared likely that they could win by an innings within four...Patrick Kidd

The home jinx for Deccan Chargers continued, as Bangalore Royal Challengers powered to a five-wicket win to register their fourth win of the IPL and assure themselves of seventh place. Set a modest target of 166, Bangalore started slowly, but cameos from Misbah-ul-Haq, Rahul Dravid, Cameron White and B Akhil ensured they got home with [...]

West Indies vs South Africa 2007-08, Mikesiva reviews the first test, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

In the last week of 2007, the West Indies achieved the unthinkable - they won a Test match in South Africa!

Who would have predicted this result? Certainly not me!

The West Indies had just lost their four-d  read more »