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Surprising starts and Strauss's tormentor

Plays of the day for day two of the third Test between South Africa and England at Cape Town

Andrew Strauss fell to Morne Morkel again today  •  Getty Images

Andrew Strauss fell to Morne Morkel again today  •  Getty Images

Early start counts
Anyone caught unaware by the early start to the second day would have been in for a quite a surprise. Seventeen balls was all it took for England to wrap up South Africa's innings, starting with Graham Onions' removal of Jacques Kallis with a cracking second delivery and then it was over to Jimmy Anderson. He grabbed Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel in his first over, both with the help of sharp slip catches, then secured his eighth career five-for by trapping Friedel de Wet lbw. Maybe it was South Africa caught out by the early start. They certainly weren't ready.
Morkel's bunny
Andrew Strauss hasn't quite managed to hit the heights of recent times with the bat on this tour - and that's mainly because of one man. Morne Morkel has the England captain's number at the moment and it was a shrewd move from Graeme Smith to hand him the first over. All it took was six balls before Morkel lured Strauss into a flat-footed drive and the edge was snaffled by Mark Boucher. After the batting collapse it was just the start South Africa needed and meant Morkel had removed Strauss five times in seven innings on this tour.
Trott kept waiting
Normally it is Jonathan Trott who keeps the bowlers waiting at their mark as he takes an age to set up at the crease. It has already annoyed Smith during this series and he was at it again during this innings. However, at one point it was Trott who was made to wait - although so was everyone else - when there was a sightscreen issue under the media centre. Apparently it's a common problem at Newlands and it resulted in Dale Steyn running to the boundary to tell someone what needed fixing. Still, even when it was fixed Trott kept everyone waiting just a little longer.
Steyn's grab
This series has been missing Steyn at his best. He missed the first Test with his hamstring injury and was still moving through the gears at Kingsmead. However, in this match he has already had a significant impact and the most spectacular moment was the one-handed catch to remove Kevin Pietersen. Taking a return catch is tough for a fast bowler but Steyn managed to stop his momentum and stick out the right hand as Pietersen lobbed the drive in his direction. It stuck in the middle of his palm and Steyn celebrated with real gusto. He had waited a while to be central to the action.
Oh, Ian
It was looking so good for Ian Bell, he had done so much hard work to battle his way to 48. It was the innings he needed to finally silence the doubters who believe he doesn't score runs when England really need them, rather than building on a solid base as he did in Durban. When he walked in at 73 for 4 the scenario was set for him and for nearly three hours he played superbly. Then, with the first milestone of a fifty in sight, he was suckered into cutting a Jacques Kallis long-hop to point. He could barely extract himself from the crease.
The shot of a No. 7?
In the lead-up to this series a huge debate was whether Stuart Broad was capable of batting at No. 7. The final decision, and the right one, was not quite yet… but he isn't far away. During his useful 25 he played one shot - a flowing drive off Kallis - that was as good as anything played throughout the day. The ball may have been old and soft, but he had so much time to pick his gap and dispatched it dismissively. That promotion may not be far away.

Andrew McGlashan is assistant editor of Cricinfo