Unofficially, something happened...

I never anticipated that a day would come when I would have to force myself to write an official report on an unofficial Test. As the poet said, more things in heaven and on earth...

Unofficially, something happened at SuperSport Park that, officially, was not taken notice of.

The big point of curiosity about today's play was the performance of Jacques Rudolph -- much has been heard of his potential and promise, and today was the day we were supposed to get a first sighting of the lad.

We did, and an impressive sighting it was, too. For a guy playing his first Test -- or is he? -- the young left-hander looked completely nerveless and, more to the point, proved to be a batsman of silken touch.

This, from a South African perspective, could be crucial -- with the obdurate Kirsten and the flamboyant Gibbs in the opening slots, the Proteas could do with a number three batsman who can bat with flair and score with ease. And during his brief tenure, Rudolph showed that he has what it takes to do both.

His tenure, though, was ended when Kirsten clipped one behind point and wanted a second. The misjudgement You can't really blame Kirsten for figuring the second was on -- all day, the Indians had fielded like they had molasses underfoot. But the guy in the frame this time was Ajit Agarkar, substituting -- and his fresh, naturally quick legs got him to the ball in time to rifle a throw to the bowler's end. Kumble damaged the stumps -- and Rudolph was out by a good seven, eight feet.

And then came the incident. As Rudolph walked past the umpire on his way out, he turned to him and went, "Third umpire". Rudi Koertzen, an experienced international who really should have known better than to call for a review after having made his decision, promptly called for the third umpire -- who upheld his verdict.

The point really is -- a batsman who, on being given out, says or does anything at all to disagree with that verdict is guilty of dissent. So Rudolph, clearly, was out of turn here -- and if ICC rules are being applied, that means five runs to India, and a fine and/or suspension for Rudolph.

What actually happened though was that Koertzen actually gave the batsman what he asked for -- a referral. And this is precisely the problem we have been shouting ourselves hoarse all along -- that the ICC's own officials (and it needs reminding that Koertzen is an umpire on the ICC panel, as is match referee Dennis Lindsay) do not enforce, uniformly, the laws they are paid to uphold.

It could be argued that this is an unofficial game, and therefore it doesn't really count. But that argument, again, misses the point -- the ICC has declared it unofficial, but the two boards, and therefore the two teams, have declared it official by the simple fact of playing it in defiance of ICC wishes.

As for the rest, play followed a predictable pattern. Nehra and Prasad batted for a while this morning, before the former fended at a good lifter off a length from Hayward to give Boje the catch at slip. With Srinath having broken his finger yet again (what's with the Srinaths and Hussains anyway? You would think once was enough to prompt players with such brittle digits to reinforce the padding on their batting gloves), the Indian innings came to an end on 232/9.

The most noticeable facet of the innings was the fact that the second half of the lineup put the efforts of the top order in perspective -- the wicket of Laxman fell in the 47th over (107/5) and the wicket of Nehra in the 98th (232). Thus, both in terms of endurance and productivity, the overlong tail comfortably outdid the more hyped head. That the tail for the second game in succession showed some fight is laudable -- but what then can you say of the top order and its tendency to collapse, sometimes because of the conditions and at other times, as here, despite it?

The Proteas found themselves on an easy batting track -- and took toll. Gibbs and Kirsten make a habit of putting up big opening partnerships (and what a comforting thought that must be for the rest of the South African batting lineup), and here they played true to form against an uninspired, and largely uninterested, attack.

Gibbs succumbed to boredom shortly after he had completed his 50, Rudolph got out failing to say no to his senior partner, and Kirsten fell to one of the few good deliveries of the day -- a Nehra ball that swung in a touch, hit length, then lifted and ran away off the seam to take the edge through to Dravid at slip.

But there really was nothing in the game worth writing about. Shaun Pollock had, before start of play, advised the Indians to treat it as a tuneup for the Tests against England. The Indians decided, however, to take it as an opportunity to rest up before that match, and went through the motions -- even Javagal Srinath, who has bowled with sustained brilliance thus far, seemed as animated as a Diwali firecracker that was left out in the rain.

The way the pitch looks, any mischief it does -- lower bounce is one, a tendency to turn off the gradually widening cracks is another -- will be towards day four and five, while day three remains good for batting.

So take a wild guess, who gets to bat on day three and who will face the music on day four and, if need be, five?

End of Day 2: South Africa -- 261/4 (80.4)

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