South Africa will turn their attention to finding a way to negate the formidable threat posed by fiery Australian Mitchell Johnson, captain Graeme Smith said following his team’s comprehensive 281-run defeat in the first test on Saturday.
“There is no doubt Mitchell Johnson was the difference in this game and we have to find way to curb him and put him under pressure in the next two tests,” said Smith as South Africa licked their wounds after losing the first of the three-test series.
Johnson’s 12-wicket haul came as a result of some vicious deliveries, one of which cut Ryan McLaren behind the ear and the other hit Hashim Amla full in the face.
The left-arm paceman bowled consistently around the 150km mark and scythed through the home team’s batting to produce career best figures.
“I believe the wicket played a big part,” said Smith, confirming the assertion of the Australian captain Michael Clarke that the surface at SuperSport Park was “nasty”.
The wicket for the second test at Port Elizabeth, which starts on Thursday, is expected to be docile in comparison.
Smith dismissed media assertions his side had been mentally scarred by aggression of the Australian paceman, whose formidable form continued after being man of the series when they won the Ashes last month after a 5-0 whitewash of England.
“I doubt there is much mental scarring, we have lost a game of cricket and were beaten comprehensively,” he said.
“It’s important that we move away from that, there are still two big test matches left in this series and we need to make sure that we perform really well in the next one, that’s our focus.
“I feel that, even though it’s been disappointing, this game will benefit us going into the next game. I think our bowlers have got good time on their legs and hopefully we will have a higher intensity going into the next game.
“From a batting perspective, I think we have some good things to talk about, if we can post some good totals which we have done in the last period of time we will have the ability to put Australia under pressure,” Smith added.
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
UAE SQUAD
Khalid Essa, Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammad Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoon Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
Results
6.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,400m. Winner: Rio Angie, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 1,600m. Winner: Trenchard, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
7.40pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m. Winner: Mulfit, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.15pm: Handicap Dh210,000 (D) 1,200m. Winner: Waady, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Handicap Dh210,000 (D) 2,000m. Winner: Tried And True, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
9.25pm:Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,400m. Winner: Midnight Sands, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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