Proteas reach 336-6 as Petersen thwarts England

Petersen was unbeaten on 170,from 345 balls with 21 fours.

Alviro Petersen hit his highest test score on Friday to steer South Africa to 336-6 at lunch on day two of the second test against England at Headingley.

Petersen was unbeaten on 170,from 345 balls with 21 fours,while JP Duminy was 10 not out,after South Africa’s batsmen survived a hostile first hour of the morning session.

After solid bowling by England’s seamers,it was the part time spinner Kevin Pietersen (1-14) who made the breakthrough when he had Jacques Rudolph stumped off his second delivery

Australia resumed on 262-5 and after four consecutive maidens Petersen was given out lbw to James Anderson.

For the second time in his innings he successfully referred the call because the ball would have missed the stumps,but it still took 25 minutes and 39 balls for South Africa to score a run,a snatched single by Petersen.

The first boundary came at the end of the ninth over when Petersen uppercut the first bad ball of the day from Anderson to third man.

Petersen,who appeared to be struggling with a hamstring injury,passed his previous highest test score,156 against New Zealand earlier this year,with successive fours off Tim Bresnan,but just as the seamers seemed to be running out of steam the breakthrough came in the most unlikely circumstances.

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With his second delivery Pietersen produced a fiercely turning off break that span past Rudolph and into Prior’s gloves.

The dismissal was contentious with replays appearing inconclusive,but third umpire Asad Rauf denied Rudolph the benefit of the considerable doubt.