Key admits poor display

Rob Key admitted his England side were not at their best against the tourists

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Captain Rob Key admitted England Lions suffered “a drubbing” after South Africa romped to a four-wicket triumph in today’s match at Grace Road.

The tourists, who were without captain Graeme Smith, all-rounder Jacques Kallis, seamer Morne Morkel and wicketkeeper Mark Boucher, sealed their triumph with 11.1 overs remaining in the first of two warm-up matches against the Lions this week.

It was a major statement of intent from the tourists, who beat a Lions side including six members of England’s one-day squad, and Key admitted: “That was pretty much a drubbing really and that’s not a true reflection of the two sides - I think we’re a better side than that.

“Whoever you’re playing for, it’s always disappointed to get beaten like that when you know you should have done better because you walk off the field thinking we mucked up today and it should have been a lot tighter than that.

“We’re probably more used to that sort of pitch than those guys are. It was a little damp in the morning but even so we should have been a little bit smarter with bat and ball.”

Put into bat, the Lions were dismissed for a lowly 184 with captain Key top-scoring with 51 and Herschelle Gibbs effectively settled the issue with a patient 81 off 104 balls, which included six fours and a six.

“We lost a poor toss and the conditions were fairly tough early on and it was a slow pitch but we let ourselves down.

“We should probably have got up to around 220 or 230 and we were probably not quite on it early on with the ball as well.

“Dale Steyn is a fantastic bowler and asked some good questions early on and we didn’t do that enough and then Herschelle Gibbs showed us how to play a one-day innings.”

Gibbs, caught off a no-ball on just 13, added: “I was lucky to get away with getting caught off a no ball so I thought it might be a good day for me.

“I’ve been playing for a while at Lashings and Glamorgan before that so I thought today that I’d take my time to get in and use it as a bit of preparation.”

England’s Lions face South Africa again at Derby on Saturday, when they will be led by Middlesex’s Ed Joyce, before the tourists start the one-day series with a Twenty20 International against England at Chester-le-Street next Wednesday.