Paul Collingwood repels Dale Steyn's sharp burst as safety beckons

On the face of it not much happened in the afternoon. In fact there was a seismic shift in the balance of power. England may not have scored many runs (51 as it happens), but that has long since been irrelevant. They did not lose a wicket. That's what mattered. Whisper it softly – and take nothing for granted – but at tea England were favourites to draw the game. Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell were defiantly passive throughout. Their greatest challenge was the onset of the second new ball, which was taken as soon as it was available – after one over of the afternoon session. Dale Steyn bowled a superb six-over spell with that new ball – reminiscent of some of Allan Donald's epic efforts when he duelled with and stared at Mike Atherton. Collingwood was on the receiving end of most of it and needed, luck, grit and skill to survive. Several times Steyn found too much movement, albeit on another track that has refused to deteriorate. He passed the outside edge of Collingwood's bat frequently. Once, after a brilliant over, the Durham batsman gave him a gentle pat with his glove, an acknowledgement of Steyn's brilliance, and received with a wry smile by the bowler. Here were two of the game's greatest modern battlers, stretching themselves to the limit, locked in a high quality duel. Meanwhile Bell, who is less accustomed to long rearguard actions, remained dapper and watchful. At tea the England camp began to experience a new kind of pressure in this innings. Now there was an expectation that they should survive.