Gibson stands by seamers

Darren Pattinson celebrates his first Test wicket, a rare moment of joy for England

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Bowling coach Ottis Gibson admitted Darren Pattinson and his bowling colleagues endured a chastening time on the second day of the second npower Test against South Africa.

Ashwell Prince hit an unbeaten 234 as the tourists closed on 322 for four at Headingley Carnegie, in reply to England’s 203 all out, with debutant Pattinson claiming the only wicket to fall in three sessions.

After South Africa batted out more than two days to secure a draw in the opening Test at Lord’s, it represented another largely fruitless outing for the England bowlers.

"It was a tough day for Darren, and all the rest of the bowlers," Gibson conceded. "Obviously it's a very big occasion, for him to make his debut for England."

Gibson was at pains to point out, however, that - although Pattinson was something of a 'Headingley' pick - the selectors did not simply pluck him from nowhere.

"We've been watching him since the start of the year, and the reports coming back have been quite good," he said of the man who joined Nottinghamshire only at the start of this season.

"We knew we had hit-the-deck bowlers, and the reports on Darren were that he pitches the ball up and swings it. That's what we felt we needed for this game.

"It came down to looking at all the bowlers round the country, who was bowling well and swinging the ball, and all the reports pointed to Darren."

The problem was that, when England and Pattinson bowled, the cloud cover which persisted for much of yesterday quickly receded.

"Knowing what we might get in terms of conditions at Headingley, we went with him - but the conditions we've had haven't really favoured him," added Gibson. "So he, like everybody else, has found it quite difficult to get wickets."

Ashwell Prince drives in style through the off side on the way to a splendid century for South Africa

Gibson is nonetheless adamant, as he was at Lord's, that England's bowlers have done little wrong.

"I thought we bowled well again today. We beat the bat, and often you can only do as much as the conditions allow you to," he reasoned.

"We've tried to be aggressive at times, but we just got nothing out of the surface. Overhead conditions make a huge difference at Headingley, and it just hasn't swung for us."

Gibson added too that bowlers such as Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Matthew Hoggard - to whom Pattinson was preferred - are still in the reckoning for recalls.

"We are monitoring everyone else. We know exactly where Simon Jones is in his comeback from injury; we know what Harmy is up to - and Hoggy," he said.

Those who were instead backed to beat the South Africans here were shut out principally by Prince, in stands of 67 with Hashim Amla and then an unbroken 179 with AB de Villiers, who closed on 70 not out.

Amla believes Prince is batting better than ever. "Over the last couple of years he has been a star performer for us," he said.

"I think his temperament is superb and he keeps the game quite simple. That's basically his biggest trait.

"He's batting very well at the moment on key occasions for us. He's produced two fantastic knocks, two of the best I've seen."