England's wicketless wait continues

England drew an ominous, and controversial, blank in the first hour of the second Investec Test at Headingley.

Both James Anderson, after Alastair Cook's dropped slip catch, and then - in bizarre circumstances - Steven Finn came close to dislodging a South Africa opener in the tourists' 35 for none.

Cook put Alviro Petersen down on 29; then first-change Finn thought he had Graeme Smith neatly caught at first slip by Andrew Strauss for six, only for umpire Steve Davis to call dead-ball after the fast bowler repeated his uncanny habit of disturbing the bails at the non-striker's end in his delivery stride.

It was a moot point as to whether the flying bails 22 yards away distracted Smith in any way, but the umpire decided it might have - and therefore he had to take action. On a sunny morning, England's wicketless wait therefore extended beyond 400 runs and to 115 overs - since Smith's was the last to fall in the tourists' innings victory at The Oval last week.

Smith and Petersen, who made a duck out of 637 for two declared in London, had little initial trouble against England's all-seam attack after Strauss had chosen to bowl first.

The hosts were all chips in for the gamble of taking early wickets with seam or swing, at this venue renowned for often favouring both, having left out off-spinner Graeme Swann for the first time in three-and-a-half years.

The early signs were far from encouraging, though, for a team clinging on to their world number one Test status and needing to at least avoid defeat here to stop South Africa knocking them off their perch. Petersen dominated the strike, facing 38 deliveries to his captain's four in the first seven overs.

Smith's opening partner did not miss his scoring opportunities either, leaning on a cover-driven four off Stuart Broad and clipping the same bowler off his pads for a second boundary two balls later. There was a four in the first over, and then the 11th, too for Petersen off Anderson.

However, both were edges past the slips; then three balls after the second, Anderson should have had his man only for Cook to reprieve Petersen - at Swann's accustomed second-slip position.

Worse was to follow for England when Finn, returning here in place of Swann, paid dearly for his bad habit.