ENG v SA, 1st Test, Day 3 Review: England call the shots on Day 3 with a 200 plus

A prospective glorious day at the home of cricket was maliciously headlined by Kagiso Rabada’s overnight suspension for his ‘colorful’ vocabulary. Ben Stokes was on the receiving end of Rabada’s not-so-friendly send-off on Day 2, and the ICC thought it apt to suspend the youngster for the second Test at Trent Bridge. The South African night-watchman, however, had a job at hand – support Temba Bavuma at the other end and safely negotiate England’s fiery pacemen early in the morning.

Streaky was the word that would describe Rabada’s stay at the crease. The ball met the edge of his bat more often than not while facing pace. The spinners added to his discomfort at the crease, and Liam Dawson got England the first breakthrough of the day with only his second delivery. Dawson’s spin twin Moeen Ali then got rid of Temba Bavuma for a feisty 59. South Africa found themselves staring at a sizable deficit at 248/7 when Vernon Philander joined Quinton de Kock at the crease.

South Africa’s no.8 and 9 notch up fifties

That South Africa’s arguably best batsman was batting at no.8 would have calmed Dean Elgar’s nerves to a certain extent. De Kock was at it straight away and played fearlessly against the new ball. Stuart Broad was dispatched for three consecutive boundaries right after drinks in the first session. QDK moved to 26 off 17 in no time.

Broad’s expensive spell continued with another triple-boundary over. The wicket-keeper batsman notched up his 36-ball half-century with an effortless clip over midwicket. It took a bit of magic from Ben Stokes at square cover to remove Quinton de Kock, but South Africa were safely over the 300-run mark.

Meanwhile, Vernon Philander resumed his sturdy knock after lunch, and despite the fall of the 9^th wicket, he marched on towards a valuable fifty. He perished while attempting to smash Moeen Ali into next week, but all said and done, Philander had done his utmost best to keep South Africa in the game. The visitors’ 361 was credited to fifties from skipper Elgar, and lower down the order from Bavuma, de Kock and Philander of course. Ali, finishing with 4, led the pack of English bowlers, while Anderson, Broad and Dawson had an equal share of the remaining 6 South African scalps.

England look unperturbed in the 2nd innings

Despite his bravery with the bat, the concerns over Philander grew after he took a blow on his right hand. He was forced to rush for an X-ray, which meant South Africa would have to bowl without their most dependable seamer. Morne Morkel didn’t trouble the English openers, Cook and Jennings, as much as he’d have liked, given that England were already 97 runs ahead. At tea, England

At tea, the hosts were in a commanding position, with their overall lead approaching 150, and their openers making steady progress. Alastair Cook was on the brink of four binary scores, and 51 not out would get him to the rare total of 11111. The binary-fanaticism aside, Cook was in charge of the second innings, while Keaton Jennings was happy defending deliveries.

A slight lapse of concentration from Jennings allowed South Africa to break the opening partnership. Morne Morkel’s diligent spell yielded in an important breakthrough for South Africa. Gary Ballance walked out to join the former England captain who advanced from a longish stay in the 40’s to bring up yet another fine half-century.

Despite being without the services of Vernon Philander, South Africa toiled and managed to bring the run rate down considerably. The final session of the day was slow, as it fetched just 74 runs off 34 overs. England, however, were looking in fine feather with the lead going north of 200. With two days left, this Test match seems to have the ingredients for a riveting contest.

Brief Scores

England: 1st innings: England – 458/10 (Joe Root 190; Morne Morkel 4/115)

2nd innings 119/1 (Alastair Cook 59*, Garry Ballance 22*)

South Africa: 361/10 (Temba Bavuma 59; James Anderson 2/44)