ENG v SA, 4th Test, Day 1 Review: South Africa on top as England scramble to 260 for the loss of 6

This is exactly what fans expect from a Test match. Both teams fighting it out against each other and providing wholesome entertainment with a cliff-hanger battle. South Africa are off to a great start, but England have a slender advantage entering Day 2. Joe Root won the toss in the Manchester Test and decided to bat first.

The track had a lot to offer for the bowlers and it was evident by the way Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel had embarked the day. Keaton Jennings did fight it out for some time, but he definitely was not comfortable facing the music. He eventually succumbed as Duanne Olivier found his outside edge. Playing just his second Test, Tom Westley (29 off 88 balls) was off to a solid start.

He did seem resilient facing the spinners and the fast bowlers and former skipper Alistair Cook (46 off 103 balls) was off to a decent start as well. But just when the duo was starting to solidify England’s position, Cook and Westley walked back in a span of three overs. Dawid Malan (18) too didn’t stick for a long period and all Joe Root (52 off 101 balls) could do was watch the wickets fall.

Fightback from Root and Stokes

Ben Stokes (58 off 96 balls) once again came to the rescue as he accompanied his skipper on a mission to save the sinking ship. Stokes is often regarded as an excellent striker of the cricket ball but his ability to play patiently on tough tracks to bat was often under the scanner. He did complete justice to his “Best all-rounder in the world” tag and added a crucial partnership in the context of the match.

England were down and out at 92/3 when Malan was dismissed but the southpaw didn’t give away any chances to the Proteas bowlers. Root too was resolute with his application and pulled out some vivaciously beautiful strokes in between. He soon got to his half-century and got out attempting a glance off Olivier, who picked up his second in the day.

Stokes was accompanied by Jonny Bairstow (33 batting off 72 balls), who has been amassing tons of runs coming in the middle order. He was once again facing a difficult situation and the duo did bat England out of trouble. Stokes played some fluent drives through covers and the best part about his innings was his solid defense.

Keshav Maharaj, who was spanked for three consecutive sixes in the previous Test match by Stokes, didn’t seem like conceding any boundaries on Day 1. He was making full use of the available conditions and scarcely gave away any runs. He was the star of the day without a shadow of a doubt from South Africa’s point of view and he managed to pick the prized scalp of Cook as well.

Stokes on the flip side got to a spectacular half-century. This is one inning he will remember for a long time as every batsman loves to contribute to the side when the conditions are very difficult to play on. With a brace towards long-off, he got to his fifty and the entire dressing room was on its feet.

Jonny Bairstow too stood up for his side and played a crucial knock in the finishing overs of the day. The keeper and Stokes added a brilliant 65-run stand for the sixth wicket before Stokes was dismissed by Rabada. The left-handed batter spanked him for two boundaries in the over and his stumps took the aerial route as his defence was breached by a beautiful Rabada yorker.

The hosts finished at 260/6 with Bairstow and Toby Roland-Jones in the middle.

Brief Scores

England first innings: 260/6 in 90 overs (Ben Stokes 58, Joe Root 52; Kagiso Rabada 2/52)