England Vs South Africa: 1st Test – 5 Game Changing Moments

The much anticipated England-South Africa finally commenced on the hallowed turfs of the Lord’s. The match witnessed Lord’s saw two new captains by the name of Joe Root and Dean Elgar, leading their respective sides to the toss. After winning the toss, Joe Root elected to bat first and managed to post a total of 458 from being 76-4 at one stage. Root and Ali were exceptional with the bat as the home team took the advantage in the first innings.South Africa could only manage 361, as they looked to save the Test match prematurely.

After obtaining a lead of 97, England stretched their lead to 330+ in the second innings, thanks to the innings from Bairstow who rescued his team in the face of ongoing batting collapse around him. In the end, the visitors found Moeen Ali too hot to handle as picked a ten-wicket haul in the match. The men in green were dismissed for 119, as England won the match by 211 runs, and took a 1-0 lead in the series. Ali was adjudged as the man of the match for his all-round performance. Let us look at the five game-changing moments in the game.

1. Joe Root’s knock after getting two lives

Joe Root was the latest to join the league of the Fab Four of International Cricket to score a century on captaincy debut. Even Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, and Kane Williamson have achieved the same feat. However, this innings would stand out in his cricketing career as he played the role of a sheath anchor with wickets tumbling continuously at the other end. He cashed in with the rub of the green he had, after being dropped on 16 and being stumped off a no-ball at 149.

Together with Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali, he stitched vital partnership with his team at peril. Just when the doctor ordered, Root put his team in a position of dominance with his innings of 190 in just 234 balls, at a strike rate of 81.1 in a Test match, smashing 27 boundaries and a couple of maximums. Along with the impact the innings had on the match, Root also ensured that England is in safe hands with a champion batsman like Joe Root leading the side.

2. The Great English collapse

England after gaining a lead of 97 runs in the first innings, went off to a perfect start with Cook looking solid as ever from one end and Jennings providing him with ample support. Cook added 69 runs in his long innings while Jennings scored 33. Even Ballance added 34 to stretch the lead even further from South Africa. At one point in time, the home side was cruising at 139-1 and still were bundled out for just 233.

It all started with the wicket of Cook. Ballance and Root soon followed their former captain by not adding many. As many as six batsmen, after Ballance, did not even manage to reach double figures in their innings. This led to major collapse as they lost 9 wickets by adding only 94 to the lead. This gave some sort of hope for a South African resurgence for the supporters. The game was brilliantly poised as England gave a target of 331 to win for the visitors.

3. Morkel-Maharaj partnership

The English downfall was orchestrated by brilliant bowling from Keshav Maharaj and Morne Morkel. One terrorised with his pace, bounce and swing, while the other engaged the Englishmen in a spin tangle. Together they decimated the top order of the Three Lions by taking seven wickets in tandem. Rabada also played his part in the Great English collapse, with his three wickets.

It is not easy when a team concedes a lead of almost a hundred and the top three opposition batsman stretching the lead even more. South African shoulders could easily have dropped with England at 139-1, with Cook looking his solid self and Ballance looking to justify his place at the other end. Morkel, Maharaj and Rabada, essentially brought the Proteas back in the match.

4. Bairstow’s shepherding England to safety

With wickets falling around him and the home side threatening to get bowled out without getting many, Jonny Bairstow walked in to bat to replace his captain, who scored a marvellous century in the first innings. Wickets continued to tumble, but the Yorkshireman held his ground from one end and shepherded the English side out of trouble with his innings of 51 off just 76 balls, batting with the tail, smashing six boundaries.

Mark Wood also gave ample support to the wicketkeeper-batsman with his crucial knock of 28 off just 36 balls, smashing four boundaries in his innings. With the contribution from the lower order, England managed to gain the psychological edge after posting a target of 330+.  South Africa, at one point in time, would have expected a target of around 280 and may have fancied their chances.

5. The Moeen Ali show

If there was one man who stole the show at the Lord’s Test, it was the commonly perceived “Part-Timer” Moeen Ali. His 87 off 147 balls was as important as that of Joe Root. Ali consolidated the innings after the spark provided by Stokes-Root partnership. England posted a total of 450+ even after being reduced to 76-4, only going to show the depth in English batting line up. His performance with the bat was only seconded by his efforts with the ball.

In the first innings, he broke the back of Protean top order by claiming the price wickets of Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla and the well set Bavuma. With 330 on the board, England took no time to dismiss South Africa, thanks to yet another dream spell from Moeen Ali. After picking up four wickets in the first innings, he backed it up with figures of 6-53. He became the first player to score a half-century and to secure a ten-wicket haul in 37 years for England.