SA v Eng 1st Test Day 4 Review: England on course to a win

The fourth day did not start well for the Proteas as Cricket South Africa confirmed that Dale Steyn won’t bowl again in the match. England were in complete control of the game yesterday and begun the day with a 261-run lead.

Joe Root looked composed until he edged a half-hearted cut to slip. His dismissal for 73 meant that he missed the opportunity to topple Steven Smith from the top of the leading run scorer’s chart in Test  this year.

Ben Stokes looked in a hurry against Dane Piedt, who was tossing the ball and was getting turn off the surface. Stokes constantly tried to come forward and tried fancy shots which eventually resulted in his dismissal. He began well against Piedt after cleanly connecting a reverse sweep to begin the over with a four. However, just a couple of balls later, he was undone by the turn and bounce after he gloved a reverse sweep to Elgar at slips.

Jonny Bairstow played positively, Taylor played nicely and timed the ball really well. Both the batsmen also showed a bit of aggression and kept the scoreboard pumped up. But, Piedt did not take long to strike again. Taylor, in his attempt to be aggressive, skipped out of the crease and missed the ball completely. A swift stumping by AB de Villiers did the rest of the job.

Bairstow continued batting brilliantly and was well-supported by cameos from Moeen Ali (16) and Chris Woakes (23). South Africa got a surprise performer as part timer Stiaan van Zyl chipped out the final three wickets of Woakes, Broad and Bairstow. The latter was the last wicket to fall on 79 as England innings folded for 326 setting a target of 416 for the Proteas to chase.The last and the only instance before this Test where England had set South Africa a target of 400 or more was at the Oval was in 1947. That Test ended in a draw but this is most likely to bear a result.

South Africa needed 416 to win with 50 overs still remaining in the day. It was, obviously a mammoth target to chase on a pitch which had begun to turn. And, after what happened in India few weeks back, South Africa must have been worried.

Van Zyl and Dean Elgar came out and batted together for a fluent 50 runs partnership before Ben Stokes broke the defense of van Zyl. This was for the second time in the match that he was undone by perfect line and length. The ball just sneaked through the gap between bat and pad. Van Zyl got out after scoring 33 off 36.

Finn then scalped two wickets in quick succession. Amla disappointed again. He wasn’t competent enough to spend time at the crease as he edged a catch to the keeper while trying a flashing drive. Dean Elgar also gave a catch behind the wicket to Root at second slips.

It appeared as if the AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis had begun the blockathon especially, the way Faf batted. But after greasing hard in the last session and missing a couple of close chances, Finn finally provided England the breakthrough.

The tall fast bowler extracted some bounce off the slow track to surprise du Plessis who edged a simple catch to Alastair Cook at 1st slip. This wicket in the final moments of the day ended a highly satisfying day for England in the perfect manner.

England hasn’t won the first Test of a series overseas (other than Bangladesh 2009-10) since their tour of South Africa 11 years ago. Also, the pitch has slowed down and Moeen Ali, who claimed four in the first innings, is able to grip the ball more which gives England have a golden chance of starting the Basil D’Oliveira trophy with a morale-boosting win.

Brief Scores:

England – 303 (Nick Compton 85; Dale Steyn 4/70)