The Australians have already started talking about England’s susceptibility against pace. Damien Fleming even warned of ‘Bodyline 2’ when England travel Down Under later this year. England Men have done anything good for their reputation. They are losing Tests, faltering against quality spin, failing against quality pace. The pundits have already begun poking their sharpened knives at Joe Root’s sides. South Africa Men have levelled the series 1-1. The venue, this time, is The Oval. If South Africa repeat what they did here the last time they played, they will ensure they stay undefeated. ALSO READ: Preview and likely XIs: Both sides square up to take unassailable lead
Meanwhile, The Oval gears up for its 100th Test. The London venue has stood witness to many a history, including England’s first home Test in 1880, where they beat Australia by 5 wickets. From Fred Spofforth’s Making-of-the-Ashes Test to Len Hutton’s 364 to Don Bradman’s most famous duck to India and Sri Lanka’s first wins in England to Michael Holding making the Englishmen digest ‘grovel’ to Kevin Pietersen reclaiming The Ashes to Pakistan’s forfeit, The Oval has often taken centrestage.
It will eventually boil down to the many battles of several outstanding cricketers between two quality sides. Ahead of the all-important third Test, Suvajit Mustafi takes a peak at the possible key battles:
Ben Stokes vs Kagiso Rabada: The cricket fraternity found it harsh but ICC did not. They handed Rabada a one-Test ban after he was heard using a cuss word once he dismissed Stokes in the first innings of the first Test at Lord’s. South Africa lost the Test but did not require the services of Rabada to bounce out the Englishmen at Trent Bridge. Rabada’s return boosts the Proteas pace attack.
Meanwhile, Stokes has moved over the incident. Rabada might have troubled him in this series but that 258 at Cape Town was only a year-and-a-half back. On his day Stokes can dismantle the best in the world. That is something England will desperately hope for.
Toby Ronald-Jones vs Hashim Amla: Amla had slammed 311, the first triple-hundred by a South African, the last time the two teams played a Test at The Oval. South Africa had won that Test by an innings. The expectation will be the same for the stalwart.
Meanwhile, Ronald-Jones is all set to be the 677th player to represent England in Tests. He shone in the only ODI he played earlier this year against the same side, in the same city, but at Lord’s: he came out with England at 20 for 6, and his run-a-ball 37 ensured they finished in excess of 150. Not just that, he cleaned up Amla later in the game.
Toby’s strength lies in his accuracy and ability to maintain consistent pace. It will come down to the battle of patience.
James Anderson vs Quinton de Kock: The supremely talented de Kock has fallen to Anderson’s wizardry twice in four innings. Despite being in rich form, QdK hasn’t been able to be cross the three-figure mark. To do that, he has to master Anderson’s swing. Over the years Anderson has toyed around with batsmen’s minds and is an excellent plotter of wickets. Having said that, if it’s de Kock’s day, England should be prepared for mayhem.
Joe Root vs Faf du Plessis: Root has lived it all this month. In his first Test as captain he had the pleasure of scoring a hundred at Lord’s, the agony of missing the double, turning the tables and winning a Test. He was then disgraced in the next. Despite scoring 281 runs at 70.25, Root has been at the centre of criticism for the Trent Bridge defeat. He is new to the captaincy job, but it has taken him a short spam to learn that scoring barrelfuls of runs isn’t enough for England skippers.
Faf does hold a slight edge in the battle of the captains. He is smart. He is cocky. He is brave. He is aggressive. There is a Sourav Ganguly-ness to his approach. You can read more on Faf redefining the norm in by colleague’s piece on his captaincy post South Africa’s Trent Bridge win.
Faf’s 63 in the second innings at Trent Bridge was crucial in piling up the lead. Root’s inexperience will be up against his astuteness. The Yorkshire youngster (he is still 26) too is a smart learner. And we have a contest in hand.
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