Published: Jul 30, 2017, 08:28 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 30, 2017, 08:28 PM (IST)
England continued to consolidate South Africa with a massive lead at tea on Day Four of the penultimate Test. After a good platform laid by debutant Tom Westley and Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow took on the opposition bowlers to add quick runs on board. South Africa picked up 5 wickets in the second session, but await an uphill task to save the test with England setting them a daunting target of 492.
Leading South Africa by 331 runs at lunch, England looked to accelerate. However, Westley got stumped off Keshav Maharaj soon. He departed for 59. Root played some shots and got to his fifty before becoming Maharaj’s second victim. He fell playing the slog sweep as Morne Morkel plucked a simple catch. Dawid Malan had another unpleasant outing in the middle. An inswinger, second time in a row, trapped him lbw for 10. The onus then shifted to good friends, Stokes and Bairstow, to up the ante. The pair did not disappoint. Bairstow took sometime and once he got going, he improvised. The wicketkeeper-batsman played the upper cut, late cut, flicks and ran hard between wickets. Stokes removed Maharaj from the attack by showing his aggressive intent. He moved onto 31 off 37 balls with a huge six off Chris Morris. Nonetheless, he fell on the very next ball; missing the length completely to get his stumps rattled.
Bairstow lost Moeen Ali for 8. However, there was no stopping the right-hander. He looked confident and was enjoying himself in the middle. He breezed away to his 16th fifty. He hammered Maharaj and Dean Elgar before falling for 63. He was given handy company by Toby Roland-Jones who remained unbeaten on 23. England finally declared with Bairstow’s departure, and South Africa have four sessions (including the final session) to salvage a draw.
The captaincy, from both ends, remained questionable in the second session. While England could have declared an hour back, Faf du Plessis missed the trick by removing Maharaj when he got two quick wickets post lunch. Vernon Philander continued to bowl less due to his illness, but Morne Morkel’s absence was baffling. He was out of the attack for most parts.
Brief scores:
England 353 & 313 for 8 decl. (Tom Westley 59, Joe Root 50, Jonny Bairstow 63; Keshav Maharah 3 for 50, Chris Morris 2 for 70) lead South Africa 175 (Temba Bavuma 52, Kagiso Rabada 30; Toby Roland-Jones 5 for 57, James Anderson 3 for 25) by 491 runs.
Full Cricket Scorecard, England vs South Africa, 3rd Test
