Stephen Cook, Hashim Amla slay England bowlers as South Africa reach 224/1 at tea on Day 1 of 4th Test

Hashim Amla has brought up his 25th Test ton, while Stephen Cook is nine runs away from a century on debut.

South Africa were cruising at a score of 224 for the loss of one wicket at tea on Day One of the fourth and final Test against England at the SuperSport Park in Centurion on Friday. Hashim Amla and Stephen Cook were batting on scores of 102 and 91 respectively. While Amla brought up his 25th Test ton with the help of 18 boundaries, Cook is on the verge of becoming the sixth South African batsman to score a century on debut in the five-day format. The English bowlers were completely ineffective in the second session, especially Chris Woakes who has conceded 65 runs from 13 overs so far at a poor economy of five runs per over. LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: South Africa vs England 2015-16, 4th Test at Centurion, Day 1

The only success of the morning was Moeen Ali dismissing Dean Elgar for 20 off 36 balls, with James Taylor’s superb fielding effort at short-leg proving fatal for the batsman. Taylor fumbled with the catch for a while, with the the fielder ultimately trapping the ball between his legs in order to prevent it from touching the ground. South Africa were off to a shaky start once again, losing their first wicket with 35 on board. LIVE CRICKET UPDATES: South Africa vs England 2015-16, 4th Test at Centurion, Day 1

The visitors however, have looked listless since then, with Amla and Cook executing their drives and strokes all over the park with utmost ease. The duo however, have had their moments of luck during the innings. Amla edged a delivery off Ben Stokes to the slips, where England skipper Alastair Cook dropped him on five. Similarly, Cook edged a length delivery that swung onto the batsman to wicketkeeper, who dived to his right, but could not hold on to the catch that would have dismissed the debutant on 47.

Brief scores:

South Africa 224 for 1 (Stephen Cook 91*, Hashim Amla 102*; Moeen Ali 1 for 38) vs England.

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(Amit Banerjee, a reporter at CricketCountry, takes keen interest in photography, travelling, technology, automobiles, food and, of course, cricket. He can be followed on Twitter via his handle @akb287)

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