Ben Stokes and Toby Roland-Jones' expert day with bat and ball for England leaves South Africa praying for rain
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith will be writing exclusively for The Independent this summer. Here he casts his opinion on day two of the third Test
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Your support makes all the difference.If day one belonged to the tourists, England showed the fight that was so lacking at Trent Bridge to ensure that day two went a long way to deciding the outcome of this third Test match at The Oval.
England showed why, on their day, they are capable of playing some top quality Test cricket. This side looks so much more balanced than in the first two matches, with Toby Roland-Jones having an emphatic and decisive impact alongside the ever impressive and combative Ben Stokes.
England’s lack of grit and their collective propensity to collapse as a batting unit was the main talking point leading in to this Test match. When you’re under that kind of pressure and scrutiny as a player, it can be the easiest thing to simply repeat your mistakes.
Stokes was one of the more outspoken players, coming out in defence of his teammates in the build-up to this game, and the efforts of himself and Alastair Cook set a great example as to how you play when conditions aren’t in your favour.
Cook’s innings is the type of knock that many in England always have and probably always will, take for granted. His longevity at this level is based around a solid method, and his sheer hunger to want to be that player that makes the difference for his team. He and Stokes had an incredibly tough task facing up to a very skilful and pumped up South African attack last night, and Stokes went on to make his day one contribution count in a hugely impressive display today.
The balance between attack and defence is so vital, something Hashim Amla spoke about extensively ahead of this Test match. Sometimes that just clicks, and at other times you have to fight harder mentally to find that equilibrium that allows you to remain, but still score.
Stokes gave a masterclass in Test match batting. He’s a natural timer of a cricket ball, making bowlers pay if they dare to stray in to his scoring areas. He was reminiscent of his memorable 258 against South Africa with his dismissive pull shots against the short ball, and punished any bowler that then strayed too full to him.
His 258 at Cape Town was a special knock, but I would say that given the context and the conditions, today’s hundred was a better innings and will go on to count for more. Test cricket needs Stokes, a point he proved in the emphatic manner in which he raced through the 90’s against Keshav Maharaj.
It goes without saying that the absence of Vernon Philander dented South Africa’s attempt at restricting England further, given how supreme he was on day one. Vernon only managing 17 overs in the innings meant Faf Du Plessis’ hand was forced in terms of the responsibility he had to bestow on Chris Morris as the 3rd seamer.
Morris is a fine cricketer, and has already shown in this series that he has that rare ability to get the best players out. However, he’s not quite consistent enough for Faf to rely on him as the 3rd seamer, as he showed in dishing up too many easy scoring opportunities to Stokes in particular.
South Africa lost their ability to build pressure which was so prevalent on the first day. Days and sessions see momentum swing both ways, and South Africa lost that momentum this morning, never to wrestle it back.
Joe Root’s management of his bowlers was superb this afternoon. He doesn’t allow the game to drift, and has already spoken about his theory on how to get the best out of Jimmy Anderson. Again today, he pulled Anderson from the attack after three overs, only to bring him back visibly determined to get in to the game after Roland-Jones had done so much damage to South Africa’s top order.
It was another disappointing display from that Proteas top five, especially after the good work they put in to release the pressure on themselves at Trent Bridge. From both teams, the lack of ability to weather the storm against the moving ball baffles me.
There has, admittedly, been some top class bowling on show. That doesn’t disguise the fact that both top orders have struggled to get through that crucial first 25 overs, after which we’ve seen batting become increasingly easier in each of the first two Tests.
Roland-Jones made use of the conditions expertly, as he was picked to do. He looks like your traditional English seamer, hitting a length hard and relying on the ball to do the rest. A skill not to be understated or underestimated as Philander has also shown in this match.
The worrying trend, for both sides in all honesty, is the lack of any fightback once the opposition have posted a total in the first innings. Today was a pivotal point in the series for South Africa, and they were found wanting once again.
South Africa will be hoping that the rain forecast tomorrow can come to their aid, after yet another below par display with the bat on this tour.
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