England turn Test in their favour with dominant display over South Africa

If the first day here was about precarious balance between England and South Africa, the second was one of destruction and dominance.

England had to fight just to stay in the game on Thursday but today could not have been more different. Ben Stokes’ explosive 112 took them to 353 all out. It felt better than par but few could have guessed how much better. England reduced South Africa to 126 for eight, and by stumps it felt as it would take something very unusual to stop England from winning the match, and from taking a 2-1 lead to Old Trafford next Friday.

This has been a series of extreme momentum swings but few were more dramatic than this. South Africa’s collapse was just as bad as England’s at Trent Bridge or the visitors’ own back at Lord’s. On those two occasions the batting team had the excuse that the game was gone. But not here, on the second afternoon, with everything still on the table.

What made this even more exciting and enjoyable for England was that it was not the usual story of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad mastering helpful home conditions. The hero of the afternoon was Toby Roland-Jones, whose first spell in Test cricket brought him a scarcely believable four for 22 off eight overs.

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Tom Westley and Dawid Malan had mixed debuts with the bat but Roland-Jones looked every inch a Test bowler. And it was Joe Root’s decision to quickly put him on for Anderson just before tea that turned the game. Running in from the Vauxhall End, Roland-Jones removed Dean Elgar to a thin edge back to Jonny Bairstow, gleefully celebrating as it was upheld on review.

But far more was to come in the final session. Roland-Jones got his second, Heino Kuhn, leg before to a full straight one. Hashim Amla and Quentin de Kock, South Africa’s two best batsmen, were at the crease. No worry for the debutant, who removed both of them. He shocked Amla with one that took off, grazed the glove, and was caught by Bairstow. De Kock had tried to counter but his clip to leg got a leading edge and was caught by Stokes at gully.

All of a sudden South Africa were 47 for four, decapitated, and Test cricket looked insultingly easy for the debutant. England were ferocious and so were the crowd, and when Anderson came back on he showed off his old skills. With the first ball of his spell he seamed one back in to Faf du Plessis, who left it and was aghast to be LBW. Chris Morris could go nowhere either and soon enough he drove one back to Anderson for a simple catch.

By now light was closing in but Stokes had Keshav Mahraj caught in the slips by Alastair Cook. England were held up the plucky Temba Bavuma and Kagiso Rabada, who put on 53, but there was still time for Broad to bowl Rabada just before stumps. South Africa were 227 behind at the close, with two wickets left, one of them the ill Vernon Philander.

The game had moved a long way from the morning, when Stokes set aside his gritty resistance to play with natural aggression, no longer keeping England in the game but giving them control of it.

Stokes was so good that England even managed to survive the early loss of Cook, who felt overnight like the man who would make the difference. He had 88 when trapped leg before by Morne Morkel. No century then, but this was Cook’s best innings by a distance since returning to the ranks.

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That was the moment, at 183 for five, when Stokes knew he had to take over. It started with a pulled four off Morkel before he set into Chris Morris. Three fours in one over, off-side and on, showed that the pace of the game was changing.

It helped that Jonny Bairstow was a busier, brisker partner than Cook was and he too went after Maharaj when he came into the attack. Another Stokes pulled four brought up the 50 stand off just 48 balls. The pair made it through to 75 before Bairstow went to the new ball, edging Kagiso Rabada to second slip.

Moeen Ali did not last long after lunch but the new man, Roland-Jones, gave England the first glimpse of his aggressive buzz. One top-edged six got the crowd on his side and they stayed with him for the rest of the afternoon.

Roland-Jones and Stokes put on 37 off 41, but Stokes’ most spectacular batting came with Anderson at the end. Three consecutive sixes took him from 91 to 109: the first, a slog-sweep, was caught by Du Plessis who fell into the crowd. The second, down the ground, brought up his fifth Test century and one of his very best. The third, back on the leg side, went high into the stands.

Stokes did not last much longer but he did not need to. The damage had been done. He ripped this game out of South Africa’s grip and towards England’s. Then Roland-Jones did the rest.