South Africa vs England: Tourists wrap up last six wickets take series lead

England have exceeded all expectations. The job of winning this series is yet to be completed but the start they have made could hardly have been more resplendent. Fears for their safety when they came to play South Africa were, it is now obvious, greatly exaggerated.

Throughout the five days of the first Test, one team made all the running virtually from the moment they lost the toss, one team played with purpose, confidence and brio, and one team quickly compensated for their lapses. The other is ranked at No 1 in the world.

It is much too premature to suggest that anything is possible for England now after their defeat of South Africa by 241 runs – especially suggestions of a return themselves to the top spot – but this match was hugely instructive. Over five days, it was clear that England are on the up and that South Africa are in decline.

That does not mean that the series is yet won and lost. Far from it. South Africa did not reach where they are today, so to speak, without knowing a thing or two about how to come back from defeat and produce an inspired performance. They still possess some of the most formidable players around with bat and ball.

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But they were in disarray compared to England. It was the tourists who seemed to know what they were doing and when they should be doing it, who had a strategy and stuck to it. It was not necessarily a strategy they would prefer, at least from the batting perspective, but it has been devised and based on the men available.

England might have anticipated a long day in the sun yesterday to capture the six wickets they needed to win the first Test of an away series for the first time since 2010 and go to Fortress Cape Town with a precious lead. It took them three balls to suggest that their day’s work would be much shorter. AB de Villiers, on whom almost all the home side’s hopes depended, shuffled across the crease to Moeen Ali as the ball turned and skidded on.

Rapped on the pads, he must have known that the umpire had only one honest option in answer to the raucous appeal. His referral was made from a sense of forlorn hope. In Moeen’s next over, Temba Bavuma wandered down the pitch and wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow stumped him.

If it did not fully atone for Bairstow’s error in failing to remove De Villiers similarly the previous night, albeit to a ball turning more sharply, it will have stilled the self-doubts for a while. Bairstow needs all the succour that can be provided at present.

The nightwatchman Dale Steyn soon perished playing down the wrong line to Steve Finn, and Kyle Abbott was also lbw to Moeen. At this stage, South Africa had lost five wickets for seven runs – not the sort of stuff on which prolonged and stubborn rearguard actions are built.

South Africa have evolved a policy of playing seven specialist batsmen to guard against the possibility of collapses. A policy of 11 would probably not have saved them now. The rest was just a matter of biding time. JP Duminy played some handsome shots, meaningless except perhaps in terms of saving his seemingly doomed career. England wanted an end to it.

Chris Woakes, deserving of a wicket, had Dane Piedt caught at short leg and, perhaps fittingly, Stuart Broad, who had started the rot with a potent spell in the first innings, finished it off by trapping Morne Morkel lbw.

There would have been a case for Broad being man of the match, considering the influence he had on the direction of events, or Nick Compton, since he set the platform on Boxing Day from which the visitors could plot a path to victory.

It was given instead to Moeen, the bowler with most wickets. For doing what he was supposed to do on the last day – sometimes no easy task with the burden of expectation – it would be hard to argue against the off-spinner. The plain fact is that despite the evidence laid before the sceptics, who see some often average spin being conveyed, he took seven wickets in the match and now has 61 wickets in his 20 Tests.

For all the potential meltdown in the hosts’ camp – only one Test victory out of eight this year and four defeats in their last five – England will neither wallow in nor entertain complacency. For all the thoroughness of this display, they know they have many areas of weakness to address.

The opening pair is (yet another) work in progress and Alex Hales will go to Cape Town needing to see off a new ball and know what to do thereafter. Bairstow was picked in the side because of Jos Buttler’s travails with the bat, but while Bairstow batted commendably in both innings he also made errors with the gloves in both.

England have to ask themselves what to do about wicketkeeping (as might some other teams). It is not Bairstow’s fault but he has much ground to make up to be adequate at this level. He will not fail for want of trying.

The most pressing question will be what to do about James Anderson, who has been working like a Trojan in the nets these past five days. All the signs are that the leader of the attack will be fit for the match in Cape Town, starting on Saturday.

But England must be sure not only that he is fit but can do justice to his talents. Woakes was sufficiently under par for the decision to be made to omit him with a clear conscience. His new-ball bowling in the second innings was disappointing – a model of trying too hard – but had Bairstow taken a catch he ought to have done in the first, he might have been spared the agony of going searching for a wicket.

England leave for the Cape today. Since returning to international cricket, South Africa have lost there only to Australia; England have not won there since 1957. Let us not run too far ahead of ourselves, but some time things have to change.