25 January 2020
4th Test, Day 2: England 400 all out, South Africa 88 for 6
It’s not quite game over of course, but it might as well be. After a day of England dominance at The Wanderers, there’s just no way they can fail to win this match - and with it the series 3-1 - unless something extraordinary happens.
There were three key passages of play that took this game away from the home side:
South Africa’s bowlers failed to make the early breakthroughs they needed to have a chance of dismissing England for around 250. Instead, Joe Root and Ollie Pope were largely untroubled as they extended their partnership to 101 runs before Pope unluckily played a short ball onto his stumps.
After a wobble where five wickets went down for only 60 runs, leaving England on 318 for 9, the visitors’ last wicket pairing of Mark Wood and Stuart Broad added 82 more runs in a joyous display of clean and audacious hitting. Broad’s 43 (from only 28 balls) made him the top run-scorer for the day - not bad for the “walking wicket” he has often been seen as in the recent past.
Having started their reply with some much needed grit and determination from Dean Elgar and Peter Malan, the latter’s dismissal by the rampant Wood heralded the beginning of a steady procession of wickets up to the close. At 88 for 6, there is surely no way back for them with only the tail-enders left to support Quinton de Kock tomorrow.
As in Port Elizabeth, Ollie Pope caught the eye with another innings of great skill and maturity. He so rarely looks troubled, so seldom plays a false stroke. The other star of the show was Mark Wood, who is enjoying a fruitful return to the Test arena after so long out through injury. “Woody” adds so much to England’s bowling attack with his raw pace and whole-hearted enthusiasm and deserved his three wickets, helped by an excellent diving catch from Joe Denly to end the day. It looks like he has been practising his batting too!
Some other happenings of note:
Ben Stokes can catch again, hurrah! In other news, it seems unlikely he will be called upon as a brand ambassador for Specsavers anytime soon (should’ve kept his mouth shut).
Chris Woakes batted and bowled well on his return from “forgotten man” status on this tour - a useful reminder of his value to the England squad.
Three batsmen appeared equally determined to win the unofficial “most brainless shot of the day award” - Sam Curran for his first ball swipe at a wide one, Jos Buttler for an ugly slog straight up in the air and Dean Elgar for a bizarre upper cut straight to cover. There's no clear winner, I’m afraid.
Faf du Plessis, for all his admirable qualities, sets some god awful fields. Once again he had his seamers bowling to an ultra-defensive 6:3 leg-side field in the morning session, while the eight (EIGHT!) men posted on the boundary for England's number ten and jack were a sight to behold.
Last but not least, it was the most wonderful day to be a spectator. The early morning rain soon gave way to warm sunshine and after lunch the locals flocked to the ground in their thousands, mingling colourfully and seamlessly with the massed ranks of England fans. The Woody song, to the tune of the Beatles’ Twist and Shout, rang out time and again from the Barmy Army, but the Proteas’ fans responded in kind with some fine uplifting melodies of their own. The banter was both friendly and funny - just as it should be. Regardless of the score, everyone was just loving being at the cricket on a sunny Saturday afternoon.