Tea England 182 for 4 (Root 79*, Stokes 52*) v South Africa
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00:51
South Africa overstep the mark
England’s new on-field leadership team stepped up to show the way on the first day of the series at Lord’s, as Joe Root and Ben Stokes fashioned a century stand to even up the ledger after South Africa had enjoyed a fruitful morning. Vernon Philander took three wickets before lunch after England had won the toss and chosen to bat, only for Root, in his first Test as captain, to respond with an immediate statement of intent.
On a glorious day with all the Lord’s trimmings, England slipped to 49 for 3 and then 76 for 4 – a change of leader failing to imbue any greater degree of top-order stability – before Root and Stokes combined for an unbroken partnership of 106. The response from Root and his newly appointed vice-captain was similar to when the effervescent pair lifted England from trouble on this ground against New Zealand two years ago, although they were made to work harder for their runs by a disciplined and varied South Africa attack.
Root was given a couple of early lives off Kagiso Rabada during the morning session and also survived a review against the same bowler, when an attempted pull was shown to have looped to gully off his helmet. He had raised his fifty, off 89 balls, moments before, to cries of “Roooot!” rolling around the stands.
Stokes got off the mark with a clipped four through midwicket from his first delivery, and showed his touch with a crisp straight drive off Morkel after lunch, but his innings was an unusually watchful affair. He planted Keshav Maharaj into the pavilion benches midway through the afternoon and was a little fortunate to clear mid-on running back when he had 26; he was also bowled by a no-ball from Morne Morkel on 44. The resulting scoreboard error led to Stokes twice acknowledging his fifty, the second time accompanied by a sheepish grin.
In the morning, England’s Test summer was launched amid nervous excitement and the clatter of early wickets, as South Africa immediately set about demonstrating why they are such indomitable tourists in this format. Philander, a veteran of South Africa’s 2012 series win in England, made the early inroads and it was left to Root to begin his tenure leading from the front.
Philander removed both openers in his first spell, before Morkel ended Gary Ballance’s latest comeback innings. Philander then switched to the Nursery End to trap Jonny Bairstow lbw – Bairstow chose not to turn to the DRS, which was England’s first good review of the morning – shortly before lunch
The pitch, which had been cut first thing but retained a green tinge, demonstrated encouraging pace and carry from the start. Dean Elgar, South Africa’s stand-in captain, had suggested after losing the toss: “If there’s any moisture in the pitch, it’s going to be in this session.” That appeared a shrewd assessment and it could have been even better for South Africa had one of two fairly straightforward chances offered by Root been held.
It was 1983 the last time an English Test summer began as late as July but Lord’s was creaking into life as Root walked to the middle in his blazer to meet his obligations as England’s 80th Test captain. He has had to wait five months to get started in the job and was keen to have first use of a surface that was fresh early on but promised runs on what is expected to be a hot day in the capital. It was not long before he was called upon to stamp his mark on proceedings.
Root’s predecessor, Alastair Cook, took his place back in the ranks but could not carry his heavy scoring in county cricket so far this season into his first Test innings without having to contend with the burden of captaincy. The first ball of Philander’s second over was by no means his most probing, a touch short and wide, but it drew Cook into an uncharacteristic fiddle of the back foot that sent a thin edge to the keeper.
Philander had only been passed fit at the start of the week, having sat out the tour game in Worcester with an ankle injury sustained during his spell at Sussex. His record in five Division Two games was 16 wickets at 26.81 – solid rather than spectacular – but he did not take long to find his radar running in with the pavilion behind him, the Lord’s slope taking the ball away from England’s left-handed opening pair.
He claimed a five-wicket haul on his previous Test appearance on the ground, five years ago, and soon had his second this time around – though it owed more than a little to the (mis)judgment of both Keaton Jennings and umpire S Ravi. Philander rapped Jennings squarely on the pad, having straightened the ball off the seam, and Ravi raised his finger; Jennings then elected not to review after consulting with Ballance. Both decisions were proved to be erroneous, with Hawk-Eye suggesting the ball pitched fractionally outside leg and would have missed leg stump.
That brought the captain to the wicket. Root had gained his first slice of luck after winning the toss on a pristine morning, and so it continued. His second scoring shot was an uppercut over the slips, suggesting his attacking instincts will remain untempered, before an attempted hook off Rabada cleared fine leg, where the substitute fielder Aiden Markram was standing in from the rope and the ball bounced behind him for four, and then a thick-edged drive at the same bowler hit the fingertips of JP Duminy in the gully. Authorities as diverse as Napoleon and Richie Benaud have noted the importance of good leaders being lucky.
His decision to move back down to No. 4 (where his average is almost ten points higher) appeared a sound one, though Ballance’s return to Test cricket at first drop was less successful. Although he struck a couple of attractive cover drives for four, South Africa’s judicious use of the short ball ensured he remained camped in the crease, which was to be his undoing when struck in front by a ball from Morkel that nipped into him. A burned review added to England’s sense of waste.
Alan Gardner is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo. @alanroderick
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo