Tea England 184 for 6 (Moeen 14*, Dawson 2*) trail South Africa 335 (Amla 78, de Kock 68, Philander 54, Anderson 5-72) by 151 runs
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Maharaj magic provides SA inspiration
The panache of Joe Root, a young captain eager to assert himself, provided England’s main sustenance as South Africa’s bowlers made regular inroads of the second day of the second Test at Trent Bridge.
By tea, England had moved within 151 runs of South Africa’s 335, but six wickets had been relinquished. Batting was rarely comfortable on a pitch that had quickened since the opening day and with plentiful swing and seam on offer under overcast skies.
Root’s elegance made light of the challenge posed by South Africa’s attack as they sought to make good use of decent bowling conditions. He required only 76 balls for his 78, playing with authority from the outset, before a misjudgement against Morne Morkel saw him edge to the wicketkeeper.
Morkel and Philander, South Africa’s new-ball pair, posed most of the threat, with two wickets each, and when they were obliged to turn to the left-arm spin of Keshav Maharaj, with a holding operation in mind, he came up trumps with the wickets of Ben Stokes, for nought, and Jonny Bairstow shortly before tea.
Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings were rounded up in only 4.1 overs before lunch as it soon became apparent that South Africa’s 335 offered them the chance of a sizeable first-innings advantage.
It took a review to remove Cook, with South Africa searching, initially at least, for an lbw as an inswinger from Philander flew off the pad to the wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock. That mode of dismissal was ruled out by an inside nick, only for Cook to be dismissed courtesy of the keeper’s catch.
Jennings fell to the next delivery, this time from Morne Morkel, a peach of a ball from around the wicket which bounced and left the Durham left-hander.
The rest of the morning was a story of South African ill-discipline as Root and Gary Ballance included 14 boundaries in an 83-run partnership spanning, in all, only 84 balls. Root produced some princely off-sides drives from the outset and had another Test fifty to his name by the interval. Ballance, who got off the mark with a fortunate edge wide of gully off Philander, offering hunched support, sitting deep in his crease with the suspicious air of a mole peering out of a mole hill.
South Africa’s challenge was much more focused throughout the afternoon, although their back-up seamers carried limited potency. They made little use of Chris Morris – four overs by tea – and England regarded Duanne Olivier as a chance to progress.
Ballance perished in the second over after lunch, bowled by Philander as he deflected the ball onto his pads, but the key wicket was that of Root, who had looked immaculate square of the off-side, and who picked off the leg-side in turn whenever South Africa’s bowlers tried to straighten their line.
Bairstow, who lacked Root’s certainty, was more of a bellwether. He reached 45, but survived two hairy moments against Morkel on the way, the ball twice flying perilously close to his stumps off a play-and-miss that escaped for four byes and an inside edge. Another edge spared him when South Africa reviewed a refused lbw appeal by Philander.
Maharaj then took a hand. Stokes fell for a 12-ball duck, his inside edge onto his pads, finally clutched at the second attempt, off his shoulder, by de Kock as he changed direction. There was a hint of helmet involved, which would have spared him, but after innumerable replays he was sent on his way.
Maharaj also found a hint of turn to bowl Bairstow, bringing South Africa their fourth wicket in a productive session.
Earlier, James Anderson had demolished South Africa’s tail in a spell of 4 for 4 in only 20 deliveries to finish with 5 for 72, taking five in an innings for the 22nd time in his Test career.
England had carped about the second new ball on the previous evening, and they managed to negotiate an immediate change on the second morning. The skies were grey, the floodlights were on and Anderson had a spring in his step, his 34 years falling off him with every delivery.
Anderson was only five balls into his work, hardly time to get the lungs motoring, when Philander became his first victim. Philander had made a contented half-century on the first evening, but he had not added to his overnight 54 when he popped a catch into the covers off a leading edge as he fell to a back-of-a-length delivery.
Maharaj followed without scoring in Anderson’s next over, outwitted by the inswinger/outswinger routine, his edge inviting Root to hold a flamboyant catch at second slip.
Morris pushed back a gentle catch which Anderson grabbed at the second attempt before the innings was closed when Morkel edged another outswinger. South Africa had added only 26, but they knew that they would have their own opportunity to turn such conditions to their benefit.
David Hopps is a general editor at ESPNcricinfo @davidkhopps
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo