UNITED KINGDOM: At Lord’s, South Africa defeated England by an innings margin, shredding the home batting order twice in three days to take a 1-0 series lead. After lunch, Anrich Nortje destroyed England’s innings with a three-wicket salvo, and Kagiso Rabada finished with match figures of 7 for 79. England was routed in 37.4 overs.
The outcome handed England’s full-time Test captain Ben Stokes his first loss. It was clear that South Africa would be a tough test for the new management’s attacking mentality following a run of four straight victories.
Dean Elgar had brashly asserted in the lead-up that he was unconcerned with how England could attempt to play, and his team supported that stance by expressing themselves from the outside in a coordinated collective show.
South African bowlers’ stellar show
Particularly the bowlers were brutal. Rabada and Nortje each took 13 wickets, and they were ably supported by Keshav Maharaj, a spinner who struck twice before lunch on day three to derail England’s attempts to bat their way back into the match. Rabada and Nortje also had outstanding support from Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi.
Sarel Erwee, the opener, scored the only half-century in South Africa’s innings, but nine other players in the XI reached double digits as they built a commanding 161-run lead in the first innings. For the first time this summer, England found themselves in a hole with no chance of escape and the ability to point to have been placed in advantageous circumstances. The wheels coming off didn’t take long.
After Alex Lees was dropped in the cordon during Rabada’s second over, some people were perplexed by Elgar’s decision to go for a spin. But Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope were both held lbw by Maharaj in his first and third overs, respectively.
Pope was caught on the back foot, via a review, with the final ball before lunch, extending Crawley’s slump of the form (he averages 15.64 from his last seven Tests). Crawley was caught sweeping at his third ball from the left-armer.
When Joe Root was tempted to push at one and fell down the slope for a low catch at second slip, South Africa had the upper hand, and Lungi Ngidi got the golden wicket. However, England’s subsequent capitulation happened so quickly that the outcome was decided before tea. Nortje took three wickets in ten balls before dismissing the final four batsmen for eight runs in 3.3 overs. A three-day finish was looking increasingly likely.
The stretch in which Nortje removed Jonny Bairstow, Lees, and Ben Foakes was pure fast-bowling bombast, in contrast to South Africa’s triumph, which was characterised mainly by a quiet intensity in the way of their captain, Elgar.
Despite it appearing as though he was having trouble with the hill from the Nursery End, he found his range during an over in which every delivery was faster than 90 mph (145 kph) and reached 95 mph (153 kph). Although Bairstow had twice used the extra speed to cut over barriers, he was caught by one that left him. In his subsequent over, Nortje went around the wicket, taking the ball up the slope to feather Lees outside edge.
Two more balls later, Foakes flinched at delivery in the channel travelling at 92 mph/148 kph, and Verreyne again finished off the dismissal. Stokes and Stuart Broad tried to bat their way out of trouble in response, and their success during a stand of 55 runs from 45 balls momentarily raised the chance that South Africa might have to bat again. After swinging Nortje into the Tavern Stand for six with his eyes closed, Broad was once again caught off guard by Rabada’s slower ball.
Marco Jansen delivered the knockout blow to England
The finish came quickly after Jansen hit the stumps of Matt Potts and James Anderson on either side after Maharaj made a diving catch in the deep, giving Rabada the wicket of Stokes. South Africa’s four-man pace attack may benefit from an extra two days of recovery before the second Test of three starts at Old Trafford next Thursday because England only batted for less than 90 overs over their two innings.
The morning started with England taking a wicket off the third delivery, but that wasn’t much of a success as South Africa’s strong batting performance solidified their grasp on the Test. A 29-run partnership between Nortje and Jansen prevented England from quickly ending the innings by bowling short despite the lead already being a comfortable 124 overnight. Rabada was dismissed early thanks to a spectacular one-handed catch from Broad.
Despite a few missed opportunities, Nortje handled the barrage well. He then increased the score by driving Stokes through midfield on one of the few occasions that a ball entered his half. Jansen, England’s more cautious batsman, added just seven runs to his overnight total before edging Broad for a first-ever Test fifty as England finally adopted a more conventional strategy. There was no fighting their way out of this one, as Ngidi was also caught in the cordon, with Bairstow clinging on at the second attempt.
South Africa: 326 (Erwee 73, Jansen 48, Elgar 47, Maharaj 41, Broad 3-71, Stokes 3-71) beat England: 165 (Pope 73, Rabada 5-52, Nortje 3-63) and 149 (Nortje 3-47) by an innings and 12 runs.
Also Read: Sarel Erwee’s Half-century and Kagiso Rabada’s 5 Wicket Haul Help South Africa Gain a Solid Lead
