Ali sends South Africa spinning to Test loss

MOEEN Ali took six wickets as England and beat South Africa by 211 runs to win the first Test at Lord’s on Sunday with more than a day to spare.

The Proteas, set 331 to win, collapsed sed to 119 all out inside 37 overs.

The result meant Joe Root, who made ade 190 in the hosts’ first innings 458, 58, enjoyed a resounding victory in his first irst Test as England captain, with his side ide now 1-0 up in this four-match series. es.

Off-spinner Ali, the man of the match, finished with Test-best figures res of six for 53 in 15 overs – including g a burst of five for 20 in 25 balls – onn a pitch offering sharp turn. No South uth Africa batsman made more in the innings than Temba Bavuma’s 21.

“Everything I asked of the lads, theyhey did,” said Root at the presentation cereremony. “It’s great to go to Trent Bridge dge 1-0 up.

“It was nice to get the runs, a mon- key of f t he back, but t hroughout t the game we had lots of good part- - nersh ips,” t he sta r batsman added added. Ali (pictur (pictured, AFP) also made 87 in England’s first innings in a m match where he took 10 for 1121 in total and completed theth all-rounder’s Test double of 2,000 runs and 100 wic wickets. “Moeen put in a fabulous p performance, a g r e a t g a me,” Root told BBC Ra d i o’s Te s t M Match Special. “His“H innings was fabulousfa and he putp the ball in c o n s i s t e n t l y good areas.” Me a n w h i l e , A Ali paid tribute to the influence of England spinb o w l i n g c o a c h Saqlain Mushtaq, the former Pakistan off-spinner.

“Everything went my way,” said Ali. “Saqlain has been helping me with my mindset and Rooty has given me the licence to come on and take wickets.”

South Africa stand-in captain Dean Elgar, leading the side for the first time while regular skipper Faf du Plessis took paternity leave, said: “We knew it was going to be a challenge and it just didn’t go our way.”

England collapse

The day started well for the South Africans as England, who resumed on 119 for one in their second innings, lost seven wickets before lunch in a dramatic collapse.

But i n t he midst of t he clat ter of wickets, Vernon Philander dropped a routine catch at long-off when Jonny Bairstow, mistiming a drive of f lef tarm spinner Keshav Maharaj, was on just seven.

Bairstow punished the Proteas by making 51 before he was last man out in a total of 233.

The scale of South Africa’s task could be seen from the fact that only once, when the West Indies made 344 for one against England in 1984 with Gordon Greenidge hitting an unbeaten double century, had a side made more than 300 in the fourth innings to win a Lord’s Test. And left-arm spinner Liam Dawson ended the match when Morne Morkel holed out to South Africa-born Keaton Jennings in the deep.

During England’s struggles with the bat, after bowler Kagiso Rabada had Ben Stokes plumb lbw he jokingly put a finger to his lips – a reference to his ban from Friday’s second Test at Trent Bridge for swearing at the all-rounder after dismissing him in England’s first innings.

But it was England who had the last laugh on a remarkable day at Lord’s that saw 19 wickets fall in total.