Stokes stars for England after Cook exit
Alastair Cook missed out on a 31st Test hundred but Ben Stokes continued to take the fight to South Africa with an unbeaten counter-attacking half-century as England forged on to 269-6 at lunch on the second day of the third Test at The Oval on Friday.
Cook, who had batted throughout the rain-interrupted opening day to anchor his side’s struggle to an overnight 171 for four, added six runs before being trapped lbw for 88 by Morne Morkel.
The dismissal brought together Stokes and Jonny Bairstow, no strangers to putting the Proteas to the sword after their epic stand of 399 in Cape Town last year, and the pair again combined sweetly in a sixth-wicket partnership of 75.
Stokes raced to the 10th halfcentury of his Test career off 72 balls before consolidating to move more sedately to 64 by lunch with seven thumping boundaries.
After South Africa had taken the second new ball, Bairstow was quickly snaffled for a 52-ball 36 by Faf du Plessis at slip off Kagiso Rabada.
The touring side were again hampered in their new ball assault by not being able to call on key paceman Vernon Philander, who, just as on Thursday, bowled well early on before having to leave the field for more than an hour due to a stomach upset.
In The Oval’s 100th Test, it would have been fitting had one of England’s all-time great batsmen had marked the occasion with a century but Cook looked dismayed to be given out lbw to a Morkel delivery he evidently felt would have sailed high.
He immediately called for a review which showed the ball would have clipped the bails, so umpire Joel Wilson’s call stood, ending Cook’s 200-ball vigil.
No bowler has now claimed his wicket in Tests more often than Morkel, who dismissed him for a 10th time.
Stokes then took over the senior role, going past 2,000 Test runs in his 62nd innings with a four crunched through midwicket and soon afterwards he crashed a wayward Chris Morris for three boundaries in an over.