Moeen magic finishes SA off

Manchester – Moeen Ali (below) finished a brilliant campaign with a five-wicket haul as England beat South Africa by 177 runs in the fourth Test at Old Trafford yesterday to seal a 3-1 series win.

Victory, achieved with more than a day to spare, also saw Joe Root triumphant in his first Test series as England captain.

South Africa, set a huge 380 for victory, were bowled out for 202 shortly after tea on the fourth day when Ali took two wickets in two balls to remove Morne Morkel and Duanne Olivier.

That gave the off-spinner a return of five for 69 in 19.5 overs and 25 wickets in total in a series where he also scored 252 runs.

“This series I have felt more consistent with bat and ball, especially ball. I felt good rhythm after the first game. I contributed with the bat a couple of times,” Ali told BBC Radio’s Test Match Special.

“In general, I’m very pleased,” the 30-year-old Worcestershire all-rounder added.

This result meant England had won their first home Test series against South Africa since 1998.

It was also just South Africa’s second defeat in 20 away Test series, their other overseas campaign reverse in that sequence coming against India in 2015/16.

“I’m very pleased, a fantastic effort,” said an elated Root.

“We knew the target was a lot of runs and we set off brilliantly with the new ball.”

South Africa, 43/3 at lunch, saw Hashim Amla (83) and captain Faf du Plessis (61) put on 123 for the fourth wicket after James Anderson and Stuart Broad had made early inroads.

Ali then took three wickets for five runs in 11 balls – including the prize scalp of Amla – as the Proteas collapsed from 163 for three to 173 for six.

“Broad and Anderson are relentless and our batting line-up wasn’t strong enough for them,” said du Plessis after a match that seemed set to mark the end of Russell Domingo’s tenure as South Africa coach.

“To lose Hashim and then the cluster of wickets was disappointing.” – AFP