ENGLAND’S ROCK STEMS TIDE
Classy Cook drops anchor to weather South Africa storm
THERE is much for England to be concerned about with the Ashes on the horizon, but even when all else is unsettled there is always Alastair Cook.
The former captain was rock-like yesterday when surrounded by uncertainty, holding England together on a first day of the third Test when South Africa could easily have taken a firm stranglehold on the Investec series.
As it is, with Cook providing a model demonstration of the qualities that have made him one of the greatest of all batsmen, England reached the end of a rain-affected day with honours just about even.
There have been many more memorable batting displays during the previous 99 men’s Tests at an Oval ground which arguably has seen more cricketing drama and incident than any other in the world.
But what is most important to Cook and his successor Joe Root is that he remains unbeaten on 82 and has steadied England’s ship with Ben Stokes to leave them at 171 for four when they could easily have capsized.
There was never any doubt the egoless Cook would slip easily back into the ranks after giving up the captaincy and fulfil the role of senior lieutenant that will be so important in Root’s settling- in period.
As it stands, he and the new captain are the only members of the top five guaranteed their places against Australia, with time running out for England to find the right combination.
Root might well have elected to bowl on a cloudy day in south London on a greener than usual Oval pitch and with yet another revamped top three and two debutants in Tom Westley and Dawid Malan in the top five.
Yet his decision to bat was just about justified, even though there was no significant contribution from either newcomer or the struggling Keaton Jennings, who will surely be dropped unless he goes big in the second innings.
Here, Jennings never looked like overcoming the technical problems, mainly involving his weight distribution, that have seen his form plummet ever since he began his Test career on such a high with a century on debut in Mumbai.
This was the most awful of ducks as the outstanding Vernon Philander toyed with Jennings before putting him out of his misery by forcing him to edge to Dean Elgar at third slip while in no-man’s land off his ninth torturous ball.
Philander has now bowled 23 deliveries at Jennings in this series and has dismissed him three times while conceding only two runs. It is time for a man England consider leadership material to go back to Durham to work things out.
How much more damage Philander could have done before lunch is anyone’s guess but he left the field after only four overs with a stomach upset and was not able to bowl again until almost an hour after the interval. In his absence, and with South Africa captain Faf du Plessis often looking up in exasperation at the dressing room to see whether his most dangerous weapon was about to return, the pressure was eased on England and Westley.
There was considerable promise and no little flair from the Essex man, who lived up to his reputation as a strong leg- side player and did a very passable impression of John Crawley as he glided his way to 25 with five fours.
Yet Westley’s reputation for offside vulnerability was his downfall immediately after lunch as he aimed a big drive at Chris Morris and was undone by swing to nip a promising introduction to Test cricket in the bud.
The eventual return of Philander sparked the best bowling of the day from a South African attack who had wasted helpful conditions before lunch. It brought him the big wicket of Root, who was superbly caught behind by Quinton de Kock.
Enter Malan, the second of England’s three debutants, all of whom are much nearer to 30 than 20. The Middlesex player, who was correctly selected in place of Liam Dawson, provided England with a much more balanced look.
Malan was unlucky to join the fray with the bowling at its most testing and he was not helped by a rain delay that took the players off for 25 minutes while he was trying to weather the storm.
And he could do nothing about Kagiso Rabada’s inswinging yorker that cleaned him up for just one off 17 balls and knocked him off his feet. Apart from that, Rabada made a quiet return after being banned for the second Test.
Throughout it all Cook did what Cook does, scoring his runs mainly square of the wicket both off his legs and through the covers and bringing out his cover drive only when he was certain the ball was full enough to make it safe.
Cook had his one scare on 28, when umpire Joel Wilson turned down a strong shout for lbw off Morris. The review showed the ball hitting the stumps but Ultra-edge said that Cook had feathered it.
Cook then found a willing ally in Stokes, who had made a point before the match of insisting England’s batsmen can still play positively without rushing into the sort of brainless collapse that led to their second-Test thrashing.
The rain that caused 31 overs of the day to be lost had the final word but if Cook can add another century, and with Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali still to come, England could yet reach the sort of score that would test South Africa.