STOKES SHOWS HIS STAR QUALITY
Ben’s brilliant century was a game-changer
ALASTAIR COOK SERIES RUNS: 212 @ 35.3 Set up the game brilliantly and thanks to him england got a hundred more runs in the first innings than they might have done. the way he left the ball and made the bowlers come to him was phenomenal.
KEATON JENNINGS
SERIES RUNS: 92 @ 15.3 He needed that 48 in the second innings to give him one more chance at Old trafford to show what he can do. A lot of lefthanders would have been found out by Vernon Philander here but, even so, he seems too upright.
TOM WESTLEY
SERIES RUNS: 84 @ 42.0 LOOked the part. If you did not know it was his debut you would think he had been playing test cricket for a couple of years. I do not like a stodgy No 3 so it was good to see his attacking mindset in the first innings. But the most impressive thing was the way he handled his second knock when runs were not coming so easily to him.
JOE ROOT
SERIES RUNS: 360 @ 60.0 GOOd game as captain, making the right call to bat and making important bowling changes at the right times, like bringing on toby Roland-Jones after Jimmy Anderson had bowled just three overs. Played nicely in the second innings but could have declared a bit earlier. I would have liked to have had 10 minutes at their openers before tea on the fourth day.
DAWID MALAN
SERIES RUNS: 11 @ 5.5 VeRy early to judge him but he does seem a bit blocked off to me, a bit closed in his stance. It will not be an easy problem to fix because, as keaton Jennings discovered when he was bounced out by kagiso Rabada, as soon as you work one thing out something else emerges.
BEN STOKES
SERIES RUNS: 218 @ 36.3 WICKETS: 7 @ 34.4. ONe of the most impressive hundreds, if not the best, I have seen from him because of the way he adapted to the conditions before knowing when to pounce. And he looks as if he is getting better with the ball in every match. Box-office cricketer who changed the course of this game.
JONNY BAIRSTOW
SERIES RUNS: 221 @ 36.8 SOme people think he is wasted at No 7 but I think it is a good position for him. On Sunday there were runs on the board and he could attack. We hardly mention his keeping these days because it has been so good and the only area I would like him to improve is not getting quite as emotional over reviews. Saying that, he played his part in the successful review against temba Bavuma yesterday.
MOEEN ALI
SERIES RUNS: 163 @ 27.2 WICKETS: 18 @ 14.7 NOt many runs and was a bit dopey with his run-out in the second innings but he came to the fore when needed yesterday when the ball started to turn. Bowled beautifully to prove he really is england’s No 1 spinner.
TOBY ROLAND-JONES
SERIES WICKETS: 8 @ 16.1.
RUNS: 48 @ 48. tO get Hashim Amla twice on a ground where he has a triple test century and to get five wickets in your first test innings was a tremendous effort. Helped by the way Root handled him and advice from Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson. And I like the way he is not one-dimensional.
STUART BROAD
SERIES WICKETS: 7@ 40.3. RUNS: 65 @ 16.3 BOWLed Ok without much reward but still struggling a bit with his wrist position to the right-handers. Produced one of the best balls of the test to get rid of kagiso Rabada but will be happy toby Roland- Jones has emerged to ease the workload on him and Jimmy Anderson.
JAMES ANDERSON
SERIES WICKETS: 13 @ 17.5. RUNS: 13 @ 6.5. BOWLed pretty well in the first innings and took the important wicket of Faf du Plessis and it was a brave move by Joe Root to take him off after just three overs. It was the right move, too. Jimmy will look forward to bowling at his home ground of Old trafford after a relatively quiet match at the Oval.