Root and Stokes keep them at bay
JOE ROOT and vice-captain Ben Stokes led by example as England toughed it out on the first day of the fourth and final Test.
A total of 260-6 at the close at Old Trafford on a difficult day for batting was not a disaster as England look to seal a 3-1 series win.
That was mainly thanks to gritty knocks from Alastair Cook (46), skipper Root (52) and most of all Stokes (58), who dug in with Jonny Bairstow (33 not out), to see off a possible collapse.
When Stokes fell in the second to last over, to an explosive yorker from Kagiso Rabada, it gave South Africa the edge on the day, despite losing their key strike bowler Vernon Philander to injury before the start.
Major questions marks over Keaton Jennings Tom Westley (29) and Dawid Malan (18) are getting bigger every match, with only three Tests against West Indies to come before England head south for the winter Ashes series.
Keaton’s best effort this summer is still only 48, tied to two ducks, and he could have gone in the second over of the day here, only for a leading edge to fall just short of a diving Rabada.
In the end he went for 17, suicidally prodding at one from Duanne Olivier which seamed away and was easily taken by keeper Quinton de Kock.
He could not have failed to notice star Lancashire youngster Haseeb Hameed having a batting session with Mark Ramprakash at Old Trafford yesterday. And while Hameed has struggled since breaking a finger in India last winter, if he scores runs for Lancashire against Hampshire in Southampton tomorrow, he could come in against West Indies. Asked what Jennings needed to do to keep his place, England assistant coach Paul Farbrace said: “Score runs – that’s the bottom line, isn’t it? “Test cricket is a harsh world to come into and the tough thing for him is that there is talk about players being found out at international level. “We’ll be keeping a close eye on Hameed’s Championship game coming up on Sunday. “If you’re in the England team there is always someone knocking on the door for your place.” In between the disappointments, Root battled to his 30th half-century in 57 Tests and for the 10th match running, equalling a record set by John Edrich. He also passed 5,000 Test runs, becoming the third youngest behind Sachin Tendulkar and Cook, who was out to a straight one from spinner Keshav Maharaj four short of his 56th Test 50. England are also facing a battle with South Africa to hold on to their prized bowling coach Ottis Gibson before the Ashes begin.