Moeen turns destroyer to give Root the perfect start
Spinner plunders six wickets in 211-run win South Africa suffer first Lord’s defeat since 1960
England “stagnated” last year, in Alastair Cook’s own terminology. The first player to kick on under Joe Root’s rule has been Moeen Ali, who took his best Test figures in both an innings and a match when propelling South Africa to defeat by 211 runs. It was England’s first victory over South Africa at Lord’s since 1960, which made this a historic feat, even allowing for no fixture between 1965 and 1994.
In the Champions Trophy, Moeen was lacklustre, the most marginal man in England’s unsuccessful campaign, but he was the man of this match – eclipsing Root himself – with his 87 runs in the first innings and six for 53 in South Africa’s second innings, which gave him match figures of 10 for 112. The pitch was far drier than usual at Lord’s, offering as much turn as any in India last autumn, and there is nothing wrong with that. Not since 1977 have so many wickets fallen to England’s spinners in a home Test: 10 to Moeen and four to Liam Dawson, who was steady.
Moeen has always had a lively off-break which turns at 2,000 revolutions per minute, but it is only now that he is acquiring the accessories of Graeme Swann. Bowling from the Nursery End so that he could beat both inside and outside edge, Moeen varied his pace at last, and bowled a wider, more attacking line rather than firing it at the stumps. Throw in a pinch of subtlety and Moeen mopped up the tail, taking a wicket in five consecutive overs, well served by Jonny Bairstow, the wicketkeeper, as well as by his captain’s advice to attack.
It made for a frenetic fourth day in which 19 wickets fell. Before skittling South Africa, England lost their nine overnight wickets for 112, and their second-innings spasm should reinforce Trevor Bayliss’s belief that England need an attacking batsman at No3, in traditional Australian mode. Gary Ballance batted as positively as he could in the awkward circumstances, but he, Cook and Keaton Jennings in his formative years are too much of a muchness in tempo.
The Cook-ballance stand of 59 in 25.3 overs was laudable in that it stopped England collapsing, but it also stopped them dictating to South Africa when they were down to three bowlers. When Vernon Philander returned on day four after his right-hand injury, run-scoring was even slower – 20 off 56 balls – before Cook was caught at cover. Root was right to say the runs of his top three were worth double, but they would have been even more valuable if scored more positively, if only with quick singles.
Bogged down, England lost three wickets for seven runs when the spasm struck, and seven wickets for 43 runs. Ballance got an unmiddleable delivery which seamed down the slope, while Root, trying to force the pace, was bowled off an inside edge. Kagiso Rabada pinned Ben Stokes lbw with a ball that went under his bat, and Dawson with a full toss that went over his. In a throwback to the days of Edwardian gallantry, Stokes walked without waiting for the umpire’s decision and Rabada remained tight-lipped, with the aid of his captain Dean Elgar pressing a finger to Rabada’s lips.
The outcome might just have been thrown into doubt if Bairstow had been caught at long-off by Philander, the fielder’s footwork too slow to take his eyes behind the line of the ball: that would have
Moeen clocked 100 wickets in the game and ceased to be a batsman who bowls but an all-rounder
been 159 for six with nobody to organise the tail. But organising the tail is what Bairstow has learnt to do best in his normal position of No7, and he slammed the window on South Africa’s fingers in his stand of 45 with Mark Wood, who can bat, as opposed to hit like most fast bowlers.
An unconventional approach was needed by South Africa to get anywhere near 331 on an up-anddown turner – the equivalent of 600 on the normal fourth-day Lord’s pitch. But, opting for orthodoxy, they opened with the dogged Elgar, in his first Test as captain, and Heino Kuhn in his second Test. The chances of them attacking the new ball and getting on top before England’s spinners came on were nil. South Africa’s openers had to be Elgar and Quinton de Kock if they were to gain any momentum.
In their first innings, Root had erred in spreading the bowling around evenly, as if it had been a championship match in a long season. This time, he went for his best bowlers in the conditions. So Moeen was on for the eighth over, though not before Kuhn had been well caught by Bairstow off a leg-glance.
Before tea, Moeen caught and bowled Elgar from a straight-drive, a rocket of a shot: again the impossibility of shifting gears on a turner was illustrated. JP Duminy, who personifies the brittleness of the tourists’ batting, was also dismissed before the interval when he pulled to midwicket, mowing to Moeen. South Africa had lost three wickets in 13 overs before the break, so the chance of losing their last seven in the remaining 38 overs was distinct.
Ever so cautiously, South Africa attempted something slightly unconventional by promoting De Kock from his usual seven to five, once the scoring-rate had sunk below two runs per over, so his task of kick-starting was harder still. And he lost Hashim Amla, the other key component in a potential run-chase, beaten by Dawson from the Pavilion End, such was the turn up the slope. Attack by De Kock and accumulation by Amla was the only recipe and, even then, South Africa’s chances were minimal.
Moeen, turning the ball not only out of the rough but off the unscathed pitch, rattled through the rest of South Africa with his five wickets in five overs. He clocked 100 wickets during the game, lowered his bowling average below 40, and ceased to be a batsman who bowls but an all-rounder.