Root captaincy off to a winner

pin Hashim Amla lbw.

Moeen had luck on his side when Quinton de Kock contrived to pull a short one straight down on to his front boot and back on to the base of his stumps, but the off-spinner needed no such quirks to hit the top of off in his next over as Temba Bavuma tried to heave him to leg as well.

There was only the tail left from 67 for six, and no stopping Moeen.

Morne Morkel (three for 64) had hinted at a lasting fightback when he started England’s collapse by striking twice in successive overs to see off Cook and Gary Ballance – and then Keshav Maharaj (four for 85) got Root cheaply.

But Bairstow (51) made sure England stayed ahead of the game, notably in a ninth-wicket stand of 45 with Wood.

Afterwards, Root said: “It is a nice start, definitely. We have been very good throughout the four days.

“Everything I asked of the lads, they did. It’s great to go to Trent Bridge 1-0 up.

“It was nice to get the runs too, which is a monkey off the back. But throughout the game we had lots of good partnerships.”

Moeen Ali, who was named manof-the-match: “It was the best allround performance of my career.

“It was a great wicket and I was trying to attack the batters as much as possible and it worked out well.

“I learned a lot in India it helped my mindset a lot and it worked out well. It is almost like a fresh start for me with a new captain.”

South Africa skipper Dean Elgar added: “It is a bitter one to swallow.

“We knew it would be tough to chase anything over 300. It is only one game, we can change it from here.“It will be interesting from a selection point of view before the next Test.”