England on course for final-day victory in Cape Town
BEN STOKES battered South Africa’s bowlers into something near submission in the second test yesterday with his brutal 72 off 47 balls as England set the home team a huge target of 438 to win.
South Africa fought hard to reach 126-2 at stumps, but James Anderson removed No. 3 Zubayr Hamza two overs from the end of the second-to-last day to keep England on top.
It will be a world-record chase if South Africa somehow wins, with 312 runs still needed in a final-day showdown. Batting out for a draw is also a major challenge, and, in reality, England’s bowlers are expected to close out a series-levelling victory, which would be their first in Cape Town since 1957.
“It was a massive bonus taking that late one (wicket),” said England batsman Dom Sibley, whose 133 not out played a major role in the tourists’ big lead. “But there will be some hard work tomorrow.” South Africa started their second innings with two successive half-century partnerships. Crucially for England, both were broken.
Dean Elgar fell to part-time spinner Joe Denly for 34 off a faint outside edge to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler. It was so faint that Elgar was certain he hadn’t hit it and called for his dismissal to be reviewed. He was out, ending his 71-run opening stand with Pieter Malan.
Malan, playing his first test, was 63 not out to hold most of South Africa’s very faint hopes.
Anderson, England’s most successful test bowler, was brought back into the attack right at the end of the day and made it count to break the 52-run Malan-Hamza partnership. Anderson celebrated the timely breakthrough with a leap into the air.
With Stokes in rampant hitting form, England raced away in their second innings. Stokes launched seven fours and three sixes in a highly damaging innings that lasted only 1 hour, 15 minutes but appears to have put the test well beyond South Africa’s grasp.
England were already in a strong position on 218-4 with a lead of 264 when the day started, but Stokes made it utterly dominant. England declared on 391-8 soon after lunch, with opener Sibley unbeaten for his first test hundred.
Stokes fell caught on the boundary at long-on and swiped his bat at the ground in frustration that he hadn’t managed to land another one in the crowd. But there was little celebration from the South Africans.
The scoreboard damage had been done, and there was also a sense of psychological damage with two series-deciding tests to come in Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg.
South Africa have been on the receiving end from Stokes before when he hit a career-best 258 at world-record pace in England’s last Test in Cape Town four years ago.
This innings wasn’t as epic but it is to likely be more effective. Whereas England could only draw the 2016 Test at Newlands, it is likely to win this one and level the four-match series at 1-1 after South Africa’s 107-run win in the opening Test.
No team has got near making 400 in the fourth innings at Newlands. The highest at the ground is 354-5 by West Indies in a draw in 2004. The highest successful fourth-innings run chase ever in Tests is 418.
“It’s going to to be a tough ask for us to chase that down, let’s be brutally honest,” said Jacques Kallis, the Proteas great who is the new batting coach. “But it’s certainly not something we’re ruling out.