How back to basics paid off for Root
The real challenges will come with India next winter and Australia the following one, but this comfortable 3-1 series win represents the green shoots of recovery for Joe Root’s england away from home.
It is a misconception that england are not very good at Test cricket. england are very good at home. Just ask India, who they beat 4-1 in 2018. Not since 2014 have they lost a home series.
The only box they needed to tick was their form overseas and that is why I see this as a start. I am not going overboard about it because of the strength of the opposition and the fact that england generally play well in South Africa where there is pace and carry in pitches. Remember, they have not lost a series here for 20 years.
But are they going in the right direction? Definitely, yes. Why? Because they have returned to the style of cricket that has been successful for other england teams here in the past. Good old-fashioned Test cricket. There’s been pace with the Kookaburra ball from Mark Wood and Jofra Archer, and the top three of Zak Crawley, Dominic Sibley and Joe Denly have shown a devotion to proper batting — setting things up for the middle-order.
Although that seems obvious, it was not something that england had done for a while. Often they were 20 for two when Root went in and we have seen how much better they are when their captain gets an hour and a half to clear his brain before batting.
Sure, Root was lucky to win four tosses in the series, enabling him to switch policy after the first Test defeat and bat first for the final three. england look a better side on the front foot, posting a score, rather than trying to catch up as they did at Centurion.
They have to put how and why they have won here in the memory bank now. Just as they did for the Sri Lanka tour — where they head next — 14 months ago. All the ingredients are there.
Yes, you need context. Since readmission in the 1990s, this is probably the worst South Africa side I have seen. And they were without Kagiso Rabada, one of their two worldclass players along with Quinton de Kock, for the last Test. But sometimes when england lose, we blame england. Then, when they win, the opposition is rubbish. At times here england have made their opposition look poor. Take Ben Stokes’ second innings at Newlands when he smashed South Africa everywhere. You could see the home players’ shoulders drop and england realise: ‘We can beat this lot.’
Stokes has been involved in the pivotal moments — the catalyst for change in every tricky situation. In this game, when Root needed wickets, in Port elizabeth, when england were 150 for four and he transformed things with Ollie Pope. At Cape Town, with both bat and ball. he is a unique cricketer.
Yesterday, when Root needed that effort bowler with the big heart to keep running in and bowling 90mph, he was the one, as fifth bowler, doing the hard yards. The summer he had last year has given him this belief that he can do anything. he has almost Bothamesque levels of confidence now.
My only worry is that he is such a full-on cricketer and he is doing so much across three formats. I don’t think the hunger will ever go.
I look at Jos Buttler and see someone who’s absolutely jaded. he walked off on Sunday like a broken man. The last year has taken so much from him. It doesn’t look like that for Stokes because he has done so well.
When you are playing well you don’t feel tired. When you are not, like Buttler, you go back to your hotel room exhausted mentally and physically. The worry is Stokes wants to do everything and that’s where injuries can come in. he now misses the one-day series here and that’s important.
A similar thing needs to happen for Wood. No one deserves his time in the sun more than the paceman. The way he made himself available here when he knew he wasn’t 100 per cent fit speaks volumes for his attitude. his character is so infectious too — exactly what is needed on tour. The other real positive was how the young lads settled in. Pope looks like he could be a once-in-a-generation player if he continues to push himself to improve. As I said, england’s winter tours will get harder. But with this potent combination of youth and experience, things look a lot healthier than they did just a few months ago.