England wake up after slow start
JUST when it seemed they were going to succumb to‘ deadrubber syndrome’ again and waste their chance to finish this momentous series on a high, England clawed their way back into a final Test they had seemed determined to throw away.
The tourists, so insistent that they would kick South Africa while they were down, talked the talk ahead of this match but could not walk the walk during two of their worst sessions of bowling for some time.
Yet, with South Africa poised to take total control on 224 for one at tea, England finally remembered they need to be ruthless and win games like this if they are to return to the top of the world.
South Africa are still on top, at 329 for five at the close of the first day at Super Sport Park, but it would have been much, much worse for England had they not taken four wickets in a final session when they relocated their resolve.
Not until they removed South Africa’s big two of Hashim Amla an DAB de Villiers in quick succession after tea could England be in any way satisfied with a flat, lacklustre and sloppy performance in the field.
up until then, a South Africa team in such disarray that they made five changes going into this match had been allowed to make all the running.
There was much to admire from Stephen Cook, who became the fourth-oldest man, at 33 — and the 100th in all — to make a century on Test debut, and Amla who was at his stylish and silky best to record his 25th hundred.
Yet the feeling persisted that England had made it all too easy for South Africa when they had a golden opportunity to turn this series win into a thrashing.
Not even t he provocative comments of de Villiers, who had sounded more like a victorious captain than a losing one when he criticised England’s batting and bowling before the match, were able to stir Alastair Cook’s side into action.
‘Bad starts can happen,’ said England vice- captain Joe Root. ‘Even though they’ve got fantastic records, our bowlers are human. They do make mistakes but the most important thing for me was how we came back and reacted.’
There was certainly much for England to play for here after they had lost the toss, not least in the form of Chris Woakes, who was preferred to Chris Jordan and Mark Footitt in the absence of the injured Steven Finn.
And the stage was set for Jimmy Anderson, not at hi s best throughout this series, to demonstrate that he remains the leader of this England attack.
However, Woakes had a nightmare until he finally forced Cook to play on for 115, while Anderson again did not look himself — finishing wicketless and appearing in need of some inspiration.
The day belonged to Cook, son of the prolific former Somerset batsman Jimmy, who had a totally contrasting Test debut of his own when he was out first ball on South Africa’s return to international cricket against India in 1992.
Cook junior has long been a prolific runscorer here — and has the highest South African domestic individual score of 390 to his name — but it appeared as if his chance to emulate his father on the highest stage had gone.
Now, with Jimmy looking on, Cook was dropped on 47 — one of two lapses by Jonny Bairstow — and survived a reviewed lbw in the nervous 90s before he reached a popular hundred for a side facing up to the end of an era.
Amla, too, was reprieved, Bairstow diving in front of Alastair Cook when the former captain had edged Ben Stokes towards first slip on just five.
How both South African centurions made England pay at Centurion with a stand of 202 until Stokes began the mini slide by bowling Amla. Then Stuart Broad, earlier added to England’s one-day squad in place of the injured Liam Plunkett, had cranked things up to dismiss de Villiers for a duck.
It was Moeen Ali, brought into the attack for the 11th over, who had made the breakthrough with his fourth ball courtesy of another terrific short-leg catch by James Taylor, somehow trapping a pull from Dean Elgar between his legs.
Moeen was to dismiss the returning JP Duminy, whose ability against off-spin has not improved since Graeme Swann used to have his wicket for breakfast.
But Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock stabilised South Africa with an unbroken stand of 56 that kept their noses in front.