Curran heroics just the tonic for England
Sam Curran bowled England towards a position of authority in the opening Test of their South african assignment and then hailed their togetherness after a ‘tough week’.
England have been ravaged by both flu and sickness bugs in their first ten days on tour and then, far more seriously, were hit by the news of a serious illness that struck Ben Stokes’ father Ged on Christmas Eve and has left him recovering in a Johannesburg hospital.
Yesterday, England travelled to Centurion, a suburb of Pretoria, from their Johannesburg base without Chris Woakes, Ollie Pope and Jack Leach, who were all left in ‘quarantine’ after failing to recover from the bug.
‘It has been a tough week for us,’ said Curran, who took four for 57 off 19 punishing overs in the heat as South africa finished on 277 for nine after Joe root had elected to bowl.
‘We’re pleased with how we stuck together. We fought for one another and supported the guys who were ill. We’d have liked to have bowled them out but to have them nine down is a pretty good effort.’
Curran is one of the few England bowlers not to be affected by illness so far on tour and was only confirmed as England’s fifth bowler when Woakes was officially ruled out yesterday morning.
‘Touch wood, I’ve had no problems,’ said Curran. ‘I don’t want to jinx it but we’re just trying to be as careful as we can and making sure we do the small things right. It’s not nice when you’ve got three or four guys back in the hotel who may well have been involved in the game. We’re sticking together to get through a tough patch.’
Quinton de Kock rescued South africa from the depths of 111 for five with a hard-hitting 95 before becoming Curran’s fourth victim but he could easily have been given out caught by Stokes in the slips off Joe root on 35.
‘my first thought was that it had definitely bounced,’ said De Kock, who was reprieved by technology. ‘But when I saw the replays I realised it was a lot closer than I thought.’
Curran added: ‘We only saw one angle but we’ve got him out now anyway, so it doesn’t matter.’
England could not have made a better start to this series with the grassy banks at the superb SuperSport Park ground packed and the stage set for what promises to be a bowler-dominated four Tests.
root could not really do anything other than bowl on a grassy Centurion pitch because of England’s determination to put their faith in seam but it was still something of a gamble as they were collectively ailing in the blistering heat.
Yet any concerns root might have had about his decision were eased when his returning spearhead made an immediate impact on a historic day for him.
There had never been any doubt Jimmy anderson would make his 150th Test appearance here after a summer ruined by calf injuries and now he struck with the first ball of the Test after receiving a special cap from his first England captain nasser Hussain.
It was hardly a pearler from anderson either, Dean Elgar nudging a loosener down the leg-side to Jos Buttler and setting the tone for an error-ridden day when South africa looked every inch the vulnerable batting unit who had lost their last five Tests.
all, that is, apart from the gifted De Kock who lifted his side back into contention in the company of the equally hard-hitting 30-year-old debutant Dwaine Pretorius.
South africa rallied to 245 for six before Curran lured De Kock into edging through to Buttler to claim his fourth wicket.
This was a challenging day for England, not least those bowlers who had not propelled a ball in anger on this tour before yesterday after becoming the first victims of the flu-type symptoms that seemed to follow them from new Zealand.
Stuart Broad is such a fierce competitor that he was determined not to miss this Test and he was rewarded with three wickets of his own.
It all left England just about on top but only if they bat well today in conditions that are made just as much for rabada and Vernon Philander as England’s pace attack.