ENGLAND UNFIT FOR PURPOSE
Miracle required after a dismal display of batting
It would not even excuse England if they pull off another Headingley-type miracle here this weekend and win this first test with a ludicrous second-innings run chase.
that would simply camouflage issues that are becoming more deep-rooted.
Yes, England’s bowlers came flying back at South Africa in the final session of the second day to leave them on 72 for four, a lead of 175.
And, remember, England were bowled out for 67 in Leeds last summer before Ben Stokes defied all cricketing rhyme and reason to lead the chase to 359 and defeat Australia in an extraordinary fashion.
But it is not good enough to rely on test cricket’s capacity for the near impossible.
Miracles cannot be relied on all the time. the damage here had already been done by a familiar and abject display of test batting from England. this cannot keep on happening. they are supposed to be prioritising test cricket again and trying to replicate the success of Eoin Morgan’s World Cup-winning white-ball side.
Instead, they are in danger of starting yet another away series in the worst possible manner — with an embarrassing defeat.
And not an overseas series against a very good side either, as when they toured New Zealand.
they are facing a shadow of the great South African teams of the past, a side that has been robbed of so many of its best players by the shameless financial pulling power of county cricket. And a team who had lost their last five tests.
Surely the appointment of Graeme Smith as director of cricket and Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis as coaches has not improved South Africa this dramatically so quickly.
Or is England’s test batting simply not fit for purpose?
Collapse is following collapse and England are not learning from their mistakes.
Joe Denly and Ben Stokes were going well and England stood at 142 for three, just 142 behind and on track for a crucial first innings lead.
So what happened? Quick as a flash, in the face of admittedly superb bowling from Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada and new tearaway Anrich Nortje, England were gone, seven wickets crashing for 39 and, with them, realistic hope of victory.
the most disturbing aspect of it all is that it was not even a surprise. It does not even rank in the top-five worst England collapses of recent years.
Batting that is lacking any semblance of common sense or resolve is not the be all and end all of England’s problems either.
the captaincy of Joe Root (below) will have to become an issue if this series continues on the path of the first two days.
Root lost in West Indies earlier this year, drew the Ashes after the urn had gone and lost in New Zealand. He has started this series off in highly questionable fashion.
His decision to bowl first here seemed contentious at the time and now looks wrong. History tells you this Centurion pitch gets more uneven and worse for batting as the test goes on and yesterday there were clear signs of erratic bounce, as Jonny Bairstow will testify after being bowled by one that kept low.
If you go into a test with an all-seam attack, perhaps you have to bowl first. But not when it leaves your side facing a last-innings run chase when anything over 200 will be hard to reach. And not when the bulk of your attack is recovering from flu.
Some of Root’s field placings and ‘funky’ tactics when South Africa batted again last night were curious. the worry is he’s not getting any better. None of which should take any credit away from South Africa. Philander was superb by just bowling good old length and line, with speeds that did not touch 80 miles per hour and letting the pitch do the rest.
He did not concede a run until his 34th delivery and ended up with four for 16 off 14.2 overs of the perfect demonstration of the seam bowler’s art. With pace coming from Rabada and Nortje, England were out-bowled as well as out-batted.
they did give themselves a sniff when they reduced South Africa to 62 for four second-time round to take the tally up to 15 wickets in the day.
England had a stroke of luck when square-leg umpire Paul Reiffel appeared to signal a second no ball in consecutive balls when Jofra Archer’s attempts at slower ‘knuckle’ balls turned into beamers.
Reiffel appeared to change his mind and Archer was allowed to continue — for now.
But his presence in the attack remains on a knife’s edge. As does hope of emerging with anything but another self-inflicted defeat at the start of a series Root and England cannot really afford to lose.