BIG BEN’S HANDS STRIKE FOUR...
Curran: Stokesy‘s catches showed why he is one of the world’s best
ENGLAND finally got their noses in front in this series after wrestling with South Africa, and themselves, for control of the second Test.
And they had Ben Stokes’ bucket hands at second slip to thank for snaffling four super catches.
There is very little that Stokes can’t do on a cricket pitch.
And on a day when his bowling didn’t quite cut it, his work in the slips more than made up for that.
The 28-year-old was at his athletic best diving to his right with regularity to grab the precious catches of varying difficulty that helped England chip away at the South African foundations all day. Stokes didn’t have it all his own way.
A one-handed grab was dislodged as his elbow hit the turf, and again when he was stood so close that he couldn’t quite wrap his hands around the chance from Dwaine Pretorius.
He needn’t had worried, though, as three balls later Pretorius offered an even tougher chance to Stokes’ right – and he pounced with astonishing reflexes.
“He’s amazing,” said fellow all-rounder Sam Curran, who took 2-39 including the vital wicket of Rassie van der Dussen for 68 when he edged to Stokes.
“Compared to Centurion, it was tricky.
“There the ball carried through and the slip catches came at a nice height – but here Stokesy showed why he is one of the best fielders in the world. He was diving all over the place.
“He came up when he needed to and went back when he thought he needed to and that is why we are in quite a good position.”
That position is 54 runs ahead of the home side, who were reduced to 215-8 thanks to two late wickets with the second new ball from James Anderson, who finished the day with 3-34.
After England were bowled out for 269 in the morning, Stuart Broad got them up and running with the early wickets of Pieter Malan and Zubayr Hamza.
But opener Dean Elgar kept the home side on the right track as he compiled a fluent 88.
Just when he might have eyed a 13th ton, his old Somerset team-mate Dom Bess – impressive all day – struck a huge blow to have him caught at mid-off by Joe Root.
Elgar said: “I felt I played him very well until I lost concentration.
“It is not right for me to be playing a shot like that as a senior batsman, but I’m human.”