Century by Sciver puts England back in the driving seat
All-rounder makes amends after running out captain Davidson-richards claims hundred too in 207-run stand
Centuries from Nat Sciver and Alice Davidson-richards in a 207-run stand dragged England from a precarious 121 for five and put them firmly in control at stumps on day two of the four-day Test against South Africa.
Sciver’s unbeaten 119, her first Test century, was the perfect riposte to Marizanne Kapp’s 150 for South Africa on Monday and left her side 44 runs ahead with four wickets in hand.
She struck 15 fours, driving on the up with aplomb and dismissing anything short as if she were operating a carnival ride with a height limit.
She was ably supported by Test rookie Davidson-richards, who paced her innings like a seasoned pro before clattering 17 boundaries en route to 107. She chipped the final ball of the day off Tumi Sekhukhune straight to backward point. No matter, she is the first English player since WG Grace to score a hundred and take a wicket on Test debut. “B----- brilliant,” is how she described her achievement.
When Davidson-richards joined her high schoolmate Sciver, Amy Jones had just been bowled past the outside edge by the slow left-armer Nonkululeko Mlamba. Eight balls earlier, Anneke Bosch claimed her third wicket when she had Sophia Dunkley caught at slip off a loose drive.
But the source of the chaos was the calamitous run-out of Heather Knight to the first ball after the lunch break. Sciver nudged Mlaba off the back foot towards midwicket and immediately set off. Knight responded, but her fate was sealed. Not even a desperate dive could save her.
“I was feeling guilty,” Sciver said. “She has forgiven me, apparently. If I didn’t get to 100 maybe she wouldn’t have.”
It was a moment that threatened to break the game apart. Openers Emma Lamb and Tammy Beaumont were untroubled up front in their partnership of 65 and were aided by South Africa’s wastefulness with the new ball.
And although Bosch trapped
Beaumont lbw for 28 and bowled Lamb for 38, England were still in charge when Knight and Sciver took guard for the start of the second session.
Knight’s run-out was a gift, but South Africa earned their next wickets through disciplined lines that denied Sciver and her partners a release shot. Sekhukhune and Nadine de Klerk bowled three consecutive maidens before Bosch and Mlaba struck with the Proteas ahead by 165 runs. “We told each other to stay patient,” said Bosch, her three for 59 providing her with a memorable Test debut. “That’s what we tried to do after drinks; to hit good lines and lengths and let the pitch do the work.”
Then Davidson-richards and Sciver got to work. The former played the anchor role, striking at around 35 and content with bunting the ball back to the bowler. Sciver thwacked the odd loose delivery, but never went chasing it.
With the South Africans flagging in the field, England found boundaries easier to come by, taking the game to their guests, punishing Sune Luus’s leg-spin in particular. In the 10 overs preceding the second new ball, England scored 49 chanceless runs. When a fresh Dukes was offered, it was sent screaming to the fence as the South Africans laboured. “We want to get the biggest lead we can,” Sciver said. “We’ve still got some brilliant batters to come. I’m excited to get back out there in the morning.”
England may look to bat once, if possible, and push for a victory that way. With rain looming, that could be their best shot at a first Test win since 2014.