ENGLAND ON FRONT FOOT
Steady Sibley closes in on maiden century to plot path to victory
They batted with application, skill and determination at a Test match tempo to grind down South Africa and move within reach of what would be their first win at Newlands for more than 60 years.
And, yes this was england doing it, the same england who looked to have thrown away their golden chance of levelling this series when they batted so irresponsibly on the first day of a second Test they really cannot afford to lose.
how difficult to predict england are. And how crucial this comeback could be both in the short term of this series and long term for both Joe Root’s captaincy and the recovery from a difficult introduction as coach for Chris Silverwood.
At the centre of it yesterday was a batsman known for his durability and crease occupation but who had so much still to prove at the highest level, not least that a technique so leg-side dominant could survive an examination from the very best bowlers.
Dom Sibley had done little in his three Tests so far to suggest he could replicate the prolific form he has produced for Warwickshire since maverick coach Gary Palmer remodelled a technique that once made him a Surrey schoolboy prodigy.
yet here he stood tall to wear down the highly-potent attack of Kagiso Rabada, Vernon Philander, Anrich Nortje and the disappointing left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj and move to within 15 runs of a maiden Test century with an innings that has rarely been pretty but mightily effective.
And, it should be said, there were just as many runs on the off-side from Sibley as there were on his trademark leg-side, with cover drives and cuts featuring in his repertoire, as well as a few productive squirts through third man.
With him in a stand of 116 for the third wicket that lifted england to 218 for four, and what is surely a decisive lead of 264, was a captain who was at his classy, busy best in making 61 before giving it away again with an attempted steer to third man.
england still have two days to press home their advantage and win a match that would probably be heading towards a boring draw had the philistines who want to reduce Test cricket to a four-day game already got their way.
even by england’s standards they have made hard work here of moving into a position of authority against a South Africa side who have lost just once in their last 18 visits to one of the greatest cricket grounds in the world.
england, comprehensively beaten in Centurion, had the worst possible preparation for this Test when Rory Burns injured his left ankle so badly playing football he is likely to require surgery and miss the tour of Sri Lanka in March, as well as the rest of this series.
Their failure to follow Silverwood’s mantra of batting time in the first innings was another symptom of the wider malaise affecting an england Test side who have appeared to be going backwards in the last year under Root.
But the most significant of comebacks was started by an excellent bowling display on Saturday and then the second dominant day in a row for an england team who may now have to change their opinion of this as ‘The Cursed Tour’.
Day three started in the best possible way when the extraordinary Jimmy Anderson took the wicket of Rabada with the very first ball and then followed it by claiming Nortje, with the help of a record-breaking fifth catch of the innings from Ben Stokes, to leave South Africa 46 behind england’s below-par 269.
It gave Anderson his 28th five-wicket haul for england, beating Sir Ian Botham’s record, and made him the oldest england bowler to take a five-for since eddie hemmings in 1990 and the oldest fast bowler since Freddie Brown in 1950. Simply incredible.
And to think Anderson was the favourite to be left out of the england side in this Test after a quiet return from injury at Centurion, had Jofra Archer been fit.
The remarkable Anderson, 37, just gets better and better and will be left out at england’s peril. Zak Crawley attempted to provide a positive start to the second innings and hit five fours before Rabada softened him up by hitting him twice and then inducing an edge.
That was before celebrating the wicket with an unnecessary send-off, jumping in front of the Kent man.
Rabada is one of the best of all fast bowlers but really should cut out the unsavoury provocation.
england responded by shutting up shop, scoring just 57 off 28 overs in the middle session with Sibley making 26 of them, and Joe Denly taking up 111 balls for his eventual 31 before pulling straight to deep square leg.
Sibley reached his maiden Test 50 off 140 balls with a back-foot punch through cover for four and a steer through third man for two in the same over from the below-par Rabada before an england acceleration after tea. Root’s departure gave South Africa a sliver of hope and
they added the wicket of nightwatchman Dom Bess with what turned out to be the last ball of the day.
No matter. england really should square this series now and they will have done it by showing they really can play Test cricket the old-fashioned way.
None more so than a quirky opener in Sibley, who may just have proved he belongs.