South Africa v England, 3rd Test, Day 2 - Electrifying Hardus Viljoen and Ben Stokes, brilliant Joe Root

First of all, I wish to thank the ground staff at Johannesburg for producing such a marvelous track. It has pace and bounce to aid the bowlers and if a batsman can exhibit his temperament and technique well, he will be able to fetch runs. While the amount of substandard cricket hit the headlines in the social media, the story of one of the most compelling days of Test cricket at the Wanderers has almost gone unnoticed by the majority of the fans from Bangladesh and the rest of subcontinent. Mediocrity has cast a strange spell over the media and fans of the subcontinent.

Hardus Viljoen’s pace was electrifying. I have read about this boy earlier and in a Bangladeshi group, who claim themselves as the fans of the Proteas from this part of the world, I mentioned about him during the second Test. I commented on one of their posts to watch out for this boy. I guess, they didn’t care much about that as these days all are too busy about the big fishes only. Well, this boy set fire in Wanderers today with his lively pace.  He can bowl fast and mind you, I am not at all convinced with what the speed-gun stated about his pace. He seemed to me even faster than that. South Africa has a promising pace bowler to rock the stage in the upcoming days.

How good was Joe Root’s hundred? In my opinion, this has been one of his best knocks in Test cricket and one of the finest I have seen in recent times.  First of all, his footwork was precise. He was astute,  both on the back and front foot and he was well-balanced while executing the shots. Secondly, his focus was like of that of a hawk. He was very quick to pick the length. He was well aware of when to play and when to leave.  Thirdly, his knowledge about his off stump was spot on. He was hardly a confused character while the balls landed on the corridor of uncertainty. Finally, his defence and back lift. Well, they were perfect enough and aided him to travel through the crucial stages of the game when England were found wanting.

Ben Stokes was found among the runs again and he scored those runs the way he is used to do. If the situation is drastic, take drastic measures. Like Virender Sehwag, his fanda is simple. Attack is the best defence no matter how critical the situation is.

It was such a wonderful display of battle between the bat and ball. There were challenges from the South African pacers, there were fight backs from the English batsmen. Boys, you missed the charm of high profile cricket today.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar