Composed England, rusty South Africa

Moeen Ali was on a hat-trick when he came to bowl the 78^th over. The ball beat Morne Morkel easily and hit his front pad. Moeen and England’s close fielders scripted a vociferous appeal, but the on field umpire turned down the decision and England went for the review. The television umpire’s decision went in favour of Moeen who finished things off in a dramatic fashion by grabbing a hat-trick, the first by an English spinner for 79 years.

The one hundredth Test at the Oval proved to be a memorable one for the hosts who bounced back in style after the heavy defeat at Trent Bridge. Joe Root said after the match, “What a way to celebrate the 100th Test and this ground. It's been a great week for us. The way we batted first innings was very important, found a good tempo and it's a benchmark for us. Was a challenging wicket which got better as the game went on. We always felt we were ahead of the game from there. [Alastair's] innings was crucial, we could have been five/six down. That's why he's scored so many runs. At no point have we made excuses, always looking to improve, and most pleasing thing is we've responded”.

Indeed, England did not make excuses, but worked hard to improve and correct their mistakes made in second Test. While batting at Trent Bridge, England batsmen cashed in on going after the South African bowlers rather than exhibiting a composed approach. The result was disastrous. At the Oval, the level of composure and discipline of England was better than the visitors.

England exhibited better composure and discipline than South Africa 

 In the first innings at Trent Bridge, England left and defended 49% of the deliveries against pace and thus, were bundled out for 205 runs. At the Oval, on day 1, the percentage increased to 64% and it all was possible due to the sublime technique and temperament showed by Alastair Cook who kept one end steady and countered the threat posed by Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada. They never took undue risks against new ball and on the second day, when the new ball was taken, for fifteen overs they maintained their patience to see-off the new ball – 63% off the deliveries bowled with the new ball were either left or defended.

As the ball grew older, England took their chances and unleashed an assault lead by Ben Stokes. 44% of the deliveries were attacked and England’s first innings total swelled impressively. Ben Stokes went on to script one of the finest hundreds of his Test career and he brought up his hundred in an adventurous manner by hitting a big six!

Certainly, England’s investment in applying caution over aggression paid off while, South Africa wanted to prove themselves a Hercules and invested faith in the impulsive nature of batting display.

On day 3, The English pacers, pitched 73% of their deliveries on a good length and 51.5% of their deliveries on a good line. Moreover, they were moving the ball very well which demanded a better technique and temperament. They did leave and defend well, but the  major fault was the execution of a poor technique and impulsive nature.

Heino Kuhn and Quinton de Kock played the across the line against the moving ball, while the rest of the batters, except Hashim Amla – done by a beauty, hardly went behind the line, committed to the shot early and exposed their edges. Temba Bavuma and Rabada halted the fall of wickets and helped the visitors to post a score above hundred from a shambolic 61 for 7!

Bavuma showed his team-mates how to counter the movement by getting behind the line and never let the pacers to kiss the edge of his bat. He was again on the money on day 4 when his team-mates were leaving the crease at a rapid pace. He occupied the crease along with Dean Elgar to weather the storm and took the game on final day.

In the fourth innings, Elgar showcased an excellent display of guts and technique. He was cautious against the deliveries bowled outside off and punished those of which were bowled on his pads down the leg side. He received severe blows on his chest and arms, but remained firm at the wicket like a stone wall. Until Moeen Ali dismissed Elgar, he had scripted one of the boldest knocks of this year.

I won’t criticise the South African attack much, but would like to give England batters more credit of handling them well. Yes, at times, I saw the South Africa pacers to struggle with their line, but it was not worst like their indisciplined batting. At Lord’s and the Oval, their batting let them down heavily more than their bowling.   

Note: Statistical information has been taken from CricViz

Thank You

Faisal Caesar