Captain Joe Root and prodigy Ollie Pope both hit half-centuries yesterday, putting together a 101-run partnership that took England to 300-7 at lunch on the second day of the fourth Test against South Africa at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.
Root scored 59 and Pope 56 as England moved quickly on from their overnight score of 192-4 before three quick wickets for Anrich Nortje slowed the march.
Pope’s third Test half-century came up in 61 balls before he played on to a delivery from Nortje.
Photo: Reuters
Root was dropped by Proteas captain Faf du Plessis in Nortje’s next over, but it did not prove costly as the England skipper was out soon after for the addition of 5 more runs when he got a healthy edge to Nortje and was taken by wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock.
Sam Curran followed next ball, swinging wildly at the first delivery he faced.
Jos Buttler (16) and Chris Woakes (19) were not out at lunch.
Earlier on Friday, Ben Stokes apologized for his angry exchange with a fan, but claimed that he was the victim of “repeated abuse.”
Stokes described his reaction at the Wanderers as “unprofessional,” but English cricket chiefs claimed that staff and players were also subjected to “personal abuse during and after the day’s play.”
Stokes stopped briefly as he left the field after being dismissed for 2 and appeared to challenge a spectator, who evidently insulted him.
“Come say that to me outside the ground, you fucking four-eyed c**t,” Stokes said.
Witnesses told the Guardian that a middle-aged man had targeted Stokes, allegedly calling him a “ginger c**t” and likening him to pop star Ed Sheeran.
“I wish to apologise for my language that was heard on the live broadcast today after my dismissal. I should not have reacted in that way,” Stokes said in a statement released on Twitter. “As I was leaving the playing area, I was subjected to repeated abuse from the crowd. I admit that my reaction was unprofessional, and I sincerely apologise for the language I used, especially to the many young fans watching the live telecast around the world.”
Stokes could face disciplinary action for uttering an audible obscenity, which is a level 1 offense in the International Cricket Council’s code of conduct.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was