A good first two sessions for England were somewhat undone just before tea on the opening day of the second Test at Newlands yesterday.
England lost openers Alastair Cook and Alex Hales, but had made use of good batting conditions to move to 167-2 in the last over before tea, but then lost No. 3 Nick Compton, which brought an early end to the session.
A one-handed catch at third slip by rangy debutant bowler Chris Morris saw Cook depart for 27 runs off Kagiso Rabada’s bowling as two of South Africa’s three changes from the first Test combined to dismiss the England captain.
Photo: Reuters
Alex Hales, playing just his second Test, made 60 before being caught by South Africa captain A.B. de Villiers in the slips from the bowling of Morne Morkel.
De Villiers dove in front of first slip from second to complete the catch.
Cook and Hales put on a 55-run partnership for the opening wicket.
Photo: Reuters
Rabada picked up his second with a short delivery that Compton pulled to Temba Bavuma to be dismissed for 45.
The not out batman at tea was Joe Root, who was on 23.
Cook won the toss and elected to bat on a dry wicket with a bit of teasing bounce, but looking perfect for a long spell at the crease and a high-scoring innings.
England’s top wicket taker, James Anderson, returned to the side, replacing Chris Woakes after recovering from a calf strain that kept him out of the first Test in Durban, where England beat South Africa by 241 runs on Wednesday with just a two-day turnaround before the second Test.
“It’s tough on Woakes, but you can’t afford to leave put your best bowler if he is available,” Cook said before play started yesterday.
South Africa had already confirmed on the eve of the Test that the world’s No. 1 Test bowler Dale Steyn would not be playing, as he had not recovered from a shoulder injury, and that 20-year-old Rababa would take his place.
Before play on Saturday, Kyle Abbott was added to the list of fast bowling casualties, as he had not properly recovered from a hamstring strain and was replaced by debutant Chris Morris.
Quinton de Kock returned to the role of wicketkeeper in an effort to lessen the work load of talismanic De Villiers.
De Kock replaced J.P. Duminy, who was dropped after a long run without form.
Additional reporting by staff writer
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
RSS