Spinner Dom Bess yesterday picked up the key wicket of South Africa captain Faf du Plessis before lunch to strike a heavy blow to South Africa’s bid to save the second Test on the final day.
With South Africa 170-4 at the interval, thoughts of chasing down a test record 438 for victory were long gone.
Instead, the hosts face an uphill battle to save the Test over the remaining two sessions.
Debutant opener Pieter Malan was unbeaten on 83 from 271 balls, and much could rely on his ability to hold up an end for the remainder of the day. Rassie van der Dussen was on one not out.
The home side would still have a hope of drawing the Test, with the wicket offering little assistance to the seam bowlers, although the rough built up over the previous four days is offering turn for the slow bowlers.
England have the new ball, taken 10 minutes before lunch, to provide opportunities to take more wickets in what could be the key period in the game after lunch.
Du Plessis (19) was desperately disappointed with his shot selection as he tried to take on Bess with a powerful sweep, but succeeded only in picking out Joe Denly at square leg.
That poor judgement from the mainstay of South Africa’s batting lineup provided England with a major boost in their search for a win to level the series.
Nightwatchman Keshav Maharaj (2) was the other wicket to fall in the morning session. After James Anderson (2-23) had broken his bat, he was trapped leg before wicket by the experienced seamer.
England are seeking a first win at Newlands since 1957, while South Africa must bat for 146 overs to save this Test, after they won the opening game of the four-match series by 107 runs in Pretoria.
England opening batsman Rory Burns is to miss the tour of Sri Lanka in March after undergoing successful surgery on ruptured ligaments in his left ankle, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced yesterday.
Burns suffered the injury playing soccer — part of the squad’s warm-up routine — on Thursday last week, the eve of the second Test against South Africa.
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash. Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13. The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game. Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take
Australia yesterday won two of four races on the first day of the SailGP Sydney event on Sydney Harbour to finish the day atop the points table ahead of Britain and a French team who made an outstanding return after missing the first two events of the season. Australia also had a third and a second placing, finishing the day with 37 points, ahead of Britain with 32 points and France with 27. Britain won the second race of the day and Switzerland, who won the first race, were in fourth place overall. Australia’s prowess in the start box was again the