A fantastic series for England didn’t end in the way Trevor Baylis would have liked, in a 280-run defeat. One Cook cheerfully held aloft the Basil D’Oliviera Trophy while another marked his belated debut with a century. Nevertheless, it would have been a travesty had the tourists triumphed 3-0.
South Africa had been on a nine-match winless streak, including two draws in Bangladesh and that 3-0 hammering in India, so a first victory in over twelve months was especially welcome. Hashim Amla has rediscovered his mojo while, faced with an injury crisis, the selectors have polished some gems.
Thomas Bavuma played the whole series, notching his first Test century in the Cape Town runfest. Kagiso Rabada took more wickets than anybody, doubling his Test tally at Centurion alone. And Stephen Cook’s debut was rather more successful than his dad’s had been two decades ago. Somerset run machine Jimmy was out first ball when SA returned to the international fold, but his son clipped Anderson for a boundary en route for a well-deserved 115.
Yet we also learned that AB De Villiers is only human after all, collecting three consecutive ducks! Not an auspicious start to his Test captaincy, but it’s not deterring him from holding on to the role. It’s not like his opposite number has excelled; Alastair averaged a mediocre 23. Alex Hales was, as I suspected, a disaster as an opening partner, while I was disappointed at James Taylor’s failure to turn promising innings into hundreds.
Fortunately for England, runs flowed from the bats of Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes. I am not convinced by the Durham hothead’s incredible onslaught at Newlands as a precursor of a Bothamesque career. He has flopped too often in the past. However, the legendary Sir Ian was hardly a master of consistency himself. It was nice to see the Yorkshire ‘keeper transferring his batting form into the Test arena, although his glovework still needs a bit of work. Joe Root, is just Joe Root, a phenomenon who can find runs on pitches which seem to defeat anybody else.
Whilst Rabada came good in the finale, ably supported by Morkel and Abbott, South Africa desperately missed Steyn and Philander. Instead, Stuart Broad produced his usual supreme spell from the stars to seal the series at Jo’burg and leave the home side floundering at 83 all out. Steven Finn did OK when fit, but Anderson, Moeen Ali and Woakes struggled.
So what comes next? South Africa welcome Australia next month, which could be an interesting contest. England must be very confident ahead of the visits of Sri Lanka in May, and Pakistan in July. I reckon the bowlers will improve in home conditions and - who knows? – a return to the top of the rankings is not beyond them. Eventually!
