After England cruised to victory on a bowler-friendly pitch at Durban, could we really have anticipated such a run-fest at Newlands? 1,415 runs flowed, yet only 19 wickets fell across the whole five days. Reputations were forged or restored and new records were as relentless as the hot sunshine.
I’ve never been a fan of Ben Stokes. All that bristling aggression, often misplaced, doesn’t endear him to me. Thumping furniture, or anything else, should never be mistaken for ‘passion’. Nevertheless, not even I can be anything but awe-struck by his incredible innings of 258 in only 198 balls. As he said, when you feel in the zone, you may as well adopt the ‘see ball, hit ball’ approach. And, by golly, did he hit the ball. So many Test records fell by the wayside, not only national but global:-
• The highest innings by a number six
• The fastest 250 by anyone, even Sehwag or Gayle
• The most sixes by any Englishman (11)
• The fastest 150 and 200 by an English batsman
Pity poor Jonny Bairstow. He made a brilliant, unbeaten 150, his debut Test century, and nobody else will remember it. Fortunately the statistics won’t lie: he and Stokes now share the world best sixth wicket total of 399, and the second highest of any England partnership in history. Not only that, I have to delight in such an achievement by a pair of fellow redheads, the ‘ginger ninjas’!
Yet England didn’t win the match. Indeed, on the final afternoon, there was even a possibility that they could lose it. That South Africa came that close owes a huge amount to captain Hashim Amla. He’s been in such terrible form lately, so his patient double-hundred was simply perfect. De Villiers, Du Plessis, Morris (on his debut) and Temba Bavuma provided sterling support. The latter also smashed another welcome barrier, becoming the first black South African batsman to reach three figures. So much for quotas; he looked the real deal against fine bowlers like Anderson, Finn and Broad.
AB apart, the home team’s batting has been frail of late. However, it was their attack which looked more toothless this week, in the absence of Steyn, Philander and Abbott. Bring at least two of these three back from injury, and the series could yet be drawn, or even won. I doubt it, though. With Bairstow and Stokes on a high, and only Alex Hales looking out of place, it will take a lot to beat England once, let alone twice.
Will Amla’s resignation make a difference? Probably not, with the experience of AB stepping up for the remaining fixtures. Nevertheless, if the number three scores 201 and feels he can do better without the burden of captaincy, what sort of performance can SA expect from him at Jo’burg? If he dyes his hair ginger, too, Lara’s record must be in danger…..
