England v South Africa, 2nd Test, Day 2: Roobish!!!

 

2^nd Test, Day 2: Roobish!!!

July 15^th 2017

The seamers delivered 75 overs – 450 balls on Day 1. Just 24 would have hit the stumps. That was a pretty damning statistic as it almost ruled out bowled and LBW as means of dismissal. It helped South Africa score far more than they should have done on Day 1. When Jimmy Anderson got his length right and scythed through the South African tail you feared for the England reply. Be very afraid! And when the batting lacks discipline and application, wickets are offered and not earned, the result is all too inevitable. At the end of the England innings, Geoff Boycott, to the delight of his colleagues, could be clearly heard on the microphone entering the box ready for his stint and exclaiming loudly “Rooooobish!!!” He was smartly directed by Ed Smith, who acted as his straight man and fed  him lines, while Sir Geoffrey vented steam, condemning the England batting performance. The fact that the TMS team knew that was coming and were hugging themselves with delight predicting his fury, only added to the fun.

As so often, Sir Geoffrey was absolutely right. Once the openers fell to a couple of really good deliveries, too many of the rest of the batsmen gave it away.

Conditions were perfect for bowling. The South African attack saw and understood the England mistakes and only some very determined batting, such as that on the third evening at Lord’s could have countered it. Facing the South Africans, an Alistair Cook who has been scoring runs for fun for Essex – 667 at 66.7, with three centuries and in Division 1 – so no one can say that he is not in prime form and Keaton Jennings, who had an extraordinary 2016 and a very successful winter, but who has struggled a little in the last couple of months, with just 2x50 in his last fifteen First Class innings. Twenty-five balls. Out to consecutive deliveries and England 3-2.

The knives are already out for Jennings. His triumphant start in India – a century and a fifty in his first two Tests – seem a long time ago. England fans are naught but fickle and, to them, a player is only as good as his last innings. Two failures and a modest score in the first two Tests and the fans see more than ample proof that he should never have been picked in the first place. And Jennings is followed by Gary Ballance, whose 815 runs at 101.9 for Yorkshire seem to convince no one that he is plausible England bat (the only player with more runs in Division 1 is some unknown called Sangakkarra). At Lord’s, Ballance produced just the sort of innings that England needed on the third evening to grind out runs in difficult conditions. Here, he did it again. Unfortunately, just as the ship seemed to be steadied, he wafted at the wrong ball: inside edge, back pad, off stump – indirect route, the sort of dismissal that if you are feeling in a charitable mood, everyone agrees that it was terribly unlucky because the ball could have gone anywhere. However, as it is Ballance and it was yet another unfulfilled innings: 20, 34 and now, 27. You get the feeling that even if he were to produce a fifty, or even a miraculous century in the second innings, his detractors would say that it in no way compensates his failures and they might well be right, but at least it would be a step in the right direction.

Joe Root seems to have taken on the idea that having the captaincy makes him Superman. Why else would he come in at 3-2 and hit a 40-ball fifty?

With Jonny Bairstow batting solidly at the other end and the innings prospering, you could see England getting close to or even overhauling the South African total. Root tried to whack one too many, Stokes prodded, Bairstow at least got a really good ball, Moeen self-destructed, as did Dawson. Broad was out-thought and Wood and Anderson were just defenceless. As collapses went, it was painful. There are times when judicious counter-attack will turn a match on its head. There are others where it is plain suicide and, in one session, England threw away the match.

We have played two days. No significant rain is expected before Wednesday. South Africa are 205 ahead and cruising. They could well wrap up this game tomorrow. Only if they are greedy and go for a huge lead, far past what is necessary, might the game go significantly into Monday. Already England would need to pass their first innings score to win. Stranger things have happened, but not often. England’s one, remote chance, is to take the remaining South African wickets for around sixty runs in the morning and get easier overhead conditions for batting after Lunch. It is hard to imagine that England can chase more than 280.

In the 1st Test, England got (almost) everything right and South Africa (almost) everything wrong. Here the roles have reversed: South Africa have done (almost) everything right and England (almost) everything wrong, right down to England making as awful use of reviews in this game as South Africa had in the 1st Test. Both sides are strangely vulnerable and the series may come down to which has fewer bad days.