On the opening day of the second Test at Old Trafford on Thursday, England great James Anderson celebrated being the first player to feature in 100 home matches by spearheading the attack with three wickets as South Africa were bowled for just 151.
As the Proteas fought back, Kagiso Rabada shone both with the bat and the ball. The fast bowler top-scored with 36 runs before dismissing star batsman Joe Root for just nine runs as England fell to 43-3 in an attempt to tie this three-match series at 1-1.
By the time play ended, though, England had recovered to 111-3, a 40-run deficit, with stuttering opener Zak Crawley making it to 17 unanswered off 77 balls.
In contrast, during a continuous 68-run stand with Crawley, Jonny Bairstow was 38 not out off 45 balls, including six of his customary well-hit fours.
Sunlight marked the end of South Africa’s innings, but the improved batting conditions didn’t do England much good at first. Alex Lees was caught behind off Lungi Ngidi, and Ollie Pope, who made a promising 23, was clean bowled by an express quick Anrich Nortje delivery travelling at 90 mph.
After that, Rabada dismissed Root for a low score of three in this series, albeit first slip Sarel Erwee required four tries to maintain the outside edge.
