Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature 14th over: South Africa 33-1 (Erwee 21, Petersen 0) With the captain gone, that’s the end of Joe Root’s spell and it’s not Jack Leach as we assumed, but Ollie Robinson gets a rip from Statham End. And just like it was the first morning he promptly lands it in a shoebox, his baby girl is marked by a litter that leaps long at Erwee from the furrow, hitting him in the stomach. 13th over: South Africa 33-1 (Erwee 21, Petersen 0) “I don’t think it was just the previous ball in terms of movement,” notes Mel Jones. “It was also the length.” Spot on, as always. Watching it, Elgar tried to cover the line but didn’t get far enough forward, certainly in natural response to the delivery before. “Such a huge find,” adds Butch. “Hit him before the ball rolls.” “It fell off a boat onto my boat in Croatia,” reveals Tim Lindsay, who attached a photo for me (which I don’t know how to add to the blog, sorry). Also, cut my wrist.’ Yes! “On the plus side, I can now stay in the comfort of our friends’ lovely villa watching the match on their pirated Sky badge while it stinks up the water. Result.” In an otherwise overall holiday result.
WIRELESS! Elgar b Anderson 11 (South Africa 33-1)
Oh Jimmy, Jimmy! This is very wonderful. Around the wicket to the visiting captain he hits him with one that goes away as an out. Next? Fuller, behind the other side, through the gate, out of the ground. He’s a freak. An absolute freak. Updated at 11.17 BST 12th over: South Africa 32-0 (Erwee 20, Elgar 11) Right, ignore my Root/Leach theory: first gets a second here. I wonder if that was the plan or if Stokes is keeping him after the former skipper looked a bit short with his first morning offering? To Elgar, he bowls from very wide of the crease with a slip, a leg slip and a short leg – Bairstow roams to short cover as well. Nice on that too, testing away. Oooh, and there’s a sharp turn and bounce! Great job by Elgar not to follow it with his blade and Foakes to glove it. Interesting. 11th over: South Africa 32-0 (Erwee 20, Elgar 11) “Bowling from his own end, it’s Jimmy Anderson,” says the ground announcer. That was the end where Leach finished last night, strengthening the argument that the Root over was designed to spin the top spinner. Anderson starts through the wicket to Erwee and finds his line and length immediately, as you’d expect. A bit of extra length later in the over, the left-hander is willing to go carefully through cover, timing it well enough to reach the rope, but Jack Leach runs after him like he’s Carl Lewis, pulling it at the end. Really like his attitude this summer. Talking about. “I think what Leach admires most about the new regime (and Stokes in particular) is their mental toughness,” says Mark Hooper. “That famous 1 not out means that Stokes always stands up when he needs to, which is arguably the most important attribute at this level where you’re dealing with the ‘one per cent difference’ or whatever.” what else is the new buzzword’. Back to Jimmy, who beats Erwee with an escape to finish – nice. “Absolutely no shape,” says Jonny Bairstow at the end of the over, so no swing. 10th over: South Africa 28-0 (Erwee 17, Elgar 11) Root takes one to first off Erwee and hits him on the board, prompting an ambitious appeal – not out, no criticism. He’s off to a handy start, targeting the stumps at that wide angle with his tweakers – remember, he’s got 47 Test wickets. Oh, I’m just typing that he gives Erwee a half volley and drives it through cover for the first runs of the day, a boundary. “It’s also a day Dean Elgar will enjoy,” Mark Butcher tells the broadcaster. Absolutely. The players are on the field! And it is… Joe Root bowling the first over of the day! I suspect (I’m sure) that this will be something that changes. I AM PLAYING! “Good morning Adam.” And to you, Mark Unwin. “Right now on the train on the way to Old Trafford with two 10 year olds going to their first test match… Lots of snacks, drinks, technology and money on hand for when they get bored… let’s see how long they last.” Brilliant! I hope it’s a special day for them and for you. My first day in a Test match was day four in Melbourne, 1994-95 – the day before Warney’s Ashes hat-trick. David Boon completed his 20th Test ton before Damien Fleming brought the house down in front of stumps, including this absolute beauty. I’m up to 137 Tests now, should hit 150 during next year’s Ashes if all goes to plan. Yeah, that’s a freaking brag. “A big day for Jack Leach?” asks Gary Naylor. “Take out his twin fives against New Zealand at Headingley, and he’s only taken eight wickets since mid-May. I think he needs more variety to create more chances on decent pitches. Now is his chance to show it.” Morning, Gaz. I’m reluctant to #RootMaths (google it) by knocking out ten in Yorkshire – that was a great performance under huge pressure. I can only speak for the radio commentary team I worked on for that series, but we pretty much all sacked him after Nottingham and were wrong to do so. There was a beautiful interview with him before this series, a few weeks ago with Felix White. The key takeaway here is that Leach now believes – or is forced, over time, by the new leadership axis to believe – that his ceiling is higher than he previously thought it was under the previous regime. For someone without any natural spunk, my point is that it’s a pretty big deal. I support him today. “Good morning Adam,” Harry Lang tweeted. “I’m looking forward to today’s action. I’m on a boat somewhere off Lefkada in Greece. That’s really the only motivation behind this quest. Cheers for the updates!” Like you! Enjoy your vacation. Rounding off yesterday’s coverage, here’s Tanya Aldred’s write-up on Ben Foakes’ comments when speaking to the press after his unbeaten 113. Barney is also in Manchester. One eye in the middle, the other on the balcony. There was still time for a great tableau on England’s balcony: Stokes in Lennon shades, hair flipped, drinking unbranded water. Brendon McCullum by his side, bearded, shadowed and gunned, hundreds on the bank, the game turning on the road, Stuart Broad, in a sleeveless singlet also loitering (yes, Stuart, we see you), enjoying the afternoon sun. We have an early weather update from Ian Thompson. “Good morning Adam. The forecast for Manchester is sunshine, a high of 21 and a slight chance of rain. It looks like all-day cricket.” Excellent news. It looks great on TV. A little blurry, maybe. “I’m totally disgusted!” roars Tim Maitland in Hong Kong to open the bowling in terms of today’s mail. “Outraged! I’ve scoured the web and it seems no one took the golden opportunity yesterday’s two centuries provided to put the shoes on a DIFFERENT STOKES FOR DIFFERENT FOAKES title. I will file an official complaint.” Unlike the 2019 World Cup Final, when I reckon six national newspapers took the Champagne Super Over to the back (or front) page. Happy moments. Ben Stokes talks to Nick Knight on Sky. “We are in a strong position and can’t wait to get the ball in our hands. We earned the right to be quite demanding today.” Gives a lot of love to Ben Foakes. “I’m absolutely thrilled for him. He is the best goalkeeper in the world and he has shown what he can do with the bat.” Regarding his playing style, he explains that he wants to lead by example with his own positive approach. They are talking up their chances of getting the reverse ball today after what the South Africans were able to do in the first session yesterday in a dry Old Trafford square. He adds that he sees a big role for Jack Leach – clearly backing his spinner.
Preamble
Adam Collins Morning! Great where I am in London, I hope the same in Manchester in the Test where England took the honours, overall, on the first two days. As if predicted on the day his documentary was released, Ben Stokes hit his 12th Test ton and first since taking over as captain. Combined with Ben Foakes for 173 runs for the sixth wicket, they took the hosts from the red to a lead that looks huge in the context of this low-scoring series. Foakes, for his part, hailed a second Test century and his first since debut in 2018. He finished with a fantastic, unbeaten 113 by the time England declared for 264 in front at 415-9. The Proteas had nine overs to face in their second dig and came through unscathed, continuing this morning on 23 without defeat. It states the obvious that Dean Elgar and his crew will need to bat all day today, and possibly half of tomorrow, if they are to give their very capable bowling line-up something meaningful to work with in the fourth innings. If they can, good luck to them. But the pitch has slowed down noticeably from the surface England’s players enjoyed on day one. If the South African openers can get through the early spells of Anderson, Robinson and Broad, it won’t be a lost cause just yet. On the other hand, early wickets could set us on the path to a second three-day finish on the trot. And nobody wants that on a bank holiday weekend – right? Okay, I’m going to have a coffee and then I look forward to your company. You know the drill: drop me a line, fire me with a tweet. If you want a slightly longer recap of yesterday’s events, here I am with the BBC’s Daniel Norcross – him on the ground, me in my backyard. And while you’re listening, here’s Ali Martin’s match report.
