With England romping to a nine-wicket victory on the fifth and final day of the third and final Test at The Oval on Monday, South Africa were left lamenting their dismal batting performance as they fell to a 2-1 series loss.
Stuart Hess, cricket writer for IOL Sport, examines the most significant moments of the series.
Important at Lord’s and The Oval. The Proteas four utilized the ball’s erratic movement in the first Test to their advantage. Captain Dean Elgar acknowledged that he had to battle hard not to bat there. At Old Trafford, he followed his main instinct, which was to bat, and his hand was partly forced by the presence of two spinners. Ben Stokes won the toss in the final Test, and despite having to wait three days before unleashing his bowlers, there was still enough in the pitch to make the Proteas’ life hard.
In the final four innings of the series, SA scored 151, 179, 118, and 169 runs. If you do not score runs, even the finest attack in the world will not win you Test matches. In the first Test, only Sarel Erwee (73 runs) of the South African batting lineup reached fifty.
In 15 Tests against the Proteas, STOKES has a batting average of 45.26 and has scored four centuries. His 39 wickets have averaged 26.35 per game. His century in Manchester swung the contest dramatically in his team’s favor, and he bowled some superb stints throughout, frequently under difficult conditions. Arch-nemesis feels like an understatement. Stokes has won 10 and lost five Tests against the Proteas, but he has never been defeated in a series. They are unable to stop him.
JANSEN – With 19 wickets against India last summer, Marco Jansen made a name for himself, and in this series he has demonstrated his worth to the squad with both bat and ball. His first five-wicket haul at The Oval was well-earned and kept the Proteas in the series, but their batting finally let them down.
44 – Test matches won by the Proteas without a draw, dating back to 2017. (stat courtesy of Cricket SA chief statistician Andrew Samson). The wickets in South Africa have been active, and of of the wickets South Africa has played on during this time have been extremely bowler-friendly, including some ferocious turners in India, green tops in New Zealand, and large seamers in England. The penultimate tie was against New Zealand in Hamilton, and the Proteas would have lost that Test if it hadn’t rained on the final day.
ANTHEM – Despite some arrogance from a portion of the English cricket press – who attempted to mislead South Africa about not playing an extra day in the final Test – it must be acknowledged that the ceremony held at The Oval prior to the commencement of play was wonderfully produced. The Proteas may have played a minor role in the entire event, but it is a memory that all participants will surely carry with them. The soprano who sung the anthems, Laura Wright, did it magnificently.
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