It was not without a wobble or three but at the end of a hectic opening day in Manchester, one on which ball dominated bat in the main to produce the regular clanking of spikes on the dressing room steps, England finally had a decent grip on proceedings.
South Africa, fresh from their ransacking of Lord’s, had earlier been bowled out for 151 inside 54 overs as Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad revelled in the conditions to take three wickets apiece. Ben Stokes marshalled his attack smartly, Ollie Robinson’s return underlined his skill and fitness, and his side’s delight, overall, was palpable.
But given a crepe-paper batting performance during that innings defeat in the first Test, it was no given this mood would remain come stumps. A solid response was essential and when Kagiso Rabada knocked over Joe Root for nine in the 14th over, a score of 43 for three on the board was inviting trouble.
As such, it was not until Jonny Bairstow and Zak Crawley walked off at the end, unbeaten on 38 and 17 respectively with the score on 111 for three, that the balance of power was clearer. Bairstow was back to his pugnacious best, muscling six boundaries, while Crawley, battling for fluency, showed gumption.
This absorbing final session followed an outbreak of handshakes, back slaps and bum pats when Stokes led his team off shortly after tea. Rabada’s defiant 36 from No 9 – the top score among the tourists – had finally been snuffed out by Jack Leach, and England’s top three – notably – sprinted off to begin strapping on their pads.
It remains one of the sport’s great mysteries that Rabada is yet to score a professional half-century, such is his eye and temperament. But this frustrating rearguard aside, England’s attack had delivered for their captain after Dean Elgar raised eyebrows northwards by winning the toss and electing to bat under leaden skies.
The call was dictated by selection, with Simon Harmer drafted in as a second spinner and Marco Jansen, among those central to the win at Lord’s, benched. Had Elgar’s side managed to limit the damage before lunch, the day could easily have opened up for his middle order during an afternoon of sunshine.
Instead they crumbled to 77 for five before the clouds parted during the lunch break, with England’s phalanx of fast-mediums positively hounding a top order that lived up to pre-series predictions of fragility.
Anderson was immaculate on his 100th appearance in a home Test match, getting the ball rolling when Sarel Erwee’s unconvincing 12-ball stay was ended by an inside edge behind.
Robinson’s comeback was headline news 24 hours earlier and could easily have been again with a touch more fortune. Looking trim after a seven-month battle to get fitter, the 6ft 5in right-armer was preferred to Broad with the new ball. He beat the bat regularly in a seven-over spell and had a wicket scrubbed off when, after Ollie Pope claimed a wonderful diving catch off Elgar at short leg, it swiftly transpired he had overstepped.
Broad bowled like a man with a point to prove. Coming on at the end named after his old mucker, he had Elgar caught in the slips for 12 after a wonderful setup – targeting the left-hander’s pads before the sucker ball that nipped away – and then induced a thick edge to the cordon off Keegan Petersen after drinks.
Batting was clearly a trial but Aiden Markram’s demise for 14 was a gift, with Stokes barely believing his luck when, after replacing Robinson, he saw the palindromic right-hander top edge a long-hop to Ben Foakes. Rassie van der Dussen’s demise for lbw in the England captain’s follow-up over, by contrast, was a touch rough, his review thwarted by umpire’s call for both impact and height. Old Trafford, needless to say, cared little.
South Africa’s lengthy tail had begun and post lunch, after Kyle Verreynne had survived a drop by Foakes off Leach, the crowd’s favourite son took centre stage. Before this series Anderson had jokingly revealed his envy at Broad’s ability to whip up a crowd but here he had them in a state of delirium when Harmer and Keshav Maharaj were vaporised in the space of two balls with a couple of plumb lbws.
Anderson’s hat-trick ball to Rabada whizzed down leg to audible sighs but soon Broad had the stands bouncing again, his wobble-seam delivery to Verreynne finding the right-hander’s edge on 21 to make it 108 for eight. England laboured a touch thereafter – their short-ball plan to the tail once again negotiated – until Robinson kickstarted the final rites with the first ball after tea when he went full to Nortje for another lbw.
England were fully aware of the new ball’s threat on this surface, not that Alex Lees could do much in the second over of the reply when Lungi Ngidi squared him up on the back foot for a feathered edge that sees the opener’s average this summer drop to 25.
Pope was simply beaten for pace, Anrich Nortje firing a 90mph howitzer past a crooked defence to detonate the stumps and end a sprightly 23. Root then repeated his second innings mistake at Lord’s when pushing at fourth stump line from Rabada, with Erwee holding on at slip after three juggled attempts.
Resistance formed, however. Bairstow managed to offer some counterpunches with Crawley largely stagnant at the other end. Broad was padded up in the pavilion ready to deliver his rebranded role of “Nighthawk” but to the delight of his teammates – if not those curious to see what it actually entails – he remained on his perch.
