South Africa v England: Tourists collapse as 15 wickets fall on second day

An England batting collapse gave South Africa the upper hand in the first Test as 15 wickets fell on an entertaining second day in Centurion.

Having bowled South Africa out for 284, England lost their final seven wickets for just 39 runs as they fell from 142-3 to 181 all out, trailing by 131.

South Africa were quickly reduced to 29-3 in response, with Jofra Archer taking 2-37 in a fiery spell.

The hosts lost Faf du Plessis late on but ended on 72-4, a lead of 175.

England’s bowlers showed admirable fight after a poor display with the bat, but batting last on this pitch will be a difficult task.

With uneven bounce and deliveries keeping low, England may have squandered their best chance of victory with their collapse.

Same old story for England

Batting collapses have been a feature of England’s Test cricket in the past two years but having limited South Africa to 284, the visitors would have been hopeful of building a big first-innings lead.

There was some uneven bounce on the pitch but England fell to some poor shots, poor technique and the unerring accuracy of Philander.

Having lost openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley cheaply, both men edging deliveries that found extra bounce behind, Joe Denly led the way for England with a painstaking half-century.

At 142-3, with Denly and Ben Stokes sharing a 72-run partnership, England were well set. But Denly’s dismissal, caught behind off debutant Dwaine Pretorius, seemed to break the tourists’ concentration.

Jonny Bairstow, recalled because of illness in the squad, was bowled after being undone by Anrich Nortje’s pace, while Stokes was furious as he drove at the same bowler and was caught behind off an inside edge.

Jos Buttler and Sam Curran shepherded England to tea but a cheap ending always felt inevitable. Curran flicked Rabada to short leg, where he fell to a low catch by Zubayr Hamza, Buttler was caught behind off a rising Rabada delivery and then Stuart Broad was bounced out.

When Archer fell, bowled by the superb Philander, England had lost their final seven wickets in 94 balls and had given their bowlers just 53.2 overs of respite after a sweltering opening day.

Too little too late?

Both Archer and Broad struggled with illness in the build-up to this Test, while James Anderson is still finding his rhythm after four months out with a calf injury.

Their rustiness showed in the first innings but they bowled with better length and discipline, with Anderson striking in the first over to trap Aiden Markram lbw.

Broad and Archer were more fortuitous, with Broad having Hamza caught down the leg side, before captain Du Plessis rashly hooked an Archer short ball to backward square.

Archer bowled with hostility, using the extra bounce of the pitch to trouble the batsmen, although he was spoken to by the umpires after bowling a head-high no-ball at nightwatchman Nortje.

It was a good response from England, but Root’s side have had to rely on their bowlers to cover up for their batsmen’s deficiencies all too often.

The decision to bowl first, with the intention of building a large first-innings total, has yet to be justified.

‘England are in a right mess’- what they said

BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew: “I can’t offer too many excuses or reasons for this – England are in a right mess.

“Those bowlers yesterday were absolutely exhausted It was a sweltering day up here at 5,000 feet, and the one thing they did not want to have to do today was go out and bowl again.”

England batsman Joe Denly on Sky Sports: “It’s frustrating. It felt pretty comfortable out there and myself and Ben were starting to get a partnership going.

“It was disappointing. It’s about assessing those conditions better and understanding the game situation better, and wearing them down. We weren’t able to do that today.”

Former England batsman Jonathan Trott on The Cricket Social: “You have to give credit to South Africa, they bowled very accurately. They created the false shots that England played.”