England thrash South Africa in the 3rd Test at The Oval and take the series 2-1

[Mesozoic]

Should win in a canter now England.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

RRR just above 3. Sir Viv Crawley in his element. Cue another tour

 

[James]

94 to win.

Openers looking superb.

England versus Bad Light!

 

[Ab Fan]

Pretty embarrassing batting from South Africa but this side is highly inexperienced. They are missing the services of Rassie Van der dussen and Temba Bavuma and that inexperience was visible quite clearly.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Another 13 wickets if they fell on day 2 and england will either win by an inns or will be chasing runs

i did say this game would be over in 2 days

 

[James]

i did say this game would be over in 2 days

Looks like only the fading light can stop that now.

 

[Mesozoic]

Yeah this is definitely going to day 3 now. Just hope it doesn't get rained off.

 

[James]

83 to win for Eng

 

[Robert]

79.

England openers going great guns - is this their best opening stand?

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Strauss cooing over Crawley. Strong impartiality

 

[James]

79.

England openers going great guns - is this their best opening stand?

Second best! — after the superb 100 stand in England’s record run chase against India earlier this summer.

 

[James]

59/0

Eng need 71 more runs to win.

Crawley has looked excellent.

 

[James]

Nortje getting flayed.

 

[Mesozoic]

For all the flak this opening pair usually gets, they have performed well it when was really needed off them. That 100 run partnership against India was what set up the chase and now have provided a great start again today.

 

[James]

Eng half way there,
65 left to get.

All 10 wickets in the shed.

 

[Robert]

65-0, 65 more to win.

 

[Robert]

Bad light ends play.

Batted Creepy.

Hope these two are together at the end.

 

[James]

Stupid decision to call stumps.

England going to win this one.

 

[James]

Lovely innings from Zak! Pleased for him

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Great for locals tomorrow!

 

[Robert]

Stupid decision to call stumps.

England going to win this one.

Six wins and one loss in seven tests this summer.

A far cry from the next-to-whitewash in Australia and the humiliation in WI.

 

[James]

<b>England v South Africa: Broad, Stokes, Robinson & Anderson set up victory push</b>

England are closing in on a series-clinching victory over South Africa after a supreme bowling display on the fourth day of the third Test at the Kia Oval.

The home side bowled South Africa out for 169 to leave 130 required for a 2-1 triumph.

England's bowlers collectively used the prodigious movement on offer, Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes taking three wickets each, James Anderson and Ollie Robinson both claiming two.

In a frantic start to the chase that made a Sunday finish a possibility, England raced to 97-0 in 17 overs and were only halted by the fading light.

Zak Crawley reached his fifty from 36 balls, his first half-century in 17 Test innings, and ended 57 not out.

He will return alongside Alex Lees, who is unbeaten on 32, with 33 more required for victory.

That was the second time in the day England had batted, their first innings earlier wrapped up for 158.

After resuming on 154-7, England lost the final three wickets for four runs in 16 legal deliveries, part of an overall collapse of six wickets for 29 runs.

South Africa wiped out the deficit of 40 for the loss of only one wicket, and were arguably in charge at 83-1, until England's skilful bowlers got to work.

England were in real danger of wasting a strong position on a day when The Oval continued to show respect to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II - black armbands are still being worn, images of the Queen continue to be shown on the big screens and much of the signage around the ground remains black.

South Africa dominated the morning, as England meekly lost their last three wickets in only 13 minutes before the Proteas moved ahead by lunch.

However, as the ball swung in the afternoon, the hosts cut through a South Africa batting line-up that could not find a way to cling on.

The prospect of England winning on Sunday, after only two days of play, was raised when they were left with around 100 minutes to reach their target.

The intention was clear in a frenetic start as Crawley and Lees were swept along by the growing belief of a rapt crowd.

England took 27 from the first three overs, an approach entirely in keeping with their summer revolution under captain Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.

The light faded and the tension rose. Crawley kept England on track until the umpires intervened to boos from the spectators.

This was another relentless display by the England bowlers, who have allowed South Africa a total in excess of 179 only once in five innings this series.

South Africa lost their last nine wickets for 86, a collapse started by an error of judgement from captain Dean Elgar, who failed to review an lbw decision off Broad when the ball would have missed leg stump.

Broad was rewarded for attacking the stumps. Ryan Rickelton was also lbw and Keshav Maharaj bowled, Broad climbing to 566 Test wickets, fifth on the all-time list and second in terms of seamers, behind only Anderson.

Stokes hooped the ball throughout. He had earlier taken the first wicket - Sarel Erwee caught at first slip - before the captain returned for a marathon spell either side of tea when he bowled Marco Jansen and had Kagiso Rabada edge to third slip.

Twice Robinson got the ball to jag back from outside off stump, first to have Wiaan Mulder chop on, then for Khaya Zondo to be pinned leg before not knowing whether to play or leave.

Anderson's first scalp was Keegan Petersen steering to third slip and he persuaded Kyle Verreynne to sky a caught and bowled for a final wicket that signalled England's charge.

The idea of England completing the chase on the fourth evening should barely have been contemplated, but Stokes' side have regularly pushed the boundaries of what is possible.

In a hectic start, Lees was dropped first ball by fourth slip Jansen, survived a direct-hit run-out attempt, was the subject of a failed review and looped a catch just over the grasp of Maharaj.

At the other end, Crawley was playing some crisp strokes, looking more comfortable than at any other point this season.

He reached 50 with three fours in four Rabada deliveries, then was dropped at mid-wicket and edged between keeper and slip in the same Anrich Nortje over.

Just as victory was in sight, umpires Nitin Menon and Richard Kettleborough returned the same light reading recorded to end play on Saturday evening.

Still, England have taken the sting out of what could have been a tricky target and are set to reap the rewards on Monday, when entry to The Oval will be free of charge.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/62864995

 

[Mamoon]

Not many people are talking about the rubbish series that Joe Root had.

 

[Robert]

Here we go. Shouldn't take long.

 

[Robert]

Crawley hits the winning runs!

Six test wins out of seven this summer. Blanked the test world champs, beat India to halve that delayed series, and beat SA 2-1.

 

[Markhor]

Excellent summer for England comes to an end. Remarkable turnaround in their Test fortunes.

 

[Robert]

Excellent summer for England comes to an end. Remarkable turnaround in their Test fortunes.

From one win in 19, to six out of seven. {Baz + Stokes} >>>> {Silverwood + Root}.

 

[Mamoon]

Elgar had a big mouth but his team were woefully lackluster in Test two and three.

Major takeaways for England: Pope is ready to make number three his own, Zack Crawley always looks better when he is playing positively, Ollie Robinson is ready to take the mantle from Anderson and Broad in home Tests when the time comes.

 

[Robert]

Elgar had a big mouth but his team were woefully lackluster in Test two and three.

Major takeaways for England: Pope is ready to make number three his own, Zack Crawley always looks better when he is playing positively, Ollie Robinson is ready to take the mantle from Anderson and Broad in home Tests when the time comes.

Pope averages 40+ at #3, his best position. Keep him there.

Robbo did well in Australia too. I think he will take wickets everywhere, now he has quickened up and has that lift off the deck.

 

[Saj]

Has to be one of the weakest South African batting line-ups ever.

 

[Saj]

England completed their remarkable summer with a series-clinching nine-wicket victory over South Africa at the Kia Oval.

The home side needed only 25 minutes to hit the 33 runs they needed for victory on the fifth morning of the third and deciding Test.

Zak Crawley ended 69 not out, with Ollie Pope unbeaten on 11 after Alex Lees was lbw on review to Kagiso Rabada for 39.

Victory was earned in little more than two days of play after day one was washed out and day two cancelled as a mark of respect following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

It gives captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum a sixth win from seven Tests in their first summer in charge, a complete turnaround from England's previous run of one win in 17.

Only once before have England won more than five Tests in a home summer, when they took a clean sweep of seven victories in 2004.

South Africa miss out on the chance to return to the top of the table in the World Test Championship, where they are vying with Australia, India and Pakistan for a place in the final. The defeat ends the Proteas' run of four Test series unbeaten.

An almost entirely different England squad now turns its attention to preparations for the T20 World Cup in Australia in October, with a seven-match series in Pakistan beginning on 20 September.

England's winter Test assignments are in Pakistan in December and New Zealand in February.

 

[Double Trouble]

Agree Saj bhai this SA line up looks worse than country standard.

It’s a pity De Cock retired from red ball cricket but even then the batting looks on paper very inexperienced.

 

[Amjid Javed]

The standard of batting for 90% of this test series was utter garbage. Whilst the series looked competitive, this was just two mediocre teams playing at such a poor quality levels. Wouldnt even call it test cricket. i said before the series SA batting was worst ever since re-admission.

 

[James]

A good mixture of scenarios and opponents to test England this summer.

Different sorts of right arm and left arm seam bowlers, lots of seam and conventional swing, some bowlers with serious pace; high scoring and low scoring games; various pitches and overhead conditions; situations where they had to show resilience and come back as a team; some huge run chases, all of which were successful. (and getting over the line facing a low total, which can also be strangely tricky in itself.)

The only examination that England failed was batting first and setting a competitive total of their own — albeit on a bowler friendly and humid day where they lost the toss. But they still need to prove that they can do this effectively in the future.

Overall, 6/7 Tests won by large margins (and a single heavy defeat) is a fantastic start for McCullum and Stokes, and a complete turnaround in fortunes from the previous regime. Looking forward to seeing what happens next with this team.

 

[Robert]

The standard of batting for 90% of this test series was utter garbage. Whilst the series looked competitive, this was just two mediocre teams playing at such a poor quality levels. Wouldnt even call it test cricket. i said before the series SA batting was worst ever since re-admission.

Two very good seam/swing attacks, bowling in helpful conditions.

One mediocre and one very weak batting line. Then England middle order of Pope-Root-Bairstow-Stokes is very good. But the openers are weak. SA is weak from top to bottom.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Shocking that nobody is talking about the pitch in this test. The match got over in 151 overs. Essentially, a 2 day test match at the Oval.

So, where are the conversations about giving it a rating of "poor" or "average" ?

Or do Holier than thou White knights such as Alastair Cook only think it worthy of their time to trash pitches like the one England got in the 3rd test in Ahmedabad.

Not a single English pundit or journalist has called out this pitch. The match referee has given it a pass .

And the righteous old English fans decried the extinction of old fashioned batting techniques.

Interesting. Looks like it's different strokes for different folks . And then people think BCCI are powerful

Australia , England and NZ have the kind of power that no amount of money can ever buy .

Before posters with an axe to grind with Indian cricket/BCCI/Indian fans come up with conspiracies about the evil BCCI, they would do well to remember this

 

[Robert]

Shocking that nobody is talking about the pitch in this test. The match got over in 151 overs. Essentially, a 2 day test match at the Oval.

So, where are the conversations about giving it a rating of "poor" or "average" ?

Or do Holier than thou White knights such as Alastair Cook only think it worthy of their time to trash pitches like the one England got in the 3rd test in Ahmedabad.

Not a single English pundit or journalist has called out this pitch. The match referee has given it a pass .

And the righteous old English fans decried the extinction of old fashioned batting techniques.

Interesting. Looks like it's different strokes for different folks . And then people think BCCI are powerful

Australia , England and NZ have the kind of power that no amount of money can ever buy .

Before posters with an axe to grind with Indian cricket/BCCI/Indian fans come up with conspiracies about the evil BCCI, they would do well to remember this

Just looks like a bog-standard English seamer to me. We have had heavy rain in the week leading up to the match.

Not our fault the Saffers can't bat.

Gavaskar, Vengsarkar, Azhar etc. would have scored hundreds on it.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Just looks like a bog-standard English seamer to me. We have had heavy rain in the week leading up to the match.

Not our fault the Saffers can't bat.

Gavaskar, Vengsarkar, Azhar etc. would have scored hundreds on it.

England could not bat in the first innings either. The point is I could just as easily argue that on that particular Ahmedabad pitch, batsmen of the past could score heavily too.

But the English media and pundits were hell bent on calling it a poor pitch and wanted ICC to pubish such pitches . Rob Key on Sky Sports was absolutely scathing.

Back then, everyone was in agreement that a 2 day test happens only on a bad wicket. Not a peep from anyone regarding this particular match.

These are double standards .

 

[Robert]

England could not bat in the first innings either. The point is I could just as easily argue that on that particular Ahmedabad pitch, batsmen of the past could score heavily too.

But the English media and pundits were hell bent on calling it a poor pitch and wanted ICC to pubish such pitches . Rob Key on Sky Sports was absolutely scathing.

Back then, everyone was in agreement that a 2 day test happens only on a bad wicket. Not a peep from anyone regarding this particular match.

These are double standards .

England - who were under heavy cloud the whole time - only have two proven test batsmen in Root and Stokes, though Pope is improving.


The Three Gs of the eighties would have done better than current England at Ahmedabad though. Crawley didn't seem to know what an arm ball is and got bowled almost immediately every innings.

You'd expect Indians to be able to bat in India, but when part-timer Root takes 5-7 something is odd.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

England - who were under heavy cloud the whole time - only have two proven test batsmen in Root and Stokes, though Pope is improving.


The Three Gs of the eighties would have done better than current England at Ahmedabad though. Crawley didn't seem to know what an arm ball is and got bowled almost immediately every innings.

You'd expect Indians to be able to bat in India, but when part-timer Root takes 5-7 something is odd.

And you'd expect England and SA to know how to bat on a seaming deck. BTW, it was not a bog average seaming deck. You really need to stop relying on your memory. This Oval pitch had the most seam movement for an Oval pitch in atleast 17 years.

Also, the point still stands. The fact that English pitches get away with his nonsense while Indian pitches get demerit points is proof of the ICC bias.

 

[James]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Into the history books <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WTC23?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WTC23</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ENGvSA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ENGvSA</a> <a href="https://t.co/6mBQgkteIo">pic.twitter.com/6mBQgkteIo</a></p>— ICC (@ICC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ICC/status/1569377662879125512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 12, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Robert]

And you'd expect England and SA to know how to bat on a seaming deck. BTW, it was not a bog average seaming deck. You really need to stop relying on your memory. This Oval pitch had the most seam movement for an Oval pitch in atleast 17 years.

Also, the point still stands. The fact that English pitches get away with his nonsense while Indian pitches get demerit points is proof of the ICC bias.

England haven’t had a decent top order since Cook finished. They really are the all-time worst, Root apart. SA test batting has been terrible since ABDV retired.

The Oval test is always last in the season. Usually at this time of year the wicket has dried in the late summer sun, but for the last two weeks rain has chucked down. So we see more seam movement than usual. Add to that the total overcast.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Two very good seam/swing attacks, bowling in helpful conditions.

One mediocre and one very weak batting line. Then England middle order of Pope-Root-Bairstow-Stokes is very good. But the openers are weak. SA is weak from top to bottom.

Englands middle order is decent at Best, Root is World class, Bairstow when in form looks good. Interesting to see how they fair on their winter tours, batting should enjoy the flat decks but bowlers will find it very hard work.

 

[Robert]

Englands middle order is decent at Best, Root is World class, Bairstow when in form looks good. Interesting to see how they fair on their winter tours, batting should enjoy the flat decks but bowlers will find it very hard work.

Robbo will do well anywhere.

Anderson will at least keep it tight, but he is innocuous in the second innings these days. He’s been getting away with on result pitches because they finish in three days and h hasn’t bowled much.

I wouldn’t take Broad. Bring on Wood and Stone again.

 

[MenInG]

ELGAR, BOUCHER CITE EXPERIENCE IN PROTEAS DEFEAT

Tuesday, 13 September 2022

LONDON: Proteas captain Dean Elgar and Head Coach Mark Boucher both conceded that experience played a major role in South Africa’s 2-1 Test series downfall to England which concluded in London on Monday.

The hosts sealed an emphatic nine-wicket victory in the third Test to complete an excellent come-from-behind triumph at the Kia Oval.

South Africa had themselves comfortably won the first Test by an innings and 12 runs last month, with the home side hitting back with a handsome win in the second Test which they won by an innings and 85 runs in Manchester.

They were on top for most of the decisive Test too – clash that was effectively a three-day match after day one was washed out and day two suspended following the death of Queen Elizabeth II – dismissing the Proteas for poor scores of 118 and 169.

“I think lack of experience and lack of exposure to Test cricket (played a part),” Elgar said afterwards. “The lack of exposure to UK conditions with the ball swinging and nipping. We were also exposed to the type of batting conditions in this Test especially where the ball was nipping quite a lot.

“It was up there with some of the toughest conditions I've faced and I have a relatively decent amount of experience. So I can only imagine how a guy who only has one or two Test under his belt must feel. It was tough all around.”

The South Africans faced just 92.4 overs in the third Test after, with skipper Elgar’s 36 their highest score of the match. In the series overall, Marco Jansen, one of the few shining lights for the tourists, averaged the highest with the bat – 27.33 – outshining all the specialists in the team.

Coach Boucher admitted it was not a good series for the batsmen.

“We always knew we would be under pressure if the conditions went around a bit,” he explained. “I think in South Africa the conditions are not the same. The ball doesn’t swing, the contact points are a little bit different. I know there's talk of experience and that, but these batters that are here have consistently been the best batters in our country.

“If you have a look at the last top seven batters that came to England and won the last series, I think between them there were 470 odd Test matches, that's between the top seven. In this series, 10 of the batters used to bat in the top seven, they're on 170.

“So there is a big difference and the only way you get experience is by going out there and playing. We've back guys to play in quite a few Test matches, in conditions where the ball went around a bit, but they haven't come off and that's unfortunate.”

Elgar, meanwhile, felt England doing what they needed to do when they did it was the major difference between the two countries.

“I don't think they played extraordinary cricket,” the captain added. “I thought they played the correct tempo and when their tail was up, they were striking, but that's just general good awareness of Test cricket.

"It was nothing out of the ordinary, they played a good tempo of cricket, something you can control when you're ahead of the game. I don't think they played ultra-aggressive cricket, they controlled it well and played good cricket. It was always going to be a big and tough series away from home."

The result of the England series leaves the Proteas in second place on the ICC World Test Championship table. The team will now break before reassembling later in the year ahead of their three-Test tour to Australia.