England en-Root to take first-innings lead

Middle-order batsman scores unbeaten century to leave visitors 238-5

Joe Root was the star of the show on day two as his unbeaten 106 off just 131 balls left England just 75 runs behind hosts South Africa’s first innings total of 313 at the end of day two of the third Test in Johannesburg.

England had been in trouble at 91-4 when Morne Morkel dismissed James Taylor courtesy of a brilliant take by Temba Bavuma at short leg. The dismissal came after Hardus Viljoen claimed the prize wicket of England skipper Alistair Cook off his first ball in Test cricket and Kagiso Rabada had accounted for Nick Compton and Alex Hales.

Taylor’s wicket meant Root was joined in the middle by the left-handed Ben Stokes and the two put on a devastating counter-attacking show that snatched all momentum away from the hosts.



Stokes was at his brilliant best and raced to 58 off jut 54 balls, with the home crowd surely worrying about a repeat of the all-rounder’s record 258 in the last Test at Cape Town.

However, he top edged a pull off Morkel and the lanky pacer completed the simple catch, with tensions boiling over between batsman and bowler.

The pair had made 111 off just 94 balls at a run-rate of over seven by the time Stokes was dismissed.



Root continued in his serene way and completed his century before bad light interrupted play and forced a premature end to the day.

The 25-year-old’s unbeaten 106 was the first time since 1964 that an England number four had scored a century in South Africa.

Earlier in the day, the South African tail had stuck around enough to see them cross 300 as every batsman chipped in. It was the first time in Test history that no player was able to score a half-century when all eleven batsmen had reached double figures. It was also the lowest ever score in which every player reached double figures while also being the second highest ever Test score — behind England’s 315 in 1985-86 — in which no player scored a fifty.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2016.

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