Johannesburg — England were firmly on top at stumps on day one of the second Test against South Africa at Old Trafford in Manchester on Thursday.
IOL Sport’s Stuart Hess gives us the five plays of the day from Thursday’s action at Old Trafford.
BALL - Lungi Ngidi bowled very well at Lord’s, but the wickets in that match went elsewhere. On Thursday, he produced a jaffer to the left-handed Alex Lees that angled into the batter and then left him off the pitch, with a bit of extra bounce added for good effect. Lees did well to nick it.
JUGGLE - Having done the four clutch drop at Lord’s, Sarel Erwee, pulled the same trick on Thursday, just this time he protected the ball before it hit the ground. It was an important wicket too - that of Joe Root - but Erwee really needs to work on his technique, to prevent the heart-stopping clutches.
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CATCH - Jonny Bairstow completed a good low grab at second slip to get rid of Dean Elgar. Actually it wasn’t a clean catch with Bairstow having to complete it with one hand but it was a good display of his reflexes.
2 000 - Aiden Markram passed that mark on when he reached 12 but it was out a short while later, playing an awful shot. Statistician Andrew Samson, provided a stat to show just how Markram’s career has slowed down after a stellar start. “Most innings to reach 2 000 Test runs after getting to 1 000 in 18 or fewer innings: 59 Aiden Markram (SA).” He is followed by two former West Indies captains; Jimmy Adams on 49 and Lawrence Rowe with 48.
100 - Jimmy Anderson became the first cricketer to play 100 Tests on home soil. As one chap pointed out on twitter, three of those 100, were in Wales.
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