Shot (s) of the day
Ollie Pope is little genius who fears no bowler. Not even Kagiso Rabada. The young English batsman enjoyed himself in the middle yesterday, particularly when he lapped Rabada for a couple of boundaries as England pressed down the accelerator.
Over of the day
Mark Wood has been champing at the bit to get involved in this series. He has had to wait his turn due to injury before James Anderson returning home opened the door here at St George’s Park. Almost like animal that was released back into the wild, Wood came out charging and zoned in on particularly Zubayr Hamza with a flurry of well-directed short deliveries. It certainly roughed up young Hamza as he gifted his wicket away next over to spinner Dom Bess.
Wicket of the day
Dane Paterson thought he had his first Test wicket on Thursday already when he trapped Ollie Pope in front, but technology ruled it out. He had to wait a long time before finally being able to celebrate again, but it was worth it as he could now count Ben Stokes as his first wicket when the all-rounder slashed to point.
Confusion of the day
Kagiso Rabada really had a day to forget, and it got worse when he overstepped the front crease later in the day. Tailender Mark Wood and the rest of the England team thought it was a fair dismissal, causing England captain to call Ollie Pope along with him to set in the declaration. However, after TV replays ruled that it was no-ball and that Wood was allowed to bat on, Root cancelled his earlier decision and wanted his batsmen to carry on. Confusion reigned as everyone took out the law books to see if Root was actually allowed to withdraw his previous decision.
@ZaahierAdams
IOL Sport
Like us on Facebook
Follow
us on Twitter