James Anderson produced his best figures at Old Trafford as England reduced South Africa to 220 for 9 at the close, still well behind their first-innings 362
The Report by Andrew Miller05-Aug-20172:21
Moonda: Anderson doing what SA would want from Steyn
Honours conferred on active sportsmen don’t always work out as their instigators might have intended – Sir Andy Murray, for one, hasn’t had much to cheer about since being asked to arise in the New Year’s Honours. But for James Anderson, Lancashire’s most prolific Test wicket-taker, the chance to ply his trade from the newly conferred James Anderson End at Old Trafford merely raised his game to heights he has rarely matched in six previous matches on his home ground.By the close of the second day, Anderson’s figures of 4 for 33, his best in Tests at Old Trafford, allied to a brilliant display of ball-striking and strike-farming from Jonny Bairstow in the morning session, had pushed South Africa to the brink of surrender in the series. They limped to the close on 220 for 9, still trailing by 142, with Kagiso Rabada’s last-ball dismissal summing up their futile situation.Anderson’s day was split into three acts, all of them originating from in front of his new fiefdom by the ground’s grand old pavilion. First he strode out with the bat to a hero’s welcome from the crowd, and responded with a vital and undefeated cameo at the end of England’s first innings – 4 not out from 15 balls providing an obdurate foil to the brilliant Bairstow, who reeled off the bulk of a 50-run stand in 9.1 overs for the last wicket before being adjudged lbw for 99 by the tightest of margins. On Bairstow’s watch, England had added 102 runs to their overnight 260 for 4 to turn a dicey position into a dominant one.Bairstow’s 99, Moeen’s best series
15 Players from England to be dismissed for 99 in a Test. Jonny Bairstow is the latest addition to this rather unlucky set. Bairstow also become the first player since Ricky Ponting in 2008 to be dismissed for 99 against South Africa.
12 Average runs addedThree different pairs have been tried by South Africa during this period but the highest stand has been 21.
3 Number of instances Toby Roland-Jones has dismissed Hashim Amla in this series. In 21 balls he has conceded 7 runs and has got him out three times.
20 Wickets for Moeen Ali in the series so far – the most he has taken in a series. His previous best was 19 wickets against India in 2014.
Then, armed with the new ball and doubtless eager to christen his end of the ground with a wicket worthy of the name, Anderson wasted no time in making his mark. Dean Elgar, South Africa’s anchorman, lasted just three balls before being pinned on the shin by a trademark Anderson inswinger to the left-hander. South Africa reached lunch on 12 for 1 after four testing overs.His most telling intercession, however, came midway through the evening session, when he returned in the 39th over to lively up what had been a meandering South Africa innings. His team-mates had, by that stage, fronted up to keep England in command: Toby Roland-Jones continued his improbable stranglehold over the mighty Hashim Amla by dismissing him for the third time in as many innings – appropriately enough, with a strangle down the leg side – while Moeen Ali, enjoying a superb run of form with the ball, applied a mercy killing to a tenacious but teetering stay from Heino Kuhn, inducing a low edge to slip in the second over of his spell.At 131 for 3, Temba Bavuma had been settling into a dogged but essential stay, in partnership with his captain, Faf du Plessis. But in the whirr of a bowling arm, Anderson accounted for both in the space of three balls – first, a snarling inswinger on a full length, that Bavuma attempted to leave but instead saw kiss the top of off stump, before du Plessis was late coming forward to another perfect-length delivery, and inside-edged on to his own stumps for 27.James Anderson produced a three-wicket burst from the James Anderson End•Getty Images
With the wind behind him, Anderson could have made it three in nine balls as Theunis de Bruyn flinched a searing lifter into the gully off the splice, where Keaton Jennings made brilliant ground to his left but couldn’t cling on with one hand. And then, to compound England’s momentary frustration, Quinton de Kock was reprieved from the very next ball, dropped by Ben Stokes at slip as he squeezed a cramped cut off Moeen.But England’s progress wasn’t dented for long. With fizzing full-length discipline, allied to a threat of movement and a short ball up his sleeve, Anderson ensured that South Africa’s only instinct remained survival. He conceded a solitary run from his next three overs, and that off a yorker to de Kock that all but wriggled through his defences.De Bruyn, who had got off the mark with an unexpectedly emphatic reverse sweep off Moeen, eventually dented Anderson’s figures a touch with a firm clip for four through midwicket. But, as if affronted, Jimmy made him pay with his very next ball – full, straight and bursting off the edge to Joe Root at second slip, as he completed a brilliant, innings-wrecking spell of 7-3-13-3.England’s erratic dominance continued straight after the evening drinks break, when Keshav Maharaj, on 1, edged Moeen off the tip of Bairstow’s gloves and away through his legs to safety. Maharaj briefly cast off his shackles – and surprised a crowd who seemed to be having a post-prandial snooze – by crashing Moeen over long-on for a vast six to save the follow-on, but three balls later, he was pinned plumb in front of the stumps and had given himself out before umpire Kumar Dharmasena had a chance to raise his finger.At 167 for 7, the ever-dangerous de Kock was South Africa’s last real hope of parity, but he seemed as muted, as he had earlier been in the field. He needed 39 deliveries to reach double figures, scored the second of his two boundaries via a thick edge through third slip, and had already survived a tough stumping opportunity on 16 when Stuart Broad found his outside edge for Bairstow to atone with a well-judged leap to his left.The final overs were a mishmash of intent and reticence from England, who were keen to wrap up the innings, but not so keen that they would be required to face any overs before the close. Dawid Malan even entered the fray for an exploratory over of all-sorts, before Broad set the seal on a day of largely unchecked dominance, Stokes swooping brilliantly in the gully to break a determined ninth-wicket stand of 31.The only minor note of discord in England’s day – at least where a hugely contented crowd was concerned – came when Bairstow missed out on what would have been a richly deserved and wildly acclaimed century.Having resumed on 33 not out overnight, Bairstow lost Roland-Jones and Moeen to an aggressive spell from Rabada in the first half-hour of the day, but took it upon himself to counterattack with the confidence of a man who is in the midst of an 18-month golden period. He was especially harsh on Morne Morkel, cracking him for four fours in 12 balls, and Duanne Olivier, whose first over included a towering six down the ground as he charged into the 90s, but despite Anderson’s most worthy efforts, three figures would prove elusive.With just a single needed for his fourth Test century, Bairstow elected for the sweep against Maharaj. He planted his foot outside off stump, but not far enough to satisfy Dharmasena, whose on-field verdict was upheld on review with the edge of the ball just satisfying the parameters of DRS. A groan of anguish went up from the ground, but Bairstow had done his bit. Not least, in setting the stage for the man that the crowd had really come to watch.