London, Aug. 18 (BNA): South Africa solidified its grip on first Test cricket by sending England out for 165 before moving to 289-7 after a late bout at Lourdes on Thursday.
Proteas finished the second day by 124 and in good standing to hand England their first Test loss under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCollum’s new regime, according to the Associated Press.
Opener Sarel Erwee was South Africa’s top scorer with 73, but it was a 72-hour partnership between Keshav Maharaj (41) and Marco Janssen (41 not out) that really hurt England, which worked well to reduce visitors to 210-6 after they were 138-1.
Jansen will start day three in the middle with Kagiso Rabada (3), the fast bowler who took 5-52 to help knock England out for 165 before lunch on Thursday.
England resumed at 116-6 after a rain-affected opening day of the series, England added 49 innings to beat the previous lowest total achieved under Stokes and McCullum – 141 against New Zealand in June, also at Lords.
Ole Pop came back at 61 and should have been kicked off the sixth ball in the morning, when he outgrew the slip for the first time.
Erwee spoiled the chance on chest-high, spilling the first, and nearly clings to the second attempt and fails to rally on the third in a playful fashion as he falls back.
With that, Bob was out 73, playing at the start of Rabada’s third game. Stewart Broad (15) hit twice by four minutes off Anrich Norte, but Rabada proved too good for his fast bowler opponent, showing his contrast with a slower ball to deceive Broad, who had a simple shot to Dean Elgar at this point.
Jack Leach followed team orders in trying to be aggressive but soon lost his torso from Jansen for 15 years.
James Anderson (0) only lasted one ball and was the last player out, pinned by Rabada, who confirmed his name would go up on the Lords’ honor board for five wickets.
In Proteas’ response, Erwee hit a half century of 89 balls when he directed the ball through the cap for four Broads, but lost his opening partner Dean Elgar by that point in unfortunate circumstances.
Elgar was forty-seven when, despite Anderson’s delivery stifled, the ball bounced off his elbow guard, rolled back onto logs and cleared bails to end the 85-round partnership on the first wicket.
Matt Potts recovered from an expensive initial spell to finish off Keegan Petersen’s 24th hit, but England were still up against South Africa 158-2 in the tea.
Leach made a breakthrough by tricking Aiden Markram (16) with a flying reel that kissed the outer edge and Ben Foakes did the rest behind the stumps.
Next, England captain Ben Stokes crossed the pain barrier in a stunning 2-14 spell out of five, removing Erwee and Rassie van der Dussen (19). Stokes also claimed Maharaj’s share of late.
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