The in-form South African Test side wrapped up another convincing victory, as they got the better of England, beating the hosts by an innings and 12 runs. The Proteas extended their excellent record at the Mecca of cricket, Lord’s, having lost only one game at the storied location since their return to international cricket in 1991 after a hiatus of more than two decades.
South Africa’s victory can largely be ascribed to their bowlers, who, in addition to their brilliant bowling performances in both innings, also stood up with the bat when it mattered the most, with Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, and Anrich Nortje, all scoring valuable runs, allowing the Proteas to close out the game well within the third day, following a thoroughly dominant display with ball in hand as well.
South Africa started off the day on 289/7, with Jansen and Kagiso Rabada at the crease. England struck early, courtesy of a sensational effort in the field from the veteran Stuart Broad, who made a fabulous dive backwards to grab a stunner at mid-wicket. It was easily one of the best catches in recent memory, allowing Matty Potts to get his second wicket of the innings.
The South African batting, however, had a little more left in the tank, with Anrich Nortje coming in and playing some effective shots. The South African lead was over 150 as Jansen was closing in on an excellent half-century.
Rather contrary to the rest of his innings, Jansen offered a timid drive off Broad, his innings coming to an end two runs short of a well-deserved half-century. Broad also got rid of Lungi Ngidi to ensure that the Proteas lead does not get further out of reach, as South Africa finished on 326 in their first innings.
A 161-run lead was always going to be difficult to handle, especially with the threat of South Africa’s frightening pace-bowling contingent looming large. The pace quartet of Rabada, Ngidi, Nortje, and Jansen is sure to strike fear in any batting line-up, considering that it is their consistent performance that has been the major reason behind South Africa’s recent success.
England’s pursuit started off in a rather circumspect fashion, an understandable approach considering that there were more than two days left to be played in the Test match. However, this deviation from their usual approach under Brendon McCullum did not work too well for them, as Zak Crawley’s horrendous form continued, as he was trapped in front of the stumps, playing all around a Maharaj delivery, giving the Proteas their first breakthrough.
What followed was more of the same, as Maharaj also got rid of Ollie Pope in similar fashion, putting tremendous pressure on the England batsmen. Ngidi’s threatening line and length also drew Joe Root in, who was caught fishing outside the off-stump, giving a simple catch to Aiden Markram.
There wasn’t much more in the England innings after Root’s dismissal, with the in-form Jonny Bairstow also falling shortly after the former skipper off Nortje. It was Nortje who accelerated England’s downfall, subsequently picking up Alex Lees and Ben Foakes, putting England in serious trouble.
Broad, however, was at ease in the middle, playing aggressive shots, as he and skipper Stokes put on 55 for the seventh wicket before Broad’s dismissal. From this point, it was going to take a Botham-esque effort from Stokes to rescue England, not something entirely new to him. However, it was not to be as Jansen took care of the last two wickets, giving South Africa an excellent victory by an innings and 12 runs.
Brief scores
South Africa 326 (Erwee 73, Jansen 48, Elgar 47, Maharaj 41, Broad 3-71, Stokes 3-71) beat England 165 (Pope 73, Rabada 5-52, Nortje 3-63) and 149 (Nortje 3-47) by an innings and 12 runs
