England refound their mojo with bat in hand just at the right time in the third and final Test at The Oval against South Africa to clinch a nine-wicket victory in the decider on September 12. Chasing a paltry 130 in the final innings of a low-scoring rain-marred fixture, the Three Lions ramped home in 22.3 overs, thanks to an opening stand of 108 between Alex Lees and Zak Crawley.
Lees made a relatively watchful 39 off 73 balls, while his partner smashed his way to an unbeaten 69 off 57 deliveries. Their contrasting approach at the crease made life tougher for the South Africans to build inroads, especially as the seamer-friendly track in London began to play so much better for batting.
Crawley repaid the trust shown in him by the selectors, giving skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum a positive to take forward to the winter trips to Pakistan and New Zealand. The right-hander blazed his willow to all parts against Kagiso Rabada & co. and allowed the hosts to close out the proceedings nice and safe.
Crawley had struggled for any flow in the first-innings when he could muster only five runs off his 34-ball painstaking stay in the middle. Crawley’s stint, however, wasn’t symbolic of the route England took in that innings. With the first two days lost to rain, they tried to continue their ultra-aggressive means with the bat but had an egg on the face, being dismissed for 169.
It was an opportunity missed to take the game away from the Proteas after skittling them out for 118 on Day 1 of the Test match. A number of England batters, including stalwarts Stokes and Joe Root, got out playing the high-risk stroke. That England still had a 40-run lead to show for their effort was purely down to Ollie Pope’s measured knock of 67 off 77 balls.
England managed to resurrect themselves in the match thanks to their fast-bowling group, which relished the conditions. In the first innings, they found a pair of chief destroyers with the ball. Ollie Robinson marked his impressive return to the side with a five-wicket haul (5/49) to his name. He was backed up superbly by veteran seamer Stuart Broad with figures of 4 for 41.
Not that England would mind stand-out performances, but the second half of the Test match had more of a collective effort from their side. Robinson backed his five-fer with a spell of 2 for 40, with the great James Anderson also bagging 2 for 37. Broad and skipper Stokes took three wickets apiece for the innings, denying South Africa an opportunity to make a comeback in the contest.
Missing out on that opportunity after their bowlers dismissed England for 158 is where the Proteas lost the series. Managing only 118 in the first half, they were bundled out for 169 in the second.
Like the first-innings where only Khaya Zondo (23) and Marco Jansen (30) went above the 20-run mark, skipper Dean Elgar (36), Sarel Erwee (26) and Keegan Petersen (23) were the only ones to inch over the figure in the second innings in what was one of the most disappointing batting performances by a touring party in England.
Poor outing with the bat meant that Jansen’s encouraging five-fer (5/35) and Rabada’s 4 for 81 on Day 2 went in vain in the contest of the Test and the series. England will be delighted to end the series 2-1 after conceding a defeat in the opening fixture at Lord’s.
Brief scores
South Africa 118/10 (Jansen 30; Robinson 5/49, Broad 4/49) & 169/10 (Elgar 36; Stokes 3/37, Broad 3/45) lost to England 158/10 (Pope 67; Jansen 5/35, Rabada 4/81) & 130/1 (Crawley 69*, Lees 39; Rabada 1/57) by nine wickets
