Joe Root was unawed, unbent and unbroken as he played with balance to drag England back against South Africa
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith will be writing exclusively for The Independent this summer. Here he reflects on day one of the first Test
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Your support makes all the difference.On a day that started to promisingly for the South African team, it’ll be Joe Root who quite rightly receives the adulation for his exploits on day one.
Root’s innings, which gave England’s day the stability and purpose it lacked during the early periods of the game, was a true reflection of his attitude to taking on new challenges in the game.
Dean Elgar would have been thrilled with the start he was gifted by his seam battery, and I must admit I was expecting a different end result to day one when England were reduced to 49-3 after Gary Ballance departed at the hands of Morne Morkel.
Whilst England’s top three looked horribly crab-like, lacking the sharpness of movement required to cope with South Africa’s attack, Root looked assured and moved in to the ball beautifully from the get go.
He was seemingly unawed by starting his first innings as England Captain in such circumstances. My admiration of the way Root went about his innings is of no coincidence, as I can completely appreciate the pressure he will have felt internally as a young captain of his country.
The word ‘intent’ is often misunderstood by those either praising or criticising displays of it shown by modern batting teams. It’s more than simply being attacking and trying to dominate, and today Root mastered the balance between showing the right amount of intent and ensuring you give yourself the best chance of batting for long periods.
What stood out is how Root moved when he arrived at the crease. His footwork was crisp and it had certainty, whereas his colleagues showed an air of nervousness and unease. Yes, he gave some early chances, but as ever his approach to starting his innings was hugely impressive.
From a South African perspective, it was a real Jekyll and Hyde display. I spoke with Dean Elgar to congratulate him earlier this week, and he was understandably hungry to do a good job for his team in the absence of regular captain Faf Du Plessis. The focus was on ensuring players were focused on executing their skills, and not letting the occasion get to them.
Twenty overs in, he’ll have been in dreamland. The side looked comfortable and on top, with England the side showing the nerves you might expect to see from a touring side at Lords. Philander and Morkel were superb with the new ball, and I still believe they’ve dealt a significant blow to some key players in England’s top order today.
Philander came in to the game with question marks over his fitness, and although he looked floaty at times, he extracted the movement from the Lords pitch which makes him such a threat to top batsmen with the new ball in his hand. His three-card trick to pin Jonny Bairstow LBW before lunch was a masterful display of skill.
England, however, showed that their decision to bat first was the right one as Root and Stokes sparked the fightback that has seen England build towards a formidable first innings total. The pitch flattened out, and Root and Stokes picked holes in an increasingly tired looking South African attack in the early afternoon.
The energy on show in the first session from South Africa seemed to drain out of their play, and there was a lack of inventiveness with the bowling changes which seemed to hand the initiative back to England at an important stage in the day.
It may have been a recent lack of long form cricket that saw South Africa fade as the day went on, and key moments such as the no-balls are complete killers of a team’s collective energy.
South Africa took their foot off England’s neck, but England kept theirs firmly in place once they had the upper hand. The fashion in which Moeen Ali and Root finished the day off will really hurt the South Africans, meaning tomorrow is shaping up to be a tough one already for the tourists.
Congratulations have to go to Joe Root, but my focus will be on South Africa and whether they can be more imaginative tomorrow and make England sweat harder for their runs.
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