South Africa have made England work hard but the hosts are firmly in control

Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith will be writing exclusively for The Independent this summer. Here he reflects on day two of the first Test...

Dean Elgar's men have much work to do to claw back England's lead (Getty)

A promising start for the Proteas was followed by some characteristically destructive and care free batting from Stuart Broad, to take England up to a challenging 458 all out – putting them firmly in the driving seat in this game.

The discipline and intensity that you’d usually associate with this South African attack was evident early on in the day, with Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel making use of a relatively new ball to remove Thursday's hero Joe Root as well as Moeen Ali with the score not far past 400.

Broad’s innings did a lot to wrestle momentum England’s way, but I was impressed with the way stand in skipper Dean Elgar was able to clear his mind and play what was a very composed and important innings himself to get South Africa off to a reasonable start. Throughout the week leading up to the game, I was concerned that Dean would focus his energy on the million and one other things that occupy your mind as captain.

Recalling what it was like to tour England for the first time and experience the build up at a ground like Lords, it’s important that you allow the playing group to get the superficial elements out of the way. Letting the players take their photos, soak up the atmosphere – all in the name of ensuring that when the bell chimes they are ready to perform.

Other than Thursday afternoon, where the South Africans faded in the face of the imperious pairing of Root and Ali, they have shown the necessary application and desire to make England work hard. What England did well when it was their turn to bowl was build pressure.

No South African batsmen was able to get away from them as Joe Root did on day one. Hashim Amla hit two crisp fours from Ben Stokes’ first two balls in the game, but Stokes then personified England’s day by dragging it back and only going for another 5 runs in his next 5 overs.

The pitch is a good, balanced, cricket wicket. There is enough there for the bowlers who hit the deck hard, but we’ve also seen batsmen get the measure of the surface once they’ve spent enough time assessing the conditions. Those that have given themselves a chance have profited, but in the case of the South African innings, the passages of play where runs come freely failed to materialise.

Two key anchors in Amla and Elgar got in before perishing at the hands of Moeen Ali, who showed great control and ability to provide a much-needed respite for the England seamers after Liam Dawson proved largely ineffective.

Dawson, who I confess I’d not seen before, was targeted by Dean Elgar and failed to tie the batsmen down on a pitch that looks as though it may well continue to dry out and offer more to the spinners on day three.

It was a relatively predictable tactic from South Africa’s skipper, and although he nearly perished attempting a second expansive lofted shot in the same Dawson over, he was taken out of the attack having gone at over five runs per over.

England brilliantly built pressure with the ball (Getty)

Being too costly is a criticism that’s been levelled at Moeen Ali at times throughout his bowling career, but he played a key role in ensuring South Africa didn’t release the shackles and begin to chase England down. Stuart Broad and James Anderson were also typically patient and miserly, offering very little width or length for South Africa to feed off.

It was incredibly pleasing to witness the fight on show from Temba Bavuma and Theunis De Bruyn, with the former due to resume on 48* on Saturday morning. De Bruyn, in only his second test, played an important part in taking the innings forward, before falling near the close to the ever impressive James Anderson.

Anderson is one of those bowlers who never lets you rest. He asks questions of you all day long, and managed to puncture the Bavuma/De Bruyn partnership after what had been a fairly innocuous spell leading up to that point.

I still think that a result is likely, with the pitch getting drier and drier and balls starting to hint at misbehaving. The ‘hit the deck’ bowlers on show, as well as the spinners, will undoubtedly come in to the game on days three and four.