England trounced South Africa by an innings and 85 runs to clinch a morale-boosting victory in the second Test at Old Trafford on Saturday. As a result of this win, the series stands at 1-1 with one more match to play. England captain Ben Stokes played a significant role in the win, removing Rassie van der Dussen (41) and Keegan Petersen (42) successively, who were fighting it out for the Proteas side.
Earlier, the England skipper made 103, his first century as England captain, in their total of 415/9 declared, which also featured wicket-keeper batter Ben Foakes’s best score in Tests- 113 not out. The England’s skipper is enjoying a successful run as permanent captain after winning five of his six tests.
Ben Stokes in 2022 Home Test Summer
Inns: 9
Runs: 362
Avg: 45.25
50s: 2
100s: 1
HS: 103 vs 🇿🇦 [TODAY]Wkts: 13
Avg: 30.23
SR: 47.7
ER: 3.79
BBF: 4/33 vs 🇮🇳For all the talk over his recent form, Stokes has actually had a decent summer & improved it with a 1st 100 as captain pic.twitter.com/1MQTZTMXKp
— Sivy Kanefied (@Sivy_KW578) August 26, 2022
Meanwhile, the Proteas shot out for 179 in the second innings as Ollie Robinson (4/42) and James Anderson (3/30) shined with the ball for the hosts. The loss, which came in three days, is a reality check for South Africa as they failed to reach 200 in both innings. The visitors will look to address this batting failure before moving into the Third Test. However,what would worry the World Test Championship leaders is that they lost the last five wickets for seven runs against the second new ball.
What a bowler, one of the greatest – James Anderson. pic.twitter.com/3MEvoEcJm2
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 27, 2022
Meanwhile, the victory came as an enormous boost for England after their loss against New Zealand in the recently concluded Test series. It would improve their confidence a world of good as they face the Proteas in the third Test, after 10 days of break. The third and deciding Test will start at the Oval in South London on September 8.
