27/07Result
3rd Test, South Africa tour of England at London, Jul 27-31 2017
England won by 239 runs
Player of the Match
Ben Stokes
Ben StokesEngland
27/07Result
3rd Test, South Africa tour of England at London, Jul 27-31 2017
England won by 239 runs
Player of the Match
Ben Stokes
Ben StokesEngland

3.10pm: Well, England will be pretty happy with that. They've batted pretty much throughout in bowler-friendly conditions and managed to past 350, which was the minimum requirement having chosen to bat. It's still fairly overcast at The Oval and the pitch has done a bit for the seamers - can Anderson, Broad and TRJ get amongst them? South Africa would have been hoping to roll England over for a few less, especially having removed Alastair Cook early on this morning, but Ben Stokes played one his most mature innings before accelerating to his hundred (with the aid of the little luck). Of course, 353 is only a few more than Hashim Amla made on his own the last time SA batted here, so there's still all the play for

Edmund: "To be fair to Solly, Stokes could still be overrated, even though he just got 109. Don't forget he did not have to face Philander." Well, that's not really true - he faced him both last night and this morning (and struggled, to be fair). But neither did he give a chance, that I can remember

103.2
W
Morkel to Stokes, OUT, slogged up into the air and taken by long-off running in! Stokes' fun is over, he walks off with his bat raised, a fine innings that went from watchful to wrecking ball... Morkel gets this third, he has bowled well, though this was a simple slap into the air, well taken by Rabada on the move

BA Stokes c Rabada b Morkel 112 (276m 153b 9x4 4x6) SR: 73.20

103.1
2
Morkel to Stokes, 2 runs, dug in short, Stokes doesn't get hold of his pull but manages to put it right between deep midwicket and deep square leg and they belatedly realise two is on

Faf replaces poor Maharaj with Morne Morkel

END OF OVER:
103 | 2 Runs | ENG: 351/9

  • James Anderson1 (5b)
  • Ben Stokes110 (151b)
  • Kagiso Rabada26-4-85-3
  • Keshav Maharaj15-1-61-1

"Stokes is highly overrated." Solly keeps posting this, so I can only presume he's a masochist keen on some punishment...

102.6
0
Rabada to Anderson, no run, pitched up, aiming for the yorker on off stump, Anderson keeps it out
102.5
1
Rabada to Stokes, 1 run, angled in from round the wicket, dabbed down into a gap and they take the single this time, giving Anderson one ball to survive
102.4
0
Rabada to Stokes, no run, dug in and Stokes pulls, not quite in control and it flies towards the ropes, in front of deep square leg and again they elect not to run
102.3
0
Rabada to Stokes, no run, Rabada sprays the ball wide of the stumps, big swing but he can't connect
102.2
0
Rabada to Stokes, no run, angled in on the stumps and worked down the ground but they don't run
102.1
1
Rabada to Anderson, 1 run, cheers around the ground as Anderson fends one of his body to get Stokes on strike again - oh, and it's the England 350 up, too

How many more can Stokes get? SA well know how he can tee off...

END OF OVER:
102 | 18 Runs | ENG: 349/9

  • Ben Stokes109 (147b)
  • James Anderson0 (3b)
  • Keshav Maharaj15-1-61-1
  • Kagiso Rabada25-4-83-3

"666 - the number of the best!" roars Edward Green

101.6
0
Maharaj to Stokes, no run, pushed down the leg side this time, Stokes nearly overbalances and offers de Kock a stumping chance - but manages to get his foot back in time!
101.5
0
Maharaj to Stokes, no run, Maharaj responds by firing the ball in wide of the off stump, just okay according to Dar
101.4
6
Maharaj to Stokes, SIX, tossed up and smashed over deep square leg - three sixes in a row! Stokes collars Maharaj again, all muscle as he raises the Number of the Beast, grrrr!
101.3
6
Maharaj to Stokes, SIX, nailed back down the ground, there's his hundred! No doubt about this one, Stokes mullers it straight into the stands to raise his fifth Test hundred and his second against South Africa
101.2
6
Maharaj to Stokes, SIX, tossed up, Stokes goes for the slog... and picks out du Plessis at wide long-on... who takes a good catch but then falls back on to the rope! The momentum took him backwards, just far enough for his shoulder to brush the boundary marker! Good catch from du Plessis but he can only smile ruefully, he knew straight away
101.1
0
Maharaj to Stokes, no run, pushed through on the stumps, nudged back along the carpet to long-on but he turns down the single

Will Stokes go after Maharaj now? Nine away from his fifth Test hundred

END OF OVER:
101 | 2 Runs 1 Wkt | ENG: 331/9

  • James Anderson0 (3b)
  • Ben Stokes91 (141b)
  • Kagiso Rabada25-4-83-3
  • Keshav Maharaj14-1-43-1

"Hang in there, Jimmy!" yelps Barney. "Stokes deserves a ton!"

100.6
0
Rabada to Anderson, no run, back of a length, in the channel outside off, flies through to the keeper
100.5
0
Rabada to Anderson, no run, pitched up, 88mph on off stump, blocked defiantly back down the track, to ironic applause around the ground
100.4
0
Rabada to Anderson, no run, short and wide of the stumps, Anderson stays well away from it

James Anderson is in at No. 11... Can he help Stokes to his century?

100.3
W
Rabada to Broad, OUT, pitched up, Broad is stuck in his trench and flicks a straightforward catch to slip! Once again, it's the full ball (and the looming threat of the short one) that does for Broad... Still a decent ball, full and tailing away from round the wicket, Broad closed the face attempting to work it away to the leg side and a thick deflection flew to Amla

SCJ Broad c Amla b Rabada 3 (16m 13b 0x4 0x6) SR: 23.07

100.2
1
Rabada to Stokes, 1 run, pitched up and clipped firmly off the pads, races straight to deep backward square for just a single
100.1
1
Rabada to Broad, 1 run, shortish and Broad tucks it off his hip for one

END OF OVER:
100 | 7 Runs | ENG: 329/8

  • Ben Stokes90 (140b)
  • Stuart Broad2 (11b)
  • Keshav Maharaj14-1-43-1
  • Kagiso Rabada24-4-81-2

I was just about to speculate if Stokes is planning to unleash... He seems to trust Broad to stick around for a while, but I doubt he'll be scoring slowly from here on

99.6
0
Maharaj to Stokes, no run, tossed up on the stumps, tapped away
99.5
6
Maharaj to Stokes, SIX, oh my, he's hammered that miles into the crowd! Stokes rolls out the slog-sweep and dumps Maharaj waaaaaaay back over the deep midwicket boundary to move into the 90s
99.4
0
Maharaj to Stokes, no run, pushed through, defended on the back foot

Match Coverage

All Match News

Mr Consistent

5

Test centuries in the last six series that Elgar has played. He scored centuries against Eng and SL at home and against Aus, NZ and Eng away.

Opening failure

12.91

South Africa's average first-wicket stand in the last 12 Test innings, since the start of the series in New Zealand. Their highest opening stand during this period is 21

Uphill for South Africa

1947

The only time South Africa have batted 100+ overs in the fourth innings in England - they faced 141 overs and drew the game at The Oval in 1947

Root's run-fest continues

9

Consecutive Tests in which Root has made a 50-plus score. Only seven batsmen have had a longer stretch: Tendulkar, Edrich (10 each), Mominul, Sehwag, Gambhir, Richards (11 each), and de Villiers (12)

Debut half-century at No. 3

10

England batsmen who've made 50+ on Test debut at No. 3, like Tom Westley has in this Test. The previous one was Owais Shah (88 & 38) v India in 2006

Morkel's Bunny

11

Number of times Morne Morkel has dismissed Alastair Cook in Tests - Most he has been dismissed by any bowler. This was also the first time Cook got bowled by Morkel.

Dream Debut

2009

Last instance of a fast bowler from Eng to take a 5 wicket haul on debut.Graham Onions took 5 for 38 against WI at Lords.Toby Roland Jones took 5 for 57.

Stokes vs SA

2

Number of centuries for Ben Stokes against South Africa. He has an average of 49.83 from 12 innings against them.

New Ball delivers

23

Runs made by England in 11 overs since the new ball was taken.England lost 2 wickets in this period. They made 44 runs for no wicket in the 10 overs prior to the new ball

Time for a change?

6

Number of single digit scores from 8 innings for Keaton Jennings since his century on debut. He averages 12.37 and has three ducks.

Three Debutants

2014

Last instance of England playing 3 debutants in a Test. Sam Robson, Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan played their first game against SL at Lords.