England’s batting frailties were thoroughly exposed on the second day as South Africa took giant strides forward to gain a substantial advantage in the Boxing Day Test. By the time Joe Root and his brigade walked off on Friday, they had been bundled out for 181, conceded a 103-run lead, and then seen South Africa stretch it to 175 by ending the day on 72 for 4.
As expected, the batsmen have struggled to stamp their authority, and it’s looking more and more likely that Quinton de Kock’s 95 in the first-innings could well be a match-winning knock. England, though, aren’t out of the game just yet, and that sets up a fascinating battle for the third day.
Flying De Kock catch dismisses Jos Buttler
De Kock has already impressed with the bat in this game, and on Friday, he showed his brilliance behind the stumps to end Jos Buttler’s innings. In the process, De Kock also equaled Mark Boucher’s record of most dismissals in an innings at Centurion.
Mark Boucher’s most dismissals in a innings at Centurion: 6️⃣
Quinton de Kock’s most dismissals in a innings at Centurion: 6️⃣
Two LEGENDARY glovemen, icons of the game 🙌
Hit ❤️ to congratulate de Kock’s on his achievement.#ProteaFire #SAvENG pic.twitter.com/915x3utqyS
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) December 27, 2019
Brief scores: South Africa 284 & 72/4 (Jofra Archer 2-37) lead England 181 (Joe Denly 50; Vernon Philander -16) by 175 runs.
