Alastair Cook scored his 55th Test half-century. (Source: Reuters)
The 100th Test at The Oval saw England square-off against South Africa in the third Test of the four-match series. The series is tied at 1-1 after England won the Lord’s Test but South Africa came back to beat the hosts at Trent Bridge. Under their new captain Joe Root, England began steadily but then lost their way as four wickets fell with the scoreboard on 120. The Proteas were boosted with the return of pacer Kagiso Rabada who bowled a vicious yorker to send back debutant David Malan. For England, it was Alastair Cook’s stoic resistance which saw them post a respectable total of 171/4 on Day one. Cook remained unbeaten on 82 and was ably supported at the other end by Ben Stokes who was also not out on 21. Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada were once again the pick of the bowlers for the visitors. With the match evenly poised, Day two promises another engaging encounter between the bat and the ball.
England squad: Joe Root (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Liam Dawson, Stuart Broad, Toby Roland-Jones, James Anderson, Tom Westley
South Africa squad: Quinton de Kock (wk), Faf du Plessis (c), Dean Elgar, Heino Kuhn, Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Vernon Philander, Chris Morris, Keshav Maharaj, Morne Morkel, Duanne Olivier, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Aiden Markram, Theunis de Bruyn
