Ladies and gentlemen, I’m pleased to report that we’ve found ourselves a batsman. And I can’t even think of any caveats. There’s no apparently flakiness, no hint of technical frailties, no suggestion of limitations (he plays well through the offside and legside, and off front foot and back) and absolutely no reason to suggest that he won’t score plenty of runs in what promises to be long Test career. In fact, the only thing that could potentially screw up Ollie Pope is fast tracking him into England’s white ball teams. No thanks. I hope he keeps the pyjamas for bedtime.
England are in a great position in Port Elizabeth. 499-9 is a great score and South Africa will be more worried about the follow on than reaching parity. And yet, at one point on the first day it looked like we’d ballsed it up again.
When England were 4 down with just 150 on the board, I feared the worst. But then Pope and Stokes took us to safety and ultimately forced home the advantage on what looks like a tremendous batting pitch. Why on earth are the Saffers preparing surfaces like this? I bet Rabada and Co aren’t impressed.
It’s so important to win the toss and bat well on dry almost Indian type pitches like this one. It really puts the opposition in a hole. I expected this surface to be slow and spin a bit, but I wasn’t quite expecting this little help for the seamers. I often feel a bit sorry for the bowling side in these circumstances – if only because it’s usually our bowlers bending their backs for no reward – but it is what it is. I’m just glad that our batsmen capitalised beautifully – just like the good teams do.
England’s middle order finally has the look of a world class outfit in the making. Yes they’ve still got something to prove, but if young Ollie can mature in the way that most observers expect he will then a 4, 5, 6 of Root, Stokes and Pope is as good as anything around. If genuinely excited about this combination.
The only problem is the form of Jos Buttler at 7. He made another low score today, spooning a simple caught and bowled chance back to Maharaj, and looks to be struggling mentally.
According to a couple of pundits (I forget which ones exactly) Buttler has admitted that he doesn’t quite know how to approach Test innings. In other words he can’t get the balance between attack and defence right. This surprises me because I actually thought he’d improved in this area since his recall. In 2018 he batted time on numerous occasions and showed a good temperament. It’s really bad news for him if he’s now second guessing himself. I can only assume that the move back down to 7 has confused him. Is he supposed to attack / counter attack or play like a proper Test batsman like he did last at times last year?
It will be interesting to see how many more chances Jos gets. Ed Smith won’t want to give up on the flagship selection of his tenure, but the case for Ben Foakes grows stronger by the day – especially with a tour to Sri Lanka coming up. The last time England toured that part of the world, the Surrey keeper performed superbly.
Fortunately the positives for England are outweighing the negatives on this tour. Buttler is a problem but everyone else is fulfilling their roles pretty effectively. I’ve heard the odd comment criticising Joe Denly, who continues to bat for long periods without making that pressure-releasing big score, but personally I’m quite happy with him. He’s wearing down the bowlers and letting the middle order capitalise later in the innings. James Vince and Gary Ballance will always have their admirers, but personally I’m not convinced that the grass is always greener.
The bowlers also did their job before the close of day 2. Joe Root’s decision to open with Broad and Curran was slightly odd – the twilight zone is never far away with Joe at the helm – but fortunately it didn’t cost us too many runs. In fact, having to wait an hour before Mark Wood finally got the ball in his mitts actually raised anticipation levels quite nicely. And it was certainly worth the wait when it finally happened.
You’ve got to love Mark Wood the cricketer. He’s like Darren Gough on Prozac … at Disney Land. His batting was simply awesome – there’s nothing like a tail-ender slogging a weary attack merrily – and to call his bowling spell late in the day ‘rapid’ would be like saying that the ICC’s decision to ban Rabada for the Johannesburg Test was ‘somewhat polarising’.
How fantastic it is to see an English seamer hitting 150 kph almost as soon as he comes on. If England ever get Wood and Archer bowling in tandem is will be a sight to behold.
A word too about Dom Bess who picked up the two wickets to fall. I don’t think he hit the right areas straight away (although I do expect him to do so eventually) but you can’t argue with his overnight figures. He’s a promising cricketer too.
Ollie Pope, however, is the most promising of them all. I’m still not entirely convinced that Ian Bell is the perfect comparison but I can see what people mean. I prefer to simply call him our ‘Great White Pope’ – a unique talent we should savour.
James Morgan
Woody!!!! Making batsmen jump around on a flat wicket. A sight to behold and totally agree. Archer and Wood in tandem is something I would like to see in tests.
An excellent day for England indeed. I am with you in hoping that Pope does not get selected in the white ball sides. I have never considered Buttler worth a test place, and if Keaton Jennings can be recalled on a ‘horses for courses’ basis with Burns injured, the case for Foakes returning in a part of the world where he has fared well is far stronger. Also of course England will need spinners plural in Sri Lanka – I hope that Leach recovers from the illness that has ended his SA tour, that Parkinson gets considered again and that maybe Amar Virdi gets called up so that England have cover for their main spinners (I accept that Liam Patterson-White would be too much of a gamble of a literal handful of first team appearances for his county). What this is leading up to of course is that Bess already has two wickets, and it would be a particularly good time for him to bag a few more to confirm that he is worth a place as a bowler. With the series either 2-1 England or at best for SA 1-1 going into the final game the pitch at the Bullring will have to have some life – and the Saffers will be without Rabada due to his inability to behave.
Yes, Pope is impressive – an attractive player to watch. I think his technique is considerably better than Crawley’s and probably than Burns’s as well.
It isn’t a bad idea to open the bowling with Curran, as his weapon is swing. It has to be at the right end though – if Broad insisted on bowling at Curran’s end (wind direction), Wood would have been a better option at the other.
I’m not too worried about Buttler. Anyone can poke a return catch on a pitch that is “stopping”.
You are right about Denley, he is not making the big scores but at least putting 30 plus overs on the ball which helps the strong middle order who can make the big scores, it seems, quite comfortably. We get into most trouble when Root et al are batting before ten overs are up. It defies logic why Foakes doesn’t get the gloves but perhaps Pope’s abilities and Curran’s aggressiveness will remove the angst that gets Buttler into the side.
Oh, and Rabada’s suspension is just ridiculous.
It is harsh, but he’s an utter idiog for putting himself in that position, having been done 3times already.
Interesting debate between Holding and Hussain concerning Rabada. Would expect Holding to defend the bowler but he was the case for the prosecution as he pointed out this sort of behaviour is being copied on the amateur field by youngsters and upsetting the older players. It is disrespectful and unnecessary, merely creating an atmosphere. Hussein seems content to let his kids do this all in the name of passion, saying there was no physical contact or verbals, however there’s a thin dividing line between gamesmanship and intimidation. Rabada clearly has issues as this is hardly the first time he’s done similar. Other bowlers don’t feel the need to get into the batsmans face and invade their space like this. How would Rabada react if he was the batsman and Archer did this. I don’t think it would be a pretty sight and not good for the game.
Imagine how much criticism this would attract if it became the norm for bowlers to lose self control like this. You can play the game as hard as nails and still respect your opponents. This goes against that grain.
It really isn’t ‘ridiculous’.. there is no need or place for verbals, sledging or send offs. More bans are needed not less. You can play hard, play with emotion and play with respect . It really isn’t hard
Buttler has a first-class average of below 30. And he’s failing miserably in Tests.
Pope, on the other hand, averages 60 in FCC. And now he’s starting to perform well in Tests.
Coincidence?
Foakes’ Test average isn’t bad either !!!
Finally looks like we have a replacement for (the harder to replace than his detractors will admit) Ian Bell – it’s taken 4 years! Foakes for Buttler now.
‘Idiog’?
Foakes should be playing. It was shocking how favouritism overrode a world class wicket keeper who was always in the game. Buttler should hand over the gloves. He hasn’t batted well and hasn’t fulfilled the hopes of Ed Smith.
And neither has Joe Denly. Nothing stays the same in Test cricket because of the exposure and facing world class bowlers. Denly is being shut down. He now struggles to get runs. He hasn’t got an answer because he hasn’t got the varied stroke play and skill needed. Every player in the top order has to deliver a major innings at some point. Because every player will have luck turn against them. Staying in to get 30 and averaging 31 is way below what is required.
Ollie Pope has looked very promising at the crease. And he has good technique! He bats on both sides of the wicket. Gooch said Pope reminded him of a young Ian Bell. In the pull and late cut he certainly looks like Bell. Haven’t seen him play the cover drive and on drive like Bell or actually much at all. So maybe that is a harder stroke to pull off. He is only just 22. What I liked was his unassuming and honest nature. That is like Bell. He will make a good team man. He has looked the most likely of anyone to replace Bell in the last four years.
Bell’s exquisite style will always be special for the purists. But Pope is the best young batsman I’ve seen in years and he bats well in partnerships. Another positive!! Well done – now he has to carry on doing it. That is the hard bit! He does look like a Test cricketer. Good Luck to him!
“In fact, the only thing that could potentially screw up Ollie Pope is fast tracking him into England’s white ball teams.“
The only thing that should prevent this happening is workload. If (quite likely) the fixture list is so congested that choices have to be made (e.g. leaving Root out of the T20 squad) then so be it. But let’s not pretend that at the top , qua ability, there are two distinct tribes – “Red Ball players” and “White Ball players” – there are absolutely NOT. If you can play, you can play. Pope can play. No reason at all which his obvious talent should not be applicable to ODIs and T20.
I remember many years ago one Denis Compton making the same point, specifically about Fairbrother who was – in DC’s opinion – wrongly classified (dismissed?) as a one day player.
That’s not totally true imho. Many players have technical issues that don’t get exposed in ODIs because the captain can’t put fielders where he wants. It’s overly simplistic to say ‘if you can play you can play’ look at guys like Roy, Hick and Bevan. Tests also require a different mindset. One might say slightly different skill sets too, although there’s a lot of overlap.
Re: Pope, I wouldn’t pick him for the white ball teams because (a) workload (b) the T20 and ODI teams simply don’t need him at the moment. Where would he bat? The likes of Buttler are world class operators in those forms.
I agree with you James; some are more suited to one sort of cricket or the other. The problem is that the selectors seem to have no idea who is best suited to which form, especially amongst the bowlers. Anyone at Edgbaston will say that Woakes is a better red ball cricketer than white ball, and now they seem to be making the same mistake with Brookes. Sending him off with the Lions is good. Sending him with the white ball squad rather than the red ball squad just shows they have not done their homework.
Rubbish. ‘If you can play you can play’.. we have literally seen the polar opposite of that !!
Bairstow
Hales
Roy
Morgan
Buttler
Curran
Moeen
Bits and pieces white ball players.. some very talented but simply aren’t red ball players…
I am continually baffled by the Foakes omission. One ton when the side were 100 odd for 5, quick second innings runs to help a declaration and a 60 odd not out when again the side were less than 200 when he came to the wicket. Tough runs when the team need them is exactly what England have been crying out for.
Totally agree re: Pope and white ball stuff. I’m only 50% certain they wont…
P.S on a completely different note, remember when Ireland rolled us over for 85?
Delighted for Pope. I was by no means the only one here who bemoaned his selection out of position on his debut. We look nearer to having a proper batting order now than at any time since the ECB decided that Test cricket was really one day cricket with a red ball, and have, barring injuries, a pretty potent attack also. All we need is a proper wicket keeper !
Entirely agree about Pope (although I think the implication that we had not previously found a batsman on this tour is harsh on Sibley). I also agree on the Buttler/Foakes debate (although I would have expressed it much more strongly). Now for the less positive analysis;
What Curran is doing in the side I have no idea (forget his batting, he is in for his bowling). He averaged 78mph and got little or no movement. If Woakes had been playing the idiot Root could have opened with Broad at his preferred end and Woakes at the other end being helped by the wind blowing toward slip and helping his away nibble – although this would still have not explained the brain dead decision to make Wood wait until the ball had been softened by a dozen overs. I almost felt sorry for Curran, fighting the wind, until I remembered that it should be easier for him to get movement at military medium pace.
Then there is Wood. He deserves credit for working up a good pace. The problem is (just like Olly Stone) that he relies on pure pace. There is never the slightest hint of movement, either in the air or off the seam. This will work where a batsman can be intimidated (as with Hamza, who looked like he wanted to trample the square leg umpire). It will not work with most top and middle order test bats. And that is even assuming he can maintain this pace for more than 1 or 2 tests without breaking down.
It was a good day for England, but delivered by 3 players (Pope, Stokes and Bess) and we should not let that blind us to the shortcomings of some others, especially Curran (not good enough), Wood (unlikely to be anything other than a short term fix) and Root (excellent bat but the worst skipper I have ever seen in a test side).
Oh come on Andy, with your years of watching test cricket there must have been worse skippers. Remember Boycott, Botham, ‘Mr drift’ Gower and even Willis, all within a few years of each other captaining England without distinction, let alone other teams.
…and a certain Cowdrey Jnr.!
No. Botham, Gower and Willis (and even Chris Cowdrey) were all better skippers. I agree with Boycott, but he was only a replacement skipper when Brearley was injured. Even England selectors had the good sense to appoint others when choosing the real skipper. But, to be fair to Boycott, his problem lay with his attitude and inability to get players behind him (other than with a stilletto). Even Boycott (and certainly none of the others) would not make the basic mistakes of Root (one slip for a fast bowler to a no11, chasing the ball when adjusting the field, giving the new ball to a military medium seamer – and at the wrong end). The list is endless, and should include the failure to show leadership when England lacked a no3.
I seem to recall that chasing the ball and not having attacking enough fields for tail Enders were 2 of the more common criticisms of Botham and Gower from previous test captains.
So as if massive financial doping isn’t enough… as if some strange goings-on with the toss aren’t enough (SA lose 6 consecutive tosses against Big Three opposition and 6 out of 7 against England)… as if umpires who won’t give any LBWs for the poorer team isn’t enough (the one that hit Stokes on the back leg was an atrocious decision)…. let’s throw in banning the opposition’s best player for an absolute nothing. I don’t think Rabada is some sort of secular saint and he can be a bit bratty at times – but I don’t have to try very hard to find at least three players in each Big Three team whose behaviour is worse and who never get banned.
SA are now a complete basket case, as is just about every team outside the Big Three. Some of us have seen this coming since 2014, not that it’s made any difference. “Oh, it’s just cyclical, they just to find a new batsman and they’ll be fine”. How deluded do you have to be to believe this? SA have found a new batsman, he’s playing for one of the Big Three (not England for a change). They’re going down the drain which is just where those who run the game want them to be. When SA appointed Smith-Boucher- Kallis the media were all over what genius this was. It’s like when some West Indies’ great was put in charge in the 1990s and 2000s and it didn’t make an iota of difference. Coaches can’t do much if the players are woefully substandard.
I’m done with this series. Who really wants to watch a mediocre side trounce an awful one? I’m not watching the ODI series in India or the BBL either. I might watch the U19s (where SA despite playing at home were just thrashed by Afghanistan).
James, it seems the cache issue is still persistent on at least some browsers (I use a Chromium based one). Will monitor and let you know.
Well, if South Africa find new batsmen, chances are these batsmen will play for England anyway. Or alternatively Australia or New Zealand (there are quite a few South Africans playing their trade in New Zealand now). Even moreso if residency requirements get further reduced. Ancestral passports can be quite handy after all, especially for England.
Seriously, the only player in the XI who could have possibly hoped to get into the 2012 side that toured England (yes, the side with Duminy) would be Elgar for Petersen. I’d still take Boucher over de Kock to be honest. de Kock has zero game awareness, even if his batting is better. The rest, including Rabada, would not even get a sniff. Rabada’s stats are massively padded by glorified village roads that South Africa have been serving up in the last 5 years (unlike the tracks that Steyn played on, a decade before, and Steyn’s stats are still better!).
I would not suggest the SA side is as good as the 2012 one, but anyone who leaves out Philander – the best seamer since McGrath – is well qualified to be an England selector. I can only assume you took Philander to be in the side as he toured in 2012?
I would take 2012 philander over 2020 philander.
Maybe maharajah would have made the 2012 side. But his stats are partly padded by the poorer seam options compared to who tahir was competing with
The batting has gone off a cliff. This side needs 2 innings to score the same runs as the 2012 side in one innings. After Edgar retires a bowler will consider averaging more than 10 against so a poor series with the ball
Sorry for the auto correct annoyances. Obviously I meant averaging more than 10 with the ball Against South Africa.
This is a flat track and before this series started many were predicting even this inconsistent England side would have too much for a struggling South Africa. Surely with a pretty solid top 3 and a decent looking middle order we would be looking to dispense with Butler as a fixture. I am a great fan of this hard working and dedicated cricketer but he’s had so many chances in a variety of roles that with better wicket keeping batsmen available continuing loyalty is misplaced. It has to work both ways and he is clearly not delivering.
The problem is would Bairstow be selected ahead of Foakes, who seems strangely out of favour with this regime. However it must be said there are definite signs a test mentality is appearing under Silverwood in a way that never happened under Bayliss, so we live in hope for future more sensible selections.
Hate to say it but a Newquay XI would give more resistance than this pathetic excuse for a cricket team called South Africa.
Spare a thought for Jack Leach, who did not get a chance to pick up 50 wickets against this insult to Chris Martin’s batting prowess. A nightwatchman has lasted longer than any of the specialist batsmen. And that is more or less the norm for South Africa these days.
A bowler who can’t even be picked for his county side is seriously threatening Laker’s record. Yeah, South Africa are that fantastic. They should just stop playing Test cricket; self-imposed exile until they can actually field a decent playing XI – if that will ever happen again. No point in pretending that they are remotely competent, or that anyone in CSA actually cares about the non-existent standards. They don’t.
Apologies to the newquay second Xi for implying South Africa could give a decent game to you. Maybe they could if the newquay second Xi forfeited 3 wickets every innings.
Suddenly they are picking players who want and are kinda capable of playing test cricket (Curran apart)… what a joy to see this test is..
SA are pathetic though
Acutally, after this series the question is not how good Pope is (there are at least 7 better teams out there), but how England managed to lose a Test in South Africa. Even Sri Lanka avoided that ignominy in 2019.
By the way James, there still seems to be a bit of a cache issue. Not that it is hanging, but it still seems to struggle to update the comments from time to time. Tested on Vivaldi, a Chromium-based browser.
Although after such an abject performance, I am torn on whether or not to read the comments with regards to the South Africa batting order having less spine than a jelly-fish.
Yeah I know. It’s really frustrating me. My host can’t help and neither can the people who built my WordPress theme. I playing around with the settings in the hope that the problem goes away.