SAM MORSHEAD picks out the key topics for discussion after England reduced South Africa to 88 for 6 in response to the tourists' first-innings 400 at the Wanderers
When Stuart Broad joined Mark Wood at the crease with England 318 for 9, the commentators suggested that the England No.11 ought to be passing his teammate the strike as much as possible.
The remark highlighted once again how far Broad the Batsman has fallen since the dizzy heights of that 169 at Lord’s a decade ago, yet there was a reminder here that - beneath the veneer of a man who had the technique knocked out of him by a Varon Aaron bumper in 2014 - there still resides a competent and effective lower-order option.
Broad’s rapid 43 was not the typical late slog which has become the calling card of England’s second most prolific wicket-taker. He was aggressive, sure, but there was an air of confidence about this innings which so often appears to be absent when Broad visits the wicket in pads and gloves.
Admittedly, South Africa’s approach to getting their man out was flustered and panicked.
“There is no plan, this is just bowling for bowling’s sake,” said Michael Holding on commentary.
“It’s a matter of hoping someone will do something stupid.”
Holding was right, of course. Faf du Plessis set eight men on the boundary to a bloke who not that long ago was bowled when he caught he accidentally lodged his bat between his thigh and back pad, and his strategy made little sense - as if a plasterer had being given the charge of a Michelin-starred kitchen.
But still, Broad’s shot selection was on point and his execution equally so.
One lofted straight drive off Dane Paterson screamed into the stands back over the bowler’s head, sending debris falling onto the outfield below, while a front-armed jab down the ground - part pull, part back-foot drive - was hardly the stroke of a man flustered by the vaguest sight of short-pitched bowling.
With Wood being just as destructive down the other end, Broad helped set the record 10th-wicket stand in Tests at the Wanderers - surpassing the 71 made by Fanie de Villiers and Allan Donald in 1994-95 - and helped himself to his best score for more than two years.
England ticked up to 400, setting the tone for the rest of the day.
Stuart Broad and Mark Wood put on 82 for the final wicket
Joe Root and conversion rates: the nagging conversation that just won’t go away.
The England captain looked in excellent touch at the Wanderers on Friday, moving without both onto his 47th half-century. Yet with Root there is never an inevitability about 50 becoming 100.
And, even after getting a life on 53 - dropped by Faf du Plessis at slip off Anrich Nortje - he could not go on here, driving too hard at Nortje and finding the gloves of Quinton de Kock.
Of the last 20 times Root has got to a half-century in Tests, the skipper has made a ton on three occasions. He has 17 centuries to his 47 fifties in the format (Virat Kohli has a ratio of 27:22, Steve Smith 26:29 and Kane Williamson 21:31).
So what can Root do to reach the next level?
Nasser Hussain has advocated extra introspection.
“I would show him a video of him batting to 50 and batting just after 50 today,” Hussain told Sky Sports.
“He goes from busy to frenetic. He goes from sort of smiling and happy at the crease to over-smiley and over-happy at the crease. He nicks off two balls later and, instead of getting cross with himself, he didn't get cross with himself, he went down the pitch to Jos and had a bit of a joke and a laugh.
“I spoke about it with Thorpe the other day in an interview. Graham Thorpe said he's a lovely player but he needs to get a bit more selfish. I give you Jacques Kallis – when he gets to 50, he just gets the blinkers on, doesn't change his tempo, gets on and gets a hundred. I give you Alastair Cook – once he gets to 50, doesn't change his tempo, gets the blinkers on, goes and gets a hundred.”
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South Africa’s decision to name five seamers for this Test - four of whom offer very little variation - continued to bemuse on day two, but Anrich Nortje still managed to excite.
Routinely topping 90mph, Nortje romped to his first Test five-for with spells of prolonged aggression. He was too quick for Joe Root on the drive and Ollie Pope on the leave, before Sam Curran gifted away his wicket with a wild swipe first ball.
Nortje is just the latest ruthless quick to fall out of South Africa’s remarkably consistent seam factory, the Proteas will be desperate not to lose this one to the world of Kolpak contracts.
Imagine the attack the hosts would have without that exodus - Duanne Olivier and Kyle Abbott joining Nortje, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada (and let’s not forget the wiley spin of Simon Harmer).
That’s true variation; the stuff that wins Test matches. Instead, with Philander in his final Test and Rabada absent because of an ICC ban, the South African seam arsenal in Johannesburg this week has offered as much spark as wet box of matches.
The pairing trusted with the new ball on a fast track on the Highveld on Saturday spoke volumes.
Beuran Hendricks, on debut, and Dwaine Pretorius - a dullard fifth seam option whose presence in place of Keshav Maharaj, even at the Wanderers, simply baffles - were picked off by Pope and Root for the first half-hour.
Only when Nortje arrived, upped the intensity and hurried England’s batsmen did the hosts start to look menacing.
If we have learned anything from this series from a South African perspective - and it has been a series of questions rather than answers for the hosts - it is that Nortje must not be lured away if a full rebuilding job is going to be possible.
Anrich Nortje was excellent for his five-wicket haul
Jos Buttler’s place in this England Test team is becoming harder and harder to justify, but by giving the keeper more and more time to make his case there is a chance the selectors could end up harming their chances in the shorter formats.
Buttler is England’s best T20 batsman - a ludicrously talented, 360-degree wizard who can single-handedly win matches, and this October and November he will be critical to his country’s pursuit of World Cup glory in Australia.
Furthermore, as vice-captain of the white-ball team, he is in prime position to take on the main job when Eoin Morgan eventually decides he is ready to slope off into the franchise sunset - quite possibly towards the end of this year.
From then on in, Buttler will be expected to play the vast majority of white-ball games for England, with all the associated pressures of the captaincy. Can he be expected to juggle all that and the fight to prove himself in the Test arena?
Furthermore, surely England should be actively encouraging him to avoid burnout, especially with that World Cup on the horizon. Buttler will play close to a full season with Rajasthan Royals in the IPL prior to a summer with either the Test team or Lancashire and Manchester Originals.
March, then, presents an ideal opportunity for respite. Especially when, in the shape of Ben Foakes, England have a wicketkeeper with substantial experience of playing in Sri Lanka and the best glovework available to the selectors.
The Surrey keeper would not be a “horses for courses” pick, nor is there any shame in standing Buttler down for a series in difficult conditions when he is evidently out of nick.
Let him rest, let him recharge, let him refocus and expect to reap the benefits in the parts of the game which he dominates.
Joe Root is frustrated by his dismissal
Joe Root said in the build-up to this game that series victory in South Africa would be the “proudest result” of his captaincy, and England have certainly found a rhythm over the past three weeks. But given the performance of the Proteas since Centurion, it feels like an asterisk needs to be put next to what will surely end up being a 3-1 scoreline.
This is a South African team as weak with the bat as any since readmission, stripped of bowlers who would walk into the side by Kolpak loopholes, settling into a new regime against the backdrop of months of discontent and alleged malpractice at boardroom level.
Yes, victory will be emphatic.
Yes, England have been improved with the bat and incisive with the ball.
Yes, Root has shown leadership and imagination. All this deserves celebration.
But before we get too carried away, let’s make sure we put the series into context, and take into account the calibre of the opposition.
No team has made more than 330 at Wanderers first innings and lost in Test cricket.
That ain’t about to change.
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