Ken Borland

South Africa did not tax the England batting in their second innings as they raced to a nine-wicket victory in the third Test at The Oval on Monday, although Kagiso Rabada did finally get some reward for his efforts as he took the wicket of Alex Lees.

England were chasing just 130 to win the Test and the series 2-1, and they resumed on Monday morning just 33 runs short of that target. They rattled off those runs in just 27 minutes off 33 deliveries, with Zak Crawley finishing on a high as he scored a morale-boosting 69 not out off 57 balls, finally showing his true ability.

Rabada once again had Lees dropped early on, wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne this time reacting late and snatching at a regulation chance in the first over of the day, but the great fast bowler did eventually get his man when he trapped him lbw for 39. He needed a review to do it, and even that was rather half-heartedly requested by the Proteas.

Rabada was named as South Africa’s Player of the Series by England coach Brendan McCullum for his 14 wickets at 23.35, and Proteas captain Dean Elgar made a point of thanking his bowlers for their effort, while highlighting that their batting had been rank bad.

“We need to give our bowlers a lot of credit, but it boils down to our batting. We need to be point-blank about it, we just did not execute, we failed in that department,” Elgar said.

“First-innings runs are so crucial in England and with the overhead conditions and the Duke ball, the pitches were always doing something. But if you apply yourself and get in, then it will get easier,” Elgar said.

The fitness of South Africa’s batting line-up for Test cricket was once again called into question as they were bowled out cheaply for the second time in the third Test against England, with the home side rushing to the brink of victory until only poor light stopped them at The Oval on Sunday evening.

This was despite restricting England to just a 40-run first-innings lead and a first-wicket stand of 58 between Sarel Erwee (26) and Dean Elgar (36). England’s pacemen once again bowled superbly to dismiss South Africa for just 169 in their second innings, leaving them with a target of 130 for victory, and openers Zak Crawley (57 not out off just 44 balls) and Alex Lees (32*) batted in dashing fashion to get them to 97 without loss in just 17 overs. England will need just 33 more runs on Monday’s final morning to win the Test and the series.

It was a sad ending to the day for the Proteas after they had enjoyed a magnificent morning session.

England had resumed their first innings on 154/7 and Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen needed just 16 balls to wrap up the innings for only 158.

Jansen (12.2-2-35-5) claimed his maiden five-wicket haul and showed what a bright future he has as a Test strike bowler, while Rabada showed that class is permanent as he rebounded from a poor first eight wicketless overs for 63 runs to end with 4/81 in 13 overs.

South Africa were looking good on 70/1 at lunch, but three overs after the break, Elgar showed poor decision-making as he failed to review when Stuart Broad, bowling around the wicket and angling the ball into the left-hander, won an lbw decision against him. Replays showed the ball was clearly missing leg-stump and Elgar’s battling innings ended on 36.

Veteran quicks Broad (13-2-45-3) and Anderson (15.2-4-37-2) then turned the screw with some wonderful pressure bowling and the Proteas batsmen were simply unable to get out of their hole. They lost their last nine wickets for 86 runs, with Ben Stokes (13-2-39-3) once again taking key wickets and Ollie Robinson producing a telling double-strike against the middle-order as England got the ball swinging prodigiously.

Needing just 130, England were obviously overwhelming favourites and South Africa needed early wickets and quickly. Rabada found Lees’s outside edge with the first ball of the innings but Jansen, lunging to his left at fourth slip, dropped a two-handed chance.

The bowlers, having toted around such a heavy burden in this series due to the horribly misfiring batting, just could not lift themselves to perform any miracles after that.

Marco Jansen scored precious runs and took vital wickets to keep South Africa with a fingerhold on the game on the third day of the third Test against England at The Oval on Saturday.

Jansen top-scored with 30 in a dismal South African first innings of just 118 after they lost the toss and were sent in to bat on the first morning, but never got to the crease thanks to rain washing out the entire first day’s play and then the second day being cancelled as a mark of respect for the passing of the United Kingdom’s beloved Queen Elizabeth II.

The beanpole 22-year-old then bowled superbly to take 4/34 in 11 overs as England went to stumps on 154/7, leading by 36 runs. They were 84/2 at tea though, and Jansen’s left-arm pace, with handy late swing, inspired the Proteas to bowl themselves back into the contest.

He had earlier batted with defiant assurance after coming to the crease at a parlous 36/6. The fact that South Africa reached three figures was almost entirely due to the seventh-wicket partnership of 36 between Jansen and Khaya Zondo, who also resisted stoutly with 23 in more than an hour-and-a-half in his debut Test innings.

It was a crucial toss for England to win when play eventually got underway on the third morning under heavily overcast skies, with the England seamers getting precious movement off the pitch. But they bowled superbly, with outstanding accuracy, to get the most out of the conditions.

Ollie Robinson, consistently zeroing in on off-stump and moving the ball both ways, led the way with 5/49 in 14 overs, while Stuart Broad wrapped up the last bits of resistance with 4/41 in a superb display by the England pacemen.

Ollie Pope, one of The Oval’s favourite sons when playing for Surrey, batted with great positivity to score 67 off 77 balls and led England into a first-innings lead as, Jansen apart, the South African bowlers were poor at the start, bowling too short, too straight and too wide too often. But in the clatter of wickets after tea, Pope should have changed gear and tried to stick around, ensuring the Proteas were batted properly out of the game.

England captain Ben Stokes was even more at fault, falling for just 6 to Anrich Nortje as he played several wildly attacking strokes in the nine deliveries he faced.

Ben Foakes is the last remaining recognised batsman on 11 not out.

South Africa will still pay for their failure to bat for more than just 36.2 overs, but they will hope to limit the first-innings deficit to something around 50. They will also be hoping they come out to bat for the second innings with the sun shining.

The decisive third Test between England and South Africa at The Oval will resume on Saturday and will still end on Monday, making it just a three-day match.

The first day of action was completely washed out after England had won the toss and sent the Proteas in to bat, and the second day’s play was cancelled on Friday in a mark of respect for the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

With the series locked at 1-1, there had been hopes that the Test could be extended until Tuesday, but it is believed the Proteas turned that down because they are scheduled to fly home on Tuesday. The extra day is therefore not being added and the deciding Test becomes a de facto three-day match. Although both of the previous Tests at Lord’s and Old Trafford were completed inside three days, the Oval has been a much friendlier batting venue in the past.

The England and Wales Cricket Board announced on Friday afternoon the decision to resume all cricket activities on Saturday, saying it is in line with the Official National Mourning guidelines and the advice they have received from the UK government’s Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

There does seem to be a certain amount of discomfort over the match continuing during the United Kingdom’s period of mourning for the loss of their longest-serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II having reigned for 70 years.

Over and above cricket paying its respects with a minute’s silence being observed and then the national anthem being played before the start of play. all players and coaches wearing black armbands and branded inventory being replaced with messaging paying respects to the queen, the Surrey County Cricket Club sent out a series of tweets on Friday evening noting some differences to their usual hosting arrangements.

There will be a special on-field celebration of the queen’s life half-an-hour before the scheduled start of play and no alcohol will be served before the conclusion of that observance. Fancy dress – a staple of English Test matches – will not be permitted on any of the three remaining days. They urged people to show respect for others and the occasion.