Bairstow was unbeaten on 150 when England finally put the top-ranked South Africans out of their misery and declared before tea on the second day at Newlands.
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Ben Stokes and Johny Bairstow however kept the momentum slightly tilted in favour of the visitors as England finished the first day with 317 runs on board having lost five wickets. It was England’s second-best partnership in tests.
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He hit four sixes and 20 fours in his 233-ball innings. England looked in trouble at 222 for six, but Trescothick moved through the gears, clubbing his way from 113 to 180 in just 64 balls. It had been a comedy of errors in the build-up to the wicket with Morne Morkel dropping Bairstow at long-off while De Villiers had dropped a sitter skied by Stokes before picking up the ball and running the all-rounder out. This is only the fifth time that a batsman has scored a double ton in 53 Tests at the venue.
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Stokes said: “Cook told me to get myself in at the start of the day but I just thought there were enough balls to throw my hands through”. Bairstow’s unbeaten 150 was his maiden century.
South Africa, already staring at a big defeat and a 2-0 series deficit, was fighting at 141-2 at stumps, still 488 behind.
From the first over of day two of the second Test, he set out his stall to show South Africa who was in charge. The left-hander needed only 12 balls to go from his overnight 74 to his third Test century, which he made off 105 deliveries with 16 fours and a six.
It hardly mattered, however, to the Newlands crowd who got to their feet as one to applaud one of the most destructive innings seen in any format of the game, ever.
In so doing he eclipsed the previous fastest double-hundred for England scored by Ian Botham against India at the Oval in 1982 off 220 balls.
Stokes also set the highest score by a test batsman at number six, passing a 39-year-old mark held by Australian Doug Walters.
The partnership was the best ever between a sixth-wicket pair, England’s second-highest ever for any wicket and also the fastest 300 stand in history.
Stokes, inevitably, took the second wicket to complete what was one of the greatest days by an English cricketer on a foreign field.
The visitors would eventually declare on 629/6 and South Africa were 24/1 at tea with Dean Elgar and captain Hashim Amla at the crease. still some 605 runs behind.
“Every time you play worldwide cricket there is always something to prove and this is obviously a new challenge for me and my career and it’s something I have loved so far”.
Now he accumulated steadily until the second new ball, supposedly an important weapon for fast bowlers, before going after Morris as only he really can, smashing the debutant for four fours off the first over with the pristine ball.
Both Rabada and Morris built up good pace, with Rabada clocked at 150kmh shortly before dismissing Cook.
Of four hundred they fell one brief, however throughout these 399 runs, they demolished an entire chapter of data.
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A series victory for England will knock South Africa off the top of the test rankings.
