An estimated 8,000 English fans are expected to pack into Newlands and should witness the return of Jimmy Anderson, with England’s leading wicket well on the road to recovery from the calf injury that kept him out of the first Test.
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Yesterday, South African captain Hashim Alma said Smith would be with the team for the rest of the four-test series.
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Any chance that the Proteas may have had of sharing the honours on day one disappeared completely in the final overs of the day, when Jonny Bairstow and the left-handed Ben Stokes took a distinct liking to the new ball and towards the end they were scoring at a rate of 10 runs to the over.
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Alex Hales, fresh from his own maiden half-century in Test cricket, was quick to praise the maverick talent of Ben Stokes, which he believes has given England the upper hand over South Africa here in Cape Town.
I expect England to put a really big score on the board because this pitch is not going to get any better and there will be some real turn for Moeen Ali as the game wears on.
“Obviously, they’re low on confidence, maybe you can say something or work with them on a certain aspect”.
Anderson in for Chris Woakes was England’s only change from Durban.
Amla announced that Kagiso Rabada will replace the injured Dale Steyn.
“It will be an interesting call because the amount of overs he has bowled on this tour is not a huge amount”.
Nick Compton came in at number 3 and looked a different man to the player we saw in the first test. The Middlesex batsman came out and played his shots, including a glorious charge down the wicket to Dane Piedt as he lofted him onto the sightscreen for six.
“We don’t want to hinder ourselves and have an injury caused which we could have prevented”. There was also a change in wicketkeeping personnel with Quinton de Kock taking the gloves from AB de Villiers – who will play as a specialist batsman – with JP Duminy falling out of the team.
Working as a commentator for BBC’s Test Match Special, Smith raised eyebrows with his assessment of the home side, suggesting he sensed “a few rumblings in the South Africa camp” and criticising the “terrible decision” to keep wicket with AB de Villiers.
‘When people criticise the team, there is going to be some value in it so you just take it on the chin and move on.
The tourists closed on 317-5 and, with a lot of batting to come against an inexperienced South African attack, they could still get a total that takes the home side out of the game.
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Last year England followed victory with defeat four times and Cook said he was yet to get to the bottom of why his side had been so inconsistent. “We’ve got to set the same standards we set in Durban”. You’ve got to nearly refresh what the processes are that made you successful.
