After winning the toss and electing to bat first, hosts South Africa notched up 329 for five at the close of play against England in the fourth and final Test at Centurion.
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The South African No. 3 stroked 18 fours, many of them trademark and textbook cover drives, to give the Proteas a solid platform in a game where victory would restore some lost pride after losing a series at home to England for only the second time since readmission to worldwide cricket in the early 1990s.
A freak catch by James Taylor at short leg was England’s only success on the first morning of the fourth and final Test against South Africa at SuperSport Park today.
De Villiers, captain for his second test, was out for his second duck in successive innings, caught at second slip by Joe Root off Broad.
Amla made good use of the reprieve as he and Stephen pushed South Africa to 107 for one at the end of the first session.
Cook’s innings turned out to be noteworthy, as he became the 100th batsman in the history of the sport to hit a century on Test debut.
It set the tone for the opening session with England being inconsistent with their bowling line, often drifting down the leg-side and erring in length on the short side.
Nick Compton, James Taylor and Alex Hales have only played in 12, six and three Tests respectively and Cook wants them to impress before a busy summer that includes three Tests against Sri Lanka and four versus Pakistan.
Jimmy Cook was a prolific opening batsman for Somerset and Transvaal and played three tests at the end of his career, coinciding with South Africa’s test return following decades of apartheid-enforced isolation.
JP Duminy was Moeen Ali’s second wicket, trapped lbw for 16 – the last wicket of the day as England checked South Africa’s progress after they had look poised for a huge total on 237 for one.
De Kock missed the decisive third Test in Johannesburg, where a stunning seven-wicket win saw the tourists claim the series with a game to spare. Cook partnered with Hashim Amla for a 202-run stand, South Africa’s highest since Amla and AB de Villiers put on over 300 at this very same venue against the West Indies back in 2014. Test debutant Stephen Cook was 46 not out and Hashim Amla was on 34.
“Last night my dad called me and said: ‘My boy, if you don’t get out to the first one then you’re already better than me.’ I was really glad for that first one off the pads”.
“When you’re weighing up a lot of options you can overcomplicate it, so I think it’s just a case of playing our best side”.
Among the other major developments of the day was the inclusion of Stuart Broad in the England One-Day International (ODI) squad in place of the injured Liam Plunkett.
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Cook was finally given the nod ahead of Stiaan van Zyl, De Kock regained the gloves from Dane Vilas, JP Duminy took Faf du Plessis’ number five spot and Dane Piedt and Kyle Abbot came back into the side at the expense of Hardus Viljoen and Chris Morris.
